A few years after its invention by James Naismith, basketball became the primary sport in the crowded streets of the Jewish neighborhood on New York's Lower East Side. Participating in the new game was a quick and enjoyable way to become Americanized. Jews not only dominated the sport for the next fifty-plus years but were also instrumental in modernizing the game.
Barney Sedran was considered the best player in the country at the City College of New York from 1909 to 1911. In 1927 Abe Saperstein took over management of the Harlem Globetrotters, playing a key role in popularizing and integrating the game. Later he helped found the American Basketball Association and introduced the three-point shot. More recently, Nancy Lieberman played in a men's pro summer league and became the first woman to coach a men's pro team, and Larry Brown became the only coach to win both NCAA and the NBA championships.
While the influence of Jewish players, referees, coaches, and administrators has gradually diminished since the mid-1950s, the current basketball scene features numerous Jews in important positions.
Through interviews and lively anecdotes from franchise owners, coaches, players, and referees, The Chosen Game explores the contribution of Jews to the evolution of present-day pro basketball.
A few years after its invention by James Naismith, basketball became the primary sport in the crowded streets of the Jewish neighborhood on New York's Lower East Side. Participating in the new game was a quick and enjoyable way to become Americanized. Jews not only dominated the sport for the next fifty-plus years but were also instrumental in modernizing the game.
Barney Sedran was considered the best player in the country at the City College of New York from 1909 to 1911. In 1927 Abe Saperstein took over management of the Harlem Globetrotters, playing a key role in popularizing and integrating the game. Later he helped found the American Basketball Association and introduced the three-point shot. More recently, Nancy Lieberman played in a men's pro summer league and became the first woman to coach a men's pro team, and Larry Brown became the only coach to win both NCAA and the NBA championships.
While the influence of Jewish players, referees, coaches, and administrators has gradually diminished since the mid-1950s, the current basketball scene features numerous Jews in important positions.
Through interviews and lively anecdotes from franchise owners, coaches, players, and referees, The Chosen Game explores the contribution of Jews to the evolution of present-day pro basketball.
Preface: Promise in the Promised Land
1. In the Beginning
2. Busy Izzies Take Over
3. Beyond the Izzies
4. Enter Sir Nat
5. Gotty and the SPAHS
6. Taking over the Game
7. The Barnum of Basketball
8. About All-Americans, Blackbirds, the Olympic Games, and the
Rosenblums
9. The SPAHS, the Crown Jewels, and the ABL
10. The War Years
11. The Penguin and the Birth of the BAA
12. Too Many Jews on the Knicks
13. The Iron Man, Moe, and the Apprenticeship of Red
Auerbach
14. Gotty Wins Again and a Crooked Ref
15. The Fix and Close Shaves
16. The Scandals of ’51
17. Murray’s in the Mountains
18. If It’s Broken, Keep Fixing It
19. David Beats Goliath Again
20. Molinas Redux
21. The Jewish Olympics
22. Some More Blue-Chip Jewish Hoopers
23. The Coaches
24. NBA Owners and Bigwigs
25. Recent Notable Players
26. The Jewish Jordan
Appendix: Jews in the Naismith Hall of Fame
Sources
Charley Rosen is a writer whose work appears regularly on Fanragsports.com. He previously worked as an NBA analyst for FOXSports.com and is the author of twenty-one sports books, including Perfectly Awful: The Philadelphia 76ers’ Horrendous and Hilarious 1972–1973 Season (Nebraska, 2014) and Crazy Basketball: A Life In and Out of Bounds (Nebraska, 2011). He has coauthored two books with NBA coach Phil Jackson.
“Before basketball was the ‘city game,’ it was a ‘Jewish game.’ No one is better equipped than roundball aficionado and NBA-insider Charley Rosen to skillfully chronicle Jewish presence in the world of hoops, on and off the court.”—Jeffrey S. Gurock, author of Judaism’s Encounter with American Sports
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
