Jim Pollard The Kangaroo Kid by Dolph Grundman
Biography Review of Minneapolis Lakers Great
Oct 29, 2009
Before they were one of America’s favorite teams, the Los Angeles Lakers were—from 1946 to1959— the Minneapolis Lakers. And before there was Kobe & Shaq there was George & Jim. George Mikan and Jim Pollard, that is, stars of that first version of Lakers.
Minneapolis Lakers Won 6 of the First 8 NBA Titles
In that first incarnation in Minneapolis in the early days of the NBA, the Lakers won 6 of the first 8 NBA championships played. It’s truly an incredible record (and one that has never been duplicated by a start-up franchise), and is lesser-known only because it took place before mass television coverage of all sports, save baseball.
Also somewhat lost in the fog of the pre-TV past is the exceptional talent and play of many of those early players. The championship Lakers teams, coached by John Kundla, were loaded: Vern Mikkelson, Slater “Duggy” Martin, Myer “Whitey” Skoog (who invented the jump shot), and particularly George Mikan and Jim Pollard.
Mikan was the first true “big man” in basketball, so unstoppable underneath that the NBA enlarged the “key” beneath the basket from 6 to 12 feet primarily because of him! In recent years, modern-day players have acknowledged Mikan’s contribution to the game. The Associated Press named him the greatest player of the first half of the 20th century, and he was the first inductee to the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame.
Jim Pollard Was the Player in Mikan’s Shadow
Right behind him, however, and considered every bit as good (and probably more of an all-around player) was forward Jim Pollard. The 6’5” Oakland, California native who played for Stanford, then a variety of semi-pro and AAU teams before landing with the Minneapolis Lakers, Pollard has, until now, never received his due, mostly because he was always in Mikan’s shadow.
Dolph Lundman’s 2009 biography Jim Pollard: The Kangaroo Kid has finally cast the overdue light on Pollard’s life and career. The attention to a player who is invariably “on the short list of those who would have excelled on the court even today,” is well-deserved.
Dolph Grundman’s Book Details Early Pro Basketball
What stands out first about Jim Pollard: The Kangaroo Kid is the research author Grundman has put into it. This is as much a book about the fledgling days of pro basketball as it is about Pollard, a player whose career pretty much reflected the league's growing pains, as he played on numerous semi-pro teams and even pitched for summer “town ball” team to make ends meet.
Beyond the analysis of championship series’ and interesting facts (like the Lakers’ ongoing, off-league rivalry with the Harlem Globetrotters), however, Pollard remains central to the book, much as he did to the Lakers.
Jim Pollard Crucial to Lakers’ Success On and Off the Court
Among the things Grundman examines here is just how crucial Jim Pollard was to Minneapolis Lakers success. Not only was he considered the quintessential team player by his teammates, he was a consensus “good guy.” Several of the former players interviewed for Grundman’sbook stated that it was Jim who helped them adjust, both on and off the court, to professional ball.
That unique and inherent ability to teach found its natural path as Pollard went on to coach the Chicago Packers, the Minneapolis Muskies (ABA), and finally even the Minneapolis Lakers, shortly before their move to L.A.
Readers interested in the history of basketball and fans of the game itself will find Dolph Grundman’s Jim Pollard: The Kangaroo Kid a satisfying read. It shines a light on one of the games finest, Jim Pollard, a man who will be remembered for his “special grace” on and off the court.
Grundman, Dolph. Jim Pollard: The Kangaroo Kid, 2009, Nodin Press, 176 pages. (ISBN: 978-1-932472-86-8)
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