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Robert Bradley
Emeritus
Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 329
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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 Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 3:25 pm Post subject: Favorite Sports Books |
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anyone else care to list their favorite sports books? here are mine -
Basketball
Tall Tales
24 Seconds to Shoot
The Breaks of the Game
Baseball
Lords of the Realm
Koppett's Concise History of Major League Baseball
The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract
Football
America's Game
When the Grass Was Real
Going Long
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Author of THE COMPENDIUM OF PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL vol. II
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mtamada
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 285
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| Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:48 am Post subject: |
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As with my choice of the Top 3 NBA centers in history, my choice of the Top 3 basketball books ever has not changed in years:
Second Wind
Loose Balls
Heaven is a Playground
in that order.
I'm not sure if I've ever read a football book. I have read a few baseball books (not counting the Bill James Baseball Abstracts); I'd have to say that my favorite is a novel: Robert Coover's "The Universal Baseball Association". |
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Bob Kuska
Joined: 18 Apr 2007
Posts: 25
Location: Shepherdstown, WV
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| Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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I know Robert wrote "favorite" books. But here are some really seminal/important books that often get overlooked:
The City Game - Pete Axthelm was the first to shine a bright light on playground basketball and legends. Out of this book came the playground genre and all of the mass-marketed hip-hop stuff to follow.
Foul - David Wolff laid out the sociology of the black, inner-city game for the first time in telling the story of Connie Hawkins and the injustices that he faced. The reads a little cliched today, but it was an important contribution in the 1970s.
Stand Up for Something - The Spencer Haywood story needs to be a little more front and center in pro basketball history. Thus, this choice. Writer Bill Libby developed a unique structure in his books, including this one, in which he provides the perspectives of various people involved in the young Haywood's tangled saga. For basketball historians, nothing could be better. If Bill Libby were alive today, I'd send him emails regularly to thank him for providing such great material for the ages. |
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Robert Bradley
Emeritus
Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 329
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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| Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 7:30 pm Post subject: |
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Bob - I remember reading 'Foul" for the first time when I was a kid. It was a real eye-opener. Who'da thunk that a sports league could be so draconian in handing out 'justice' to a supposed fixer?
Another basketball book that I read in the 70s as a kid was 'Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door'
But I have to admit that my favorite basketball book was always 'The Official NBA Guide'. I sure miss getting a print copy every year.
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Author of THE COMPENDIUM OF PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL vol. II
http://www.xalerpress.com
Last edited by Robert Bradley on Fri Aug 06, 2010 4:13 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Robert Bradley
Emeritus
Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 329
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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| Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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Mike - I think 'Loose Balls' is the most entertaining basketball book I've read. I was a little disappointed by 'Tall Tales', but I still find it pretty enjoyable, just not quite as good.
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http://www.xalerpress.com |
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rlee
President
Joined: 09 Apr 2007
Posts: 3067
Location: sacramento
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