Nov. 21, 1968: Chick Hearn in a Forum luxury box.

The Times ran a long story by Bob Oates questioning whether Lakers
owner Jack Kent Cooke was planning to sell the Forum, the Lakers and
the Kings.

I remember the Forum as an exotic place, far from home after a long
jaunt down the 405, where the Lakers of Wilt, Jerry and Elgin played.
It was unlike anything I'd ever seen–a little bit of Vegas glitz to my
12-year-old eyes.

So Oates' description of the Forum caught my interest and stirred some memories:

"The lobbies are a bit small, the concession stands few, the
hallways narrow, it is said to be a costly building to operate and the
ice machine hasn't always worked. The negatives, however, are
overmatched by the Forum's plus factors–the touches of Cooke: the
colorful carpeting, the theater environment, the short-skirted
usherettes, the neat directional signs."

Cooke, of course, eventually did sell it all and the Lakers and Kings moved to Staples Center.

–Keith Thursby