Al Franken, West Coast sports promoter, dies at 96

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A longtime promoter of West Coast sports has died. Al Franken promoted track and field, golf and tennis on the West Coast. According to his son Don, Franken died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles of acute myeloid leukemia. Franken co-founded the Los Angeles Invitational track and field meet held at the old Sports Arena. It served as an elite-level stop on the circuit and endured for 44 years. Franken was the Los Angeles Lakers’ first public relations director when they moved West from Minnesota. Franken was 96.