Research Catalog

Title

The first tip-off : the incredible story of the birth of the NBA / Charley Rosen.

Author

Rosen, Charles

Publication

• New York : McGraw-Hill, [2009]
• ©2009

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xii, 244 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits; 24 cm

Summary

• "Go back to a time when basketball players wore knee pads and itchy cotton jerseys. When even the team's leaders were grateful for dry towels, hot showers, and $60 paychecks. When winning was all that mattered. In this vividly rendered and meticulously researched book, endorsed with a Foreword by Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, sportswriter Charley Rosen takes you on a rollicking tour of the NBA's first season. Filled with rare archival photographs and exclusive interviews, The First Tip-Off brings to life a cast of unforgettable characters--including Chuck Connors, clown prince of the BAA, and Jumping Joe Fulks, ex-Marine turned basketball's first superstar--as Rosen deftly unfolds the dramatic events of that formative season. It's enough to make you believe once again in the spirit of the sport." -- Publisher's description
• Foreword / by Phil Jackson -- Preface -- 1. The first basket and the first basketeer -- 2. The first game -- 3. Genesis -- 4. The penguin, the mogul and the constitution -- 5. The Boston Celtics and the clown-prince of the BAA -- 6. The Providence Steamrollers hit a road block -- 7. Paul Birch fires up the Pittsburgh Ironmen -- 8. Of money, time, and justice -- 9. There's no "D" in Chicago Stags -- 10. Big Ed drives the Toronto Huskies to ruin -- 11. The evolution and extinction of the Cleveland Rebels -- 12. The professor and the St. Louis Bombers -- 13. The short flight of the Detroit Falcons -- 14. The ethnic Knicks -- 15. Gotty, Jumping Joe, and the Philadelphia Warriors -- 16. The Washington Capitols and the apprenticeship of Red Auerbach -- 17. The playoffs -- 18. The first champions -- 19. Barely alive -- Sources -- Index.

Subjects

• Basketball
• History
• National Basketball Association
• National Basketball Association History
• United States
• Basketball > United States > History

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 237) and index.

Contents

The first basket and the first basketeer -- The first game -- Genesis -- The penguin, the mogul and the Constitution -- The Boston Celtics and the clown-prince of the BAA -- The Providence Steamrollers hit a roadblock -- Paul Birch fires up the Pittsburgh Ironmen -- Of money, time, and justice -- There's no "D" in Chicago Stags -- Big Ed drives the Toronto Huskies to ruin -- The evolution and extinction of the Cleveland Rebels -- The professor and the St. Louis Bombers -- The short flight of the Detroit Falcons -- The ethnic Knicks -- Gotty, Jumping Joe, and the Philadelphia Warriors -- The Washington Capitols and the apprenticeship of Red Auerbach -- The playoffs -- The first champions -- Barely alive.

ISBN

• 9780071487856
• 0071487859

LCCN

2008005360

OCLC

• ocn192048085
• 192048085
• SCSB-1491068

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library