Dick Klein (basketball)

Dick Öland Klein (September 16, 1920 – October 10, 2000) was an American athlete and businessman who founded the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls in 1966. He served as the team's first general manager and later worked as a scout for the Phoenix Suns.

Hailing from Iowa, Klein played basketball at Northwestern University. He then competed for the United States Navy's Great Lakes Blue Jackets, who traveled throughout the United States raising money for the Navy Relief Society.

From 1945 to 1946, Klein played professionally for the National Basketball League's Chicago American Gears. He also dabbled in minor league baseball, spending one summer as a pitcher in the Cleveland Indians' farm system. Once his playing days were over, he moved to the Chicago suburbs and embarked on a highly successful career distributing promotional items to banks and other companies.

The late 1940s through early 1960s were a low point for professional basketball in Chicago. The American Gears suddenly folded in 1947 due to poor financial decisions by owner Maurice White. Three years later, the Chicago Stags of the early National Basketball Association disbanded due to lack of fan interest. The NBA returned to Chicago with the Chicago Packers in 1961, but their poor first season record (18-62) turned off many fans, and the team was sold to a group of Maryland investors in 1962.

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