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Loose Balls
''Loose Balls: The Short Wild Life of the American Basketball Association'' is a sports book originally published in 1990 by Simon & Schuster. The book, a history of the original American Basketball Association, was written by sportswriter Terry Pluto, although much of his writing is limited to introductions and summaries of each season. Most of the dialogue is from former players, league executives, and journalists, among others. The Cast Almost the entire book is told by former players, executives, and journalists, all of whom are listed at the beginning as the "Cast of Characters." Some of those interviewed include: * Rick Barry * Pat Boone * Hubie Brown * Larry Brown * Mack Calvin * Bob Costas * Mel Daniels * Julius Erving * Cotton Fitzsimmons * Dan Issel * Slick Leonard * Rudy Martzke * George Mikan * Doug Moe * Bob Ryan * Joe Tait * Lenny Wilkens * James "Fly" Williams In the book, the writing is set so that a topic is introduced by Pluto, and then one of the "cast me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dan Issel
Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An outstanding collegian at the University of Kentucky, Issel was twice named an All-American en route to a school-record 25.7 points per game for his career. The American Basketball Association Rookie of the Year in 1971, he was a six-time ABA All-Star and a one-time NBA All-Star. A prolific scorer, Issel remains the all-time leading scorer at the University of Kentucky, the second-leading scorer of all time for the NBA's Denver Nuggets, and the second-leading scorer of all time for the American Basketball Association itself. Upon Issel's retirement from the NBA in 1985, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Julius Erving were the only professional basketball players to have scored more career points. Issel was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. Early life Issel was born in Batavia, Illinois, son of Robert and Elanor Issel, and grew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ABA–NBA Merger
The ABA-NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered merger talks as early as 1970, but an antitrust suit filed by the head of the NBA players union, '' Robertson v. National Basketball Ass'n'', blocked the merger until 1976. The NBA agreed to accept four of the remaining six ABA teams: the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets, and San Antonio Spurs. The remaining two ABA teams, the Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits of St. Louis, folded, with their players entering a dispersal draft. Early attempts at merger From the very beginning, the ABA hoped to force a merger with the NBA, thus repeating the American Football League (AFL)'s successful effort to force a merger with the National Football League (NFL). According to ''The NBA Encyclopedia'', ABA officials told prospective ow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James "Fly" Williams
James "Fly" Williams (born February 18, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player, who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Spirits of St. Louis. A street basketball player from New York, he once scored 100 points in an IS8 League game in 1978. Early life Born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, Williams attended Madison High School, where he initially was interested in being a baseball pitcher, but was advised that he had become too tall to remain competitive in that sport. Although Williams’ initial transition to basketball was difficult, he eventually made adjustments that allowed him to excel in his new game. Williams’ accelerated achievements were fueled by his frequent participation in street basketball games. He played with some of New York's finest street players, including World B. Free and Earl "the Goat" Manigault. When the games eventually ended, Williams would go out in search of more opportunities to play basketball. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lenny Wilkens
Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, first in 1989 as a player, as a coach in 1998, and in 2010 as part of the 1992 United States Olympic "Dream Team," for which he was an assistant coach. In 1996, Wilkens was named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team, and in 2021 he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. In addition, in 2022 he was also named to the list of the 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History, being the only person to be in both NBA 75th season celebration list as player and coach. He is also a 2006 inductee into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Wilkens was a combined 13-time NBA All-Star as a player (nine times) and as a head coach (four times), was the 1993 NBA Coach of the Year, won the 1979 NBA championship as the head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics, and an Olympic gold me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Tait
Joseph Tait (May 15, 1937 – March 10, 2021) was an American sports broadcaster who was the play-by-play announcer on radio for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and both TV and radio for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball. With the exception of two seasons in the early 1980s and illness during his final season, he was the Cavaliers' radio announcer from the team's inception in 1970 through the 2010–11 season. He won the Basketball Hall of Fame 2010 Curt Gowdy Media Award.HoF Press Release Basketball Hall of Fame Source date May 11, 2010 Accessed October 18, 2015 Early life and education Tait was born in |
Bob Ryan
Robert P. Ryan (born February 21, 1946) is an American sportswriter, formerly with ''The Boston Globe'', and author. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru, and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston College, Ryan started as a sports intern for the ''Globe'' on the same day as Peter Gammons,SportsFanMag.coarticle and later worked with other notable ''Globe'' sportswriters Will McDonough and Leigh Montville. In early 2012, Ryan announced his retirement from sports writing after 44 years, effective at the conclusion of the 2012 Summer Olympics. His final column in the ''Globe'' was published August 12, 2012. Biography and career Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Ryan grew up in a house "that revolved around going to games," and went to high school at the Lawrenceville School from 1960 to 1964. He graduated from Boston College as a his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doug Moe
Douglas Edwin Moe (born September 21, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. As a head coach with the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 1988. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, Moe was a star player at the University of North Carolina where he was a two-time All-American. However, his collegiate career ended in controversy when he admitted to being associated with a point shaving scandal. Moe received $75 from fix conspirator Aaron Wagman to fly to a meeting in New Jersey, arranged by Moe's friend, conspirator Lou Brown, but Moe reportedly turned down an offer to throw games. There is no evidence that Moe was ever involved in a fix conspiracy, but his ties to the scandal blemished his reputation. He was selected in the NBA draft in 1960 by the Detroit Pistons and again in 1961 with the Chicago Packers, but began his pro career in Italy's Lega Basket Serie A with the Pallaca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Mikan
George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBL, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Invariably playing with thick, round spectacles, the , Mikan was one of the pioneers of professional basketball. Through his size and play he redefined it as a game dominated in his day by " big men". His prolific rebounding, shot blocking, and talent to shoot over smaller defenders with his ambidextrous hook shot — the result of the Mikan Drill — created with Ray Meyer, his coach at DePaul University (where Mikan was a three-time All-American), all helped change the game. He also utilized the underhanded free-throw shooting technique long before Rick Barry made it his signature shot. Mikan had an extremely successful playing career, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudy Martzke
Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch political scientist *Rudolf Rudi Assauer (1944–2019), German football manager and player *Rudolf Rudy Ballieux (1930–2020), Dutch immunologist *Rudi Carrell (1934–2006), Dutch television entertainer *Rudy Cerami (born 1988), American football player *Rudy D'Amico (born 1940), American National Basketball Association scout, and former college and professional basketball coach *Rudy Demotte (born 1963), Belgian politician *Rudi Dil, birth name of Ruud Gullit (born 1962), Dutch retired football manager and player *Rudi Dolezal (born 1958), Austrian film director and film producer *Rüdiger Rudi Dornbusch (1942–2002), German economist *Alfred Willi Rudolf Rudi Dutschke (1940–1979), the most prominent spokesperson of the 1960s German stu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slick Leonard
William Robert "Slick" Leonard (July 17, 1932April 13, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach and color commentator. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball, Indiana Hoosiers, where he was a two-time NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, All-American and a member of their List of NCAA Division I men's basketball champions, national championship squad in 1953. After playing professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Leonard coached the Indiana Pacers to three American Basketball Association (ABA) championships. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2014. Early life Leonard was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, on July 17, 1932. He attended Terre Haute North Vigo High School, Gerstmeyer High School. There, he played high school basketball as a , guard, and also excelled as a tennis player. He went on to play collegiate basketball at Indiana University Bloomington, where he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cotton Fitzsimmons
Lowell Gibbs "Cotton" Fitzsimmons (October 7, 1931 – July 24, 2004) was an American college and NBA basketball coach. A native of Bowling Green, Missouri, he attended and played basketball at Hannibal-LaGrange Junior College in Hannibal, Missouri and Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. He coached the Phoenix Suns three times, was named the NBA Coach of the Year twice, and is often credited as the architect of the Suns' success of the late 1980s and early to middle 1990s. Fitzsimmons won 1,089 games in his coaching career: 223 games at the junior college level, 34 at the Division I college level and 832 in the NBA. On May 16, 2021, it was announced that Fitzsimmons was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The Class of 2021 enshrinement ceremony occurred on September 11, 2021. Early life Born to Clancy and Zelda Fitzsimmons, Lowell Fitzsimmons was raised in Bowling Green, Missouri, where he attended Bowling Green High School. The family of six mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
