“Go Jerry West, Young Man” 

Four-Part Video Podcast “A Very Jerry Christmas” Begins December 17th

December 16, 2020

7428 Studio -  My godmother, “cousin Diane” was married to Dick Gass, who, of course, would be assigned the task of being my godfather.  As an eight year old sports idiot savant, perhaps minus the savant part, Dick took me to watch his friend coach a basketball team at a few practices taking place at what is now Loyola Marymount University.  

His friend was Bill Sharman and that team was 1972 Los Angeles Lakers.  Now, that is a LEGIT godfather!  Wilt, Gail and Jerry were who I would pretend to be in my backyard shooting hoops, and there they were, right in front of me, the team that would set NBA records on their way to the Lakers first NBA title since they moved to L.A. in 1960.  

Another cousin of mine, Tina, happened to marry an athlete who starred at Loyola in the 1960’s.  Wayne Boehle was a basketball and volleyball standout that has always been instrumental in my life and he recently delivered on a promise that he made to me.  

He’d bring his friend Jerry West by my house for an interview in my garage on their way to play golf.  Now, that is a LEGIT cousin-in-law!

So, that day came and there he was, “the logo”, the NBA legend from West Virginia with matinee star-like looks walking through our house and into our backyard.  When he politely declined to take the traditional “7428 Shot”, the all-conference Loyola Lion that is Wayne Boehle promptly stepped in and drained a 13-footer under the pressure of multiple cameras, including a drone. 

Then, Jerry West, one of the greatest players of all time, and most certainly the greatest executive ever, sat across from me in my garage, aka the 7428 Studio, answering questions about his remarkable life.  While some of the memorabilia in my garage was acceptable for such royalty, like my signed ball from John Wooden or my 1986 VBC Championship trophy, there was also items like my autographed picture from popcorn magnate Orville Redenbacher that hung over Jerry’s right shoulder that made me laugh inside and kept me grounded while trying to stay focused on the task at hand.  

I am forever grateful to people like Dick Gass and Wayne Boehle that supported their “little” cousin and made a dream come true.  The four-part video podcast will play out over four consecutive Thursday’s, December 17th, 24th, 31st and January 7th in what we are calling a “Very Jerry Christmas”.   Watch, and please subscribe and if you would be so kind, leave us a comment at:   YouTube.com/SSDL

Notes on a Backyard Scorecard

Los Angeles -  Full disclosure, I am stealing the title for this column from the “event program” we used to print out for the Venice Backyard Championships…We stole the title from L.A. sportswriter Alan Malamud…We received great reviews from the four-part series on St. Monica High School, USC, L.A. Rams and San Diego Chargers tight end Bob Klein.  It was nice to hear from some of Bob’s friends from way back to his Corpus Christi School days in Pacific Palisades, CA…SSDL recently began the process of a video podcast story on Sports Illustrated “SI Kid of the Year” Juju Watkins, a 15 year-old basketball phenom that lives in Watts and attends Windward School in West Los Angeles…Juju is hoping to carry on the tradition of community service and social change that her Great-Grandfather Ted Watkins (1912-1993) began in 1965 when he formed the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC)…Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) has recorded such a strong following on LA36 Cable TV that you can now catch our shows seven days a week…Make sure to follow @SportsStoriesDL on Twitter, so you can vote on the “SSDL Polls” which have proved to be highly popular…In recent weeks, we determined the best teams, coach and players that football star Bob Klein payed with and for, and we will be conducting polls in the upcoming weeks to define the same for Jerry West…Look for the SSDL “Live Shows” to return in February, once contracts are renegotiated with the SSDL cast of characters and correspondents…Looking for a Christmas present idea?  Give the gift of a YouTube SSDL Subscription!  Just go to YouTube.com/SSDL and hit the “Subscribe” button.  

LINKS:

Wayne Boehle knocks down #7428 Shot for Jerry West

Denny Lennon featured in “VoyageLA Magazine

Juju Watkins “SI Kid of the Year” Launch Party Video

NSLA: SSDL covers a different Jonas Never mural every Tuesday 

SSDL DOPE - Denny on other Podcast Episodes

All shows, including video podcasts, archived live shows and special features are available at:  YouTube.com/SSDL

Social media links, archives and more are available on our website:  SportsStoriesDL.com

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon”