WASHINGTON — Before becoming an NBA legend, Elgin Baylor was a star on the courts of D.C. as a student at Spingarn High School.
On the day his death was announced, fellow classmates and those who saw him play remembered back to the time when Baylor emerged as a special talent in the area.
Spingarn High School first opened in the early 1950s and soon became a basketball power, thanks to the skills of Baylor.
James Easter, who graduated from Spingarn in 1953, said any game with the future star was must-see at the time.
"It was thrilling. He was a difficult man to stop when he got the ball," Easter said. "He could go up and jump high like Michael Jordan. That ball went and you knew it was going in. He was a high scorer.”
With schools still segregated at the time, Easter told WUSA9 that Baylor became a local hero during a time when the community needed one.
"We all almost idolized him. He was very popular," Easter said. "People in this area really cared about him and liked him. It was somebody that was proud to be associated with.”
Baylor's skills on the court eventually got the attention of scouts.
Before being drafted by the then-Minneapolis Lakers, the small forward attended College of Idaho and Seattle University.
During the summers, Spingarn High School alum Ernest Dunston said he would often see Baylor at parks and playgrounds around D.C. playing pick-up games.
"He was always legendary back in D.C. Anybody who thought they could play basketball, they all admired him for his skills," Dunston said. "When Elgin was at a playground, everybody showed up.”
Dunston told WUSA9 that he even played against Baylor a few times during those summer games, which often brought big crowds and competitive atmospheres.
"We always played first to 30. Win by two. Loser sits down," Dunston said. "He would choose a team. Regardless of who he chose on his team, we had a hard time beating his team.”
Dunston described Baylor as a person easy to get along with who took any game on the court seriously.
Dunston said he later followed Baylor's career, which included making the All-NBA team 10 times before being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
On Monday, Baylor passed away at the age of 86.
Decades after first seeing him play in the area, both Dunston and Easter said the basketball star would leave behind a lasting legacy following his spectacular run on the courts.
"I think Elgin was very under-appreciated," Dunston said. "He was soft-spoken. He was very dedicated to his teams and his teammates.”
"He was like a school hero. Everybody that I knew liked him," Easter added. "It helped as a race to be more out in the public and respected.”