The biographical history of basketball : more than 500 portraits of the most significant on-and off-court personalities of the game's past and present /
Peter C. Bjarkman.
- Lincolnwood, Ill. : Masters Press,
- xviii, 590 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 569-572) and index.
Introduction: America's One-on-One Game -- March Toward Madness: College Basketball's First Century -- Hardwood to Hang Time: Concise History of Professional Basketball's First Half-Century -- Basketball's Dozen-Plus Most Significant Players -- Basketball's Dozen-Plus Most Significant Nonplayers -- Peach Baskets to Jump Shots: Basketball's First-Half Century (1891-1954) -- Jumpers to Slammers: Birth of the Modern Game (1955-80) -- Biggest Show in Town: "Hoopla" as America's New National Pastime (1981-98) -- Epilogue: The Greatest Player in History -- Basketball Time Line. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
"The Biographical History of Basketball gives readers a much-needed antidote to basketball's historical amnesia. Author Peter C. Bjarkman presents entertaining and fact-filled career summaries of the sport's great players, its groundbreaking coaches and administrators, and its other often-forgotten and less-publicized figures who authored developments crucial to basketball's century-long evolution." "While baseball buffs can cite chapter and verse for the diamond sport's most memorable events and personages, basketball fans often have little collective memory of the game's past milestones and heroes, especially those from nine decades preceding Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson." "Detailing the feats of the men and women who are responsible for elevating basketball to its current status as the new American national pastime, Bjarkman gives readers a glimpse into the lives of some of the game's prominent players - past and present - including pioneers James Naismith, Phog Allen, and Doc Meanwell; on-court innovators Hank Luisetti, George Mikan, and Bob Cousy; legendary Hall of Famers Oscar Robinson, Wilt Chamberlain, and Red Auerbach; and modern-era idols Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Grant Hill."--Jacket.