Tall Tales and Short Shorts (eBook)

Dr. J, Pistol Pete, and the Birth of the Modern NBA

Adam J. Criblez (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2017
324 Seiten
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (Verlag)
978-1-4422-7768-7 (ISBN)

Infos

This book traces the evolution of the NBA in the 1970s, from the retirement of Bill Russell in 1969 to the arrival of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson ten years later. It features such iconic players as Dr. J and Pistol Pete and examines the controversies that plagued the league, including illicit drug use and on-court violence.

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In basketball, just as in American culture, the 1970s were imperfect. But it was a vitally important time in the development of the nation and of the National Basketball Association. During this decade Americans suffered through the war in Vietnam and Nixon's Watergate cover-up (not to mention disco music and leisure suits) while the NBA weathered the arrival of free agency and charges that its players were ';too black.' Despite this turmoil, or perhaps because of it, the NBA evolved into a cultural phenomenon.Tall Tales and Short Shorts: Dr. J, Pistol Pete, and the Birth of the Modern NBA traces the evolution of the NBA from the retirement of Bill Russell in 1969 to the arrival of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson ten years later. Sandwiched between the youthful league of the sixties and its mature successor in the eighties, this book reveals the awkward teenage years of the NBA in the seventies. It examines the many controversies that plagued the league during this time, including illicit drug use, on-court violence, and escalating player salaries. Yet even as attendance dwindled and networks relegated playoff games to tape-delayed, late-night broadcasts, fans still pulled on floppy gray socks like ';Pistol Pete' Maravich, emulated Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's sweeping skyhook, and grew out mushrooming afros la ';Dr. J' Julius Erving. The first book-length treatment of pro basketball in the 1970s, Tall Tales and Short Shorts brings to life the players, teams, and the league as a whole as they dealt with expansion, a merger with the ABA, and transitioning into a new era. Sport historians and basketball fans will enjoy this entertaining and enlightening survey of an often-overlooked time in the development of the NBA.

Autor

Adam J. Criblez is assistant professor of history at Southeast Missouri State University. His first book, Parading Patriotism: Independence Days in the Urban Midwest, 1826-1876 (2013) won several regional history awards.

Inhalt

AcknowledgmentsPregame: The 1969 FinalsChapter 1: 1969 to 1970Time-Out: The PistolChapter 2: 1970 to 1971Chapter 3: 1971 to 1972Chapter 4: 1972 to 1973Chapter 5: 1973 to 1974 Chapter 6: 1974 to 1975Time-Out: The DoctorChapter 7: 1975 to 1976Time-Out: The MergerChapter 8: 1976 to 1977Chapter 9: 1977 to 1978Chapter 10: 1978 to 1979Postgame: The EightiesNotesSelect BibliographyAbout the Author

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 9.6.2017
• Reihe/Serie: Sports Icons and Issues in Popular Culture
• Zusatzinfo: 21 Illustrations including: - 11 Halftones, Black & White including Black & White Photographs; - 10 Tables.
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sport ► Ballsport ► Basketball
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften
• Themenwelt: Weitere Fachgebiete ► Sportwissenschaft
• Schlagworte: 1970s • 1970s basketball • 1970s NBA • 70 • 70s • aba • american basketball association • Basketball • basketball history • basketball in the 1970s • basketball players • basketball teams • development of the NBA • Doctor J • druge use in the NBA • drug use in the NBA • evolution of basketball • evolution of the NBA • history of basketball • Julius Erving • modern basketball • modern basketball league • modern national basketball association • modern nba • National Basketball Association • NBA • Pete Maravich • Pistol Pete • professional basketball • professionall basketball • sports and pop culture • sports and popular culture • Sports History
• ISBN-10: 1-4422-7768-8 / 1442277688
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4422-7768-7 / 9781442277687