C. “King” Boring made his biggest impact on the sports world after he graduated from Salem High School in 1922.

After graduating from Northwestern University with a degree in business and accounting, Boring nearly hit big as an owner of a professional basketball team.

Boring, who was nicknamed King because he took on and beat the school bully growing up, purchased the Detroit Gems in an era when pro basketball did not have the appeal that it does today. The Gems were a barnstorming team that played in cities across the country.

The Gems struggled to make a go of it financially. The struggling franchise was finally sold to Max Winter for $10,000 in 1948.

The next day at the BAA draft, Boring’s former team drafted Hall of Famer George Mikan. Winter also announced he was moving the team to Minneapolis and changing the nickname to Lakers. One year later the Lakers joined the NBA where they have remained ever since. Winter eventually sold those same Lakers to Jack Kent Cooke for $5.2 million. Cooke then moved the Lakers to Los Angeles.

Basketball was not the only place Boring made an impact. He also made his presence known in baseball. Boring served a scout for both the St. Louis Browns and Detroit Tigers.

Boring also coached a Class A level team in Dearborn, Michigan. On four occasions his teams reached the Class A national finals. The last came in 1978.

Fifteen future major league players played for Boring. Perhaps the most famous was former Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres first baseman Steve Garvey.

Boring was elected to the Dearborn Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. The city’s softball complex is named after him.

Boring first got into sports while growing up in rural Salem. He played basketball, baseball and track in high school.

Boring recalled when he went out for the high school team as a freshman, competition was very stiff. He noted 93 boys were out for the team, but he overcame the odds and made the varsity.

Boring died in April, 1996.