What do Wilt Chamberlain, Adolph Rupp, the fictional character Chip Hilton, the CCNY Beavers, the future director of Monday Night Football and a coach who won the national championship and ended his career driving a school bus have in common? The answer is they were all part of the wonderful tapestry of college basketball in the 1950s. Set against a backdrop of the Korean War, McCarthyism, hoola-hoops and Elvis Presley, Hoop Crazy is the inspiring story of how college basketball overcame the disastrous gambling scandals of 1951 and emerged a decade later as a major component of the American sports scene.
Hoop Crazy: College Basketball in the 1950s (eBook Only)
What do Wilt Chamberlain, Adolph Rupp, the fictional character Chip Hilton, the CCNY Beavers, the future director of Monday Night Football and a coach who won the national championship and ended his career driving a school bus have in common? The answer is they were all part of the wonderful tapestry of college basketball in the 1950s. Set against a backdrop of the Korean War, McCarthyism, hoola-hoops and Elvis Presley, Hoop Crazy is the inspiring story of how college basketball overcame the disastrous gambling scandals of 1951 and emerged a decade later as a major component of the American sports scene.
Think Banned Thoughts –
I’m going to open with – I’m not a sports person, but I had the opportunity to read an early version of this book and it hooked me.
Gran –
The 1950’s happened a long time ago, but this book makes the decade seem like it happened only yesterday. The author shows how college basketball almost died out because of some serious gambling scandals in the early fifties and then rebounded because of some great players, some terrific NCAA tournaments and the inclusion of African-American players toward the end of the decade. When another gambling scandal hit in the early sixties, college basketball had become too big to fail. I really like how the author includes follow up information about a lot of the star players of the fifties and shows what happened to them when their playing days were over. This is a different kind of sports book, but a good one.
Judy M. Bullwinkle –
Although I am not a basketball fan, I was married to one and had three boys who loved the sport. I learned most of my bball history through them. This is a wonderful book as it sets the narrative within the cultural history of the US. As I only came to the “round ball” arena in the 1970’s, I had no idea of the scandals of the 1950’s. I loved reading about the pro players I remember from “olden days.” I am a reader who still loves paper books, but this story was definitely worth reading on my Nook (did wish it was in paper though).
BookLover –
I really enjoyed this book. It’s full of good stories from college basketball way back in the 1950s. I’d recommend it to anybody who likes college basketball. Nice job.
W. Mitchell –
The book is compelling and mostly well written, as the author brings to life the pioneers and early stars of college basketball, also tying in cultural influences. Where it falls off is the lack of editing, as there are numerous spelling and basic punctuation errors.