Ben Berger (1897 – 1988) was a

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

businessman, perhaps best known for being one of the original owners of the Detroit Gems National Basketball League team, which he helped move to Minneapolis and renamed the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

Biography

Berger was born in

Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (), often referred to as Ostrowiec, is a city in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland, with 66,258 residents (as of 2021). The town is one of historic centers of Polish industry and metallurgy, a ...

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

and moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at age 16 in 1913 at age 16 settling in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...

. He became a U.S. citizen while serving in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1921, he purchased his first movie house in

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

which evolved into a chain of 19 theaters. In 1944, he bought Schiek's Cafe, a popular local nightclub. In 1947, he along with

Morris Chalfen Morris Chalfen (June 3, 1907 – November 4, 1979) was an international impresario and sports entertainment executive. He founded the Holiday On Ice show, and later purchased and relocated a near-extinct National Basketball League (NBL) franchise ...

bought the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League. They relocated and renamed the team the Minneapolis Lakers. He co-owned the team until 1957. During those years the Lakers won 6 league titles (1 NBL and 5 BAA/NBA). They sold the team in 1957. In the late 1950s, Berger was the owner and president of the minor league hockey team, the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

. His wife was Mildred Berger. Mimi Ajzenstadt is the Mildred and Benjamin Berger Chair in Criminology at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

."Mimi Ajzenstadt, Professor,"
The Open University of Israel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Ben 1897 births 1988 deaths National Basketball League (United States) owners People from Minneapolis Los Angeles Lakers owners American people of Polish-Jewish descent Congress Poland emigrants to the United States