Basketball great Jerry West has sold his home at The Greenbrier Sporting Club to Jay Justice, son of the West Virginia governor, local records show.
The property sold for $2.75 million, according to documents on file with the Greenbrier County clerk. The home previously owned by Jerry and Karen West is in the Traveller’s Hill neighborhood of the planned community. The filing occurred July 13.
This is the second home previously owned by a big-name sports figure to be purchased by Jay Justice. In spring 2020, Jay Justice bought a home from professional golfer Bubba Watson for $2.5 million.
The deed in the West-to-Justice transaction indicates the lender is First Guaranty Bank of Hammond, La.
The Louisiana Bankers Association lists Marshall T. Reynolds as chairman of First Guaranty. Reynolds is a longtime and high-profile donor to Marshall University athletics. Reynolds served as one of Jim Justice’s transition team members after he was elected governor in 2016.
The deed indicates the debt on the Sporting Club home is to be paid by August 13, 2022 — one year.
Jerry West is a West Virginia native and basketball legend who has long been associated with The Greenbrier Resort. Jerry West was among the dignitaries who helped the Justices break ground for a new casino in 2009, shortly after their purchase of the resort.
The steakhouse Prime 44 West at The Greenbrier honors his name and number. It includes a 25,000-point basketball, a bronzed sneaker, a gold medal from the 1960 Olympics and jerseys from West’s storied basketball history with West Virginia University and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Some of the menu items at the steakhouse such as the Jerry West 44 Ounce Porterhouse and Karen’s Italian Ice Cream Cake are named for West and his wife. The steakhouse was named one of the South’s best restaurants in 2019 by Southern Living.
In 2014, Jerry and Karen West recorded a video for The Greenbrier Sporting Club, describing their love of the area.
“About a year after we were married we continued to come back every summer, spending probably a month each summer with our entire family — 20 to 25 of us. That’s what brought us to the Sporting Club,” Karen West reminisced. “It was our favorite vacation spot, and we participated in all the activities of the hotel. We fished, golfed, played tennis, hiked, everything you imagined you can do here.”
Jerry West described his admiration for the home’s classic, cozy appeal. “If you look around, you can see the incredible finishing work done on this house,” he said in the 2014 video. “The stone work. As I mentioned, I sort of like homes that are rustic looking with the fireplaces, the beautiful stone on the outside of the house.”
The home’s buyer, Jay Justice, is the son of Gov. Jim Justice and now runs the Justice family’s coal holdings.