Since there's been a recurring theme of "top five" sports ideas, I thought I'd add a literary touch. What are your top five sports books of all time? There are so many, but if I had to distill it to down, I'd submit mine as being as follows:
1. The City Game, by Peter Axthelm, this was a work initially designed to be about the NBA champion 1970 NY Knicks. The author could have adhered to a boilerplate tome, but he segued into comparing basketball at the highest level with playground legends around NYC. Axthelm was a brilliant writer who did a masterful job weaving in Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Earl "Goat" Manigault, and Herman "Helicopter" Knowings. IMO, it is clearly the best sports book ever.
2. A Fans Notes, by Frederick Exley, this is the only novel on my list, and it as a scintillating account of a troubled New York Giants fan's shambles of a life yet undying devotion to his favorite NFL team. I know there are a lot of Giants fans on this site. If they haven't read this book, they should.
3. Ball Four, by Jim Bouton, a groundbreaking account of life in major league baseball that forever dispelled the notion that players dedicated themselves to the day's game and went diligently home at night to read the sports section and sip a milkshake before turning in early. It seems totally tame compared the scandal-plagued accounts of the present, but it was a pioneer work in its day.
4. Shake Down the Thunder, by Murray Sperber, a tremendously detailed and entertaining account of the building of the myths and traditions of Notre Dame. Murray was granted access to a wealth of material in the Notre Dame library and he presented this information in poetic fashion. Particularly fascinating was his assessment of Rockne as a man far more complex and interesting than the beatified figure of the Pat O'Brien movie.
5. The Politics of Glory, by Bill James. Prompted by what he thought was Phil Rizzuto's undeserved inclusion in Cooperstown, James set out to review the credentials of a raft of players who teetered on either side of HOF enshrinement. For me, particularly enthralling, was his two-chapter assessment--one pro, the other con--about whether Don Drysdale deserved to be in. He actually had a third chapter giving his final verdict. so, if you haven't read the book already, I'll let you find the book and read the chapter to find out what his verdict was.
Anyway, that's my top five....so many honorable mentions, including--but certainly not limited to--Eight Men Out, by Eliot Asinof; The Breaks of the Game, by David Halberstam; Money Ball, by Michael Lewis; Fat City, by Leonard Gardner, The Great American Novel, by Philip Roth; Friday Night Lights, by Buzz Bissinger.
So what are your top five favorite sports books?
Thoughts?
1. The City Game, by Peter Axthelm, this was a work initially designed to be about the NBA champion 1970 NY Knicks. The author could have adhered to a boilerplate tome, but he segued into comparing basketball at the highest level with playground legends around NYC. Axthelm was a brilliant writer who did a masterful job weaving in Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Earl "Goat" Manigault, and Herman "Helicopter" Knowings. IMO, it is clearly the best sports book ever.
2. A Fans Notes, by Frederick Exley, this is the only novel on my list, and it as a scintillating account of a troubled New York Giants fan's shambles of a life yet undying devotion to his favorite NFL team. I know there are a lot of Giants fans on this site. If they haven't read this book, they should.
3. Ball Four, by Jim Bouton, a groundbreaking account of life in major league baseball that forever dispelled the notion that players dedicated themselves to the day's game and went diligently home at night to read the sports section and sip a milkshake before turning in early. It seems totally tame compared the scandal-plagued accounts of the present, but it was a pioneer work in its day.
4. Shake Down the Thunder, by Murray Sperber, a tremendously detailed and entertaining account of the building of the myths and traditions of Notre Dame. Murray was granted access to a wealth of material in the Notre Dame library and he presented this information in poetic fashion. Particularly fascinating was his assessment of Rockne as a man far more complex and interesting than the beatified figure of the Pat O'Brien movie.
5. The Politics of Glory, by Bill James. Prompted by what he thought was Phil Rizzuto's undeserved inclusion in Cooperstown, James set out to review the credentials of a raft of players who teetered on either side of HOF enshrinement. For me, particularly enthralling, was his two-chapter assessment--one pro, the other con--about whether Don Drysdale deserved to be in. He actually had a third chapter giving his final verdict. so, if you haven't read the book already, I'll let you find the book and read the chapter to find out what his verdict was.
Anyway, that's my top five....so many honorable mentions, including--but certainly not limited to--Eight Men Out, by Eliot Asinof; The Breaks of the Game, by David Halberstam; Money Ball, by Michael Lewis; Fat City, by Leonard Gardner, The Great American Novel, by Philip Roth; Friday Night Lights, by Buzz Bissinger.
So what are your top five favorite sports books?
Thoughts?
