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SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The mystery remains unsolved - at least, for Frank Selvy.
The man best known for scoring 100 points in a college basketball game and his friend, known to generations of NBA fans as "Mr. Clutch," got together Monday for lunch and then their inductions into Southern Conference Hall of Fame as members of the inaugural class. And sooner or later, the question of “The Logo” was bound to come up.
Selvy, 76, who played for a string of NBA teams in the 1950s and 1960s, finishing with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1964, always has thought it a possibility that he was the model for the NBA’s well-known silhouette logo. Meanwhile, the rest of the world knows — KNOWS — that Jerry West, Selvy’s former teammate, is that guy.
Both men can point to old publicity photos of themselves, striking poses that resemble the iconic logo. “I don’t think anyone really knows,” Selvy said.
West, 71 and living in L.A. after retiring from his most recent job as general manager of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, wasn’t about to make it an issue.
“(Former NBA commissioner) Walter Kennedy told me” it was West’s silhouette, he said. “But I don’t talk about it. It’s a great piece of trivia. For my part, it’s a mystery.”
The two old teammates didn’t dwell on the topic, anyway, preferring to remember their glory days. And how their lives, with so many common experiences — both grew up in coal-mining country (West in Cabin Creek, W.Va., Selvy in Corbin, Ky.); both were selected to multiple-year All-American teams at West Virginia and Furman, respectively — came together with those Lakers teams.
“I knew he was a great player,” Selvy said when West arrived in L.A. in 1960, shortly after the Lakers had moved from Minneapolis. “He had played for the national championship” with the Mountaineers in 1959, losing to California.
“(West) was a nice guy, a gentleman. Everyone loved him.”
West, meanwhile, knew what most knew about Selvy: how he hit the century mark, still a Division I college basketball record, on a winter night in Greenville against Newberry College.
“I was in the eighth grade, and I read about it in the newspaper,” West said. When he arrived in Los Angeles, “(Selvy) was quiet, encouraging and supportive. He was a great teammate.”
If Selvy’s pinnacle had come at Furman, West’s would happen during a superstar NBA career. In 14 seasons, he scored 25,192 points (27.0 average) and helped the Lakers become a decade’s bridesmaids to the Boston Celtics, before breaking through to win the 1972 NBA title.
“That was an amazing world to me,” West said. “I had never thought I would play in the NBA.”
Both men marvel at what their old league has become. In their heyday, Selvy and West both had to work in their offseasons, holding jobs with Great Western Savings & Loan to make ends meet.
“To us, (the NBA) was a job,” West said. “I made a little more than $1 million in 14 years. Now, players make that in a week.”
Selvy chuckled. “When I signed (in 1954) for $10,000,” he said, “they said I was the highest-paid rookie in the league.”
A half-century later, they were happy to share the spotlight together one more time, two of 10 inductees honored at the Chapman Cultural Center for accomplishments that now seem distant memories.
“I thought they’d have done this before now,” Selvy said. “It’s pretty late; I’m glad I’m still alive.”
West laughed. “At least they did it before we died,” he said. “It’s nice to be recognized any time.
“I have incredibly fond memories of (the Southern Conference). That time started a journey I never had dreamed possible.”
