Ben Berger

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Ben Berger (1897-1988) was a Minneapolis businessman. He was born in Ostrowiec, Poland and moved to the United States at age 16. He owned movie theaters and cafes in Minneapolis. In 1947, he along with Morris Chalfen bought the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League. They relocated and renamed the team to Minneapolis Lakers. He co owned the team until 1957, during thoses years the Lakers won 6 league titles (1 NBL and 5 BAA/NBA). After he and Chalfen sold the team in 1957 to a group headed by Bob Short, Berger founded a group that worked with recently release convicts helping them readjust to society.