Jerry Krause

Jerome Richard Krause (April 6, 1939 – March 21, 2017) was an American sports scout and executive who was the general manager of the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1985 to 2003.

His tenure with the Bulls included their six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998, led by superstar players Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Krause received the NBA Executive of the Year Award in 1988 and 1996. He was posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. His career in sports included positions as a scout or general manager for the Baltimore Bullets, Chicago White Sox, and the Chicago Bulls.

Early life

Krause was born in 1939 to a Jewish family and grew up in Chicago. His parents operated a deli and then a shoe store. Krause played high school baseball as a catcher at Taft High School in Chicago and attended Bradley University.

Krause began evaluating basketball and baseball talent as a high school student. He worked as a copy boy in the sports department of the Chicago American during his teenage years. Krause was obsessed with sports and was nicknamed "J. G. Taylor Krause" after J. G. Taylor Spink, the editor of The Sporting News. He had wanted to become a sportswriter when he was young but realised he was "just a hack" at writing and instead possessed a talent for scouting. Krause turned down a staff position at the Chicago American so he could become a scout.

Early career

After college, Krause worked as a go-fer for Philip K. Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs. He then worked as a scout and in public relations for the Baltimore Bullets. Early on, Krause gained a reputation of being able to spot talent. He advocated for the Bullets to draft Jerry Sloan and Earl Monroe.