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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
The best sports book ever written?, April 17, 2004
If you remember the ABA, and loved the red, white and blue ball, the original 3-point line, and what it all brought to the game of basketball, then consider this required reading.I cannot remember when I have laughed so hard while reading a documentary. The depictions of the players, and the unusual antics the owners tried to get people to come watch is simply too funny to describe here. Whether it was making a big deal out of $100,000 contracts (really just "very" long annuities) or getting the whole crowd to move to one side of the arena (the side shown on TV) the league went to new lengths to promote the product. Cow milking at halftime? Whatever the means, there is no doubt that the ABA changed the game forever. The first slam dunk contest, the 3-point line, and the creativity of the play itself were brand new. While the league may have been a circus act compared to the classic NBA who had the Laker's, Celtic's, Wilt, Russell, West, Oscar and others, make no mistake that some of the best to ever play came not out of the NBA but the ABA. Connie Hawkins was MJ long before MJ himself followed in the footsteps of another ABA great; Dr. J. The ABA started the early college exodus with the legal decision "hardship" rule applied to the great Spencer Haywood. If you think Rasheed Wallace with his 28 technicals a season is a strange act to follow, he pales in comparison with some of the bruisers in the "other" league. One story about a player/coach, who had benched himself for fighting, ends with the coach putting himself in as a player and decking someone not 30 seconds into the game! Who can forget the famous Marvin Barnes? Here was a guy so talented he could arrive at the game 5 minutes before tip-off wearing nothing but his uniform and a full length mink coat and carrying a sack full of take out hamburgers. His coach is so mad he benches him for the start of first quarter. Marvin gets in the game, yet manages to pay his charter pilot from his checkbook during a time-out! Final stat line for the game for the late arriving Barnes: 49 points and 19 rebounds. If the stories and no-way-you-can-make-this-up depictions are not enough, then how about a chapter written by Bob Costas on his first assignment - the announcer for the ABA's "Spirit's of St. Louis". The chapter about the wild antics and totally undisciplined plays, including some of the classic on-air gaffes that Costas makes, will leave you laughing until your sides hurt. Who can forget "Fly" Williams? A street player so out of control he tried a 360 dunk on a fast break all by himself and ended up so spun around he threw the ball over the backboard. It was a close game at that! If you are at all a fan of basketball, you have to read this book. 10 stars!!
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent "oral history" about the late, great ABA, February 27, 2004
Like many others who grew up in the late 60s/early 70s, I wondered about what was really going on behind the scenes of this "upstart league" that wound up ultimately changing the way pro basketball is played (and not just the 3 pointer either!). Pluto took a great approach with this book, letting the former players, coaches and execs tell their own stories of what really happened. From the league's start to its ultimate merger with the "enemy," (ie the NBA) it also showcases the successful (Indiana, Denver, Kentucky, San Antonio, NY Nets) and the "flameouts" (Spirits of St Louis, LA/Utah Stars and esp the ill-fated Baltimore Claws and San Diego Sails). It talks about the bidding wars for players, the personalities from each team, and what ultimately led to the merger with the NBA. This book contains a wealth of humorous and virtually unbeleivable stories about the ABA. What little I did see on TV of the ABA I always enjoyed and finally sitting down to read this book brought back some memories. There is a "new ABA" now called "ABA 2000," but it's strictly a developmental league. While at times the ABA could be "rinky dink," it was never a "minor league" for the NBA. If you want to know what the ABA was really like in its heyday, get this book. It's a keeper!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Fun Light Reading, March 2, 2000
I remember reading this book many years ago. Then I came accross a Mr. Maxx review that I actually agreed with and figured why not put in my two cents. The story of the wild days of ABA is told in a very witty easy to read manner that will have any reader comming back for more. Even though the ABA was around for a short time, it had a strong impact on today's NBA. Many players, coaches, and announcers contributed to this book which makes it a worthy read for any sports fan.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
A Funny Look at the ABA, October 19, 2004
Terry Pluto's book is a very funny look at the American Basketball Association. He interviewed several people who were involved with the league and told the story of the league through their stories.
The ABA had some great players and introduced the three-point shot and slam dunk contest, which later became popular in the NBA, but the league was not run well and didn't have enough money invested in it to be a real success. They did manage to hold on long enough to force a merger with the NBA.
This was a league where a game was postponed once when two different airlines lost the luggage of the two teams that were supposed to play, leaving neither team with uniforms for the game. One team gave away something like 500 free tickets to a playoff game and had a crowd of about 520.
The league had its share of characters, and this is a great place to read all about them. It's also the place where Dr. J, George Gervin and some other great players got their start, and you can read about that here too.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
The Original Dr. Dunkensteins, November 18, 2006
Before 24-hour sports coverage on cable TV and back in the day when a basketball fan was lucky to get one nationally-televised NBA game per week, there was an upstart league with a flashy basketball, flashier players and paychecks that oftentimes bounced higher than the ball.
Terry Pluto, a long-time sports columnist for the Akron Beacon-Journal, captures the crazy times and legendary personalities on the court and in the front offices in this oral history of the American Basketball Association.
It was a league that hit the NBA where it was most vulnerable; signing players to contracts that were unheard of at the time. For example, Mel Daniels - a number one draft pick in both leagues - opted to play in the ABA and became one of the all-time greats. There were renegades like Rick Barry and the sky-walking dunks of "Dr. J," Julius Erving, arguably the greatest player of his era.
The league went straight to the heart of the NBA for its first commissioner, hiring George Mikan as a means to gain credibility in the eyes of the stodgy national sports media. Larry Brown and Doug Moe were ABA players before becoming pro coaches. And - if nothing else - who could beat franchise names like the New Orleans Buccaneers, Minnesota Muskies, the Spirits of St. Louis and the San Diego Conquistadors (with Wilt Chamberlain as player/coach)?
Though the final few years of operation - with a merger inevitable and the league consolidating its shrinking resources - became an abrupt climax to the ABA, the teams and players that made the jump to the NBA made for a dramatic leap in the quality of the game & it can be argued set the pace for the style and grace of Magic, Michael, Dominique and LeBron.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Lively oral history, March 16, 2003
Sports Ilustrated recently selected its Top 100 Sports Books of All Time. 'Loose Balls,' Terry Pluto's history of the ABA, was listed in an eye-opening 13th place. That intrigued me. Well, the book is as good as advertised. Pluto's master stroke is in his recognition that he was never going to be able to tell the ABA stories better that the people who participated first hand. So Pluto simply collected the stories, arranged them, made some brief editorial remarks here and there, and really lets the guys tell the story themselves. It's the perfect approach, because the ABA is all about the you-had-to-be-there stories. There are many highlights, but two that stand out are the recounting of the many wild stories of Marvin Barnes with The Spirits of St. Louis (made more notable by the fact that Bob Costas was the Spirits 22-year-old rookie announcer & is an excellent source of ABA lore - in fact, he gets the book's last word), and the stories recounting the discovery of Julius Erving. Like stumbling on to El Dorado. I mean, it's spine-tingling, these guys telling you what it was like when they first saw Dr. J play. I really urge you to buy this book.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
If you missed the 60's & 70's it's a must read, July 10, 2000
As a kid in junior high school, high school and freshman year of college, I got to follow closely the Denver Rockets/Nuggets of the old ABA. I have many fond memories of the cast of characters written in this book. When I was in high school, my high school coach frequently ridiculed the ABA when it came up in discussions or we had a chance to go see a game. To show what little my coach knew, he thought Dr. J was "weak" and would never survive if he played in the NBA. It goes to show how much he knew (Dee, if you ever read this, you know it's true)! But we all had the "hair" wore the high tube socks and played with the Adidas shoes (the official shoe of the ABA, by the way). Pluto takes the time to write the story from each interviewed persons' point of view. He then coupled it with an assortment of great pictures (Get a load of Snapper Jones' before-and-after picture). I came to know some of the people associated with the Denver franchise, and when you read the words of the interview, I can hear those people (Larry Brown, Carl Scheer, Dan Issel, Doug Moe), as if they were right before me. It is a fun and nostalgic read. It bought back many great memories. If you were not around in the 60's or 70's when the ABA was around, you must read this book. After the ABA-NBA merger, and we watched those old ABA teams compete, you knew the ABA was just as good as the NBA. Pick up the book! I'd give it six red-white-and-blue stars if they'd let me.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Fantastic account of a by-gone era..., May 10, 2001
I was probably the number one George Gervin fan in my younger days, but knew very little about his start in the ABA until I read this book. You won't find a more comprehensive account of that fun league and this book, with all it's character interviews and anecdotal accounts, is highly entertaining to boot. The previous reviewer is right...it's written in sections so that you can read it over time, but I had trouble putting it down and I suspect that you will too.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
basketball historian's dream, July 16, 2003
Great version of the renegade leagues story. Fascinating for anyone who loves pro basketball history, especially anyone who lived during the late sixties and early seventies.
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