Gail Goodrich might be the greatest basketball player ever born and raised in Los Angeles.
He helped UCLA win its first two NCAA championships, in 1964 and 1965. He led the Lakers in scoring during their championship season in 1971-72 when they won 33 consecutive games. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.
But perhaps his most endearing achievement was leading Sun Valley Poly High to the 1961 City championship when he played on a broken ankle in the final game against Manual Arts.
Forty-two years later, Poly will finally honor its most famous athlete by retiring Goodrich's number in ceremonies planned for Nov. 21 during an alumni basketball game.
Brad Katz, in his fourth season as Poly coach, didn't understand why there was no championship banner in the gym recognizing the 1961 team or any individual tribute to Goodrich. Several people had told him they thought Goodrich wasn't interested in a ceremony.
But Katz recently got in touch with Goodrich by phone at his home in Greenwich, Conn., and learned he'd be honored to return to the San Fernando Valley. Now the school has nine months to plan for a special night.
"It will bring back lots of memories," Goodrich said. "I've lost track where everyone is. Hopefully, we'll be able to have a reunion."
Goodrich, who turns 60 on April 23, was a 5-foot-11 left-handed guard with a remarkable shooting touch. In the City final, he scored 29 points, suffering the broken ankle in the third quarter.
Goodrich's coach at Poly, Nelson Burton, is 84 and living in a retirement home in Medford, Ore. He has been fighting congestive heart failure but still retains fond memories of his championship team.
"They had figured a way to get into the gym with a coat hanger, made their own light key and came in and practiced on weekends," he said.
Much has changed since Goodrich was a student growing up in North Hollywood. Poly has become a year-round school with a bulging 3,559 students, of which 91% are Latino.
Hardly anyone on campus today probably knows what Goodrich accomplished.
Do they realize that his Laker jersey hangs at Staples Center with those of Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain and James Worthy?
This fall, they'll have an opportunity to honor a man who played basketball at its absolute best.
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