A Few of My Favorite Things
by Mike D.
If you have a sports fan on your holiday list this year and don't have the budget to bestow clubs seats, vintage throwback jerseys or private lap dances from Panther cheerleaders, you're probably contemplating books or DVDs. Or, perhaps, a case of Wiffleballs, which is what I got for Greg this year. Sorry to ruin the surprise, buddy. Since I read a lot more than I watch, I thought I might provide a list of my favorite sports books, both the handful I read this year and my all-time favorites. I wouldn't want you to end up giving a loved one any of those Rick Reilly retread column books. So, in no particular order and with full knowledge that there is a bit of a New England bias baked in, here is the list: Our Red Sox, Robert Sullivan
In the glut of books after the Red Sox championship, it was hard to separate the wheat from the chaff and Sullivan's book was unfairly buried. Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan's book received more press, but if you want a book that personally details the roller coaster ride of being a Sox fan, this is the one to buy. Witty, moving and well-written with the unique perspective that Sullivan is a Sox fan living in NYC.
Summer of '49
Sure the media has blown the Yanks/Sox rivalry to near nauseating heights, but rest assured it's been around awhile and was doing just fine in '49.
Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby
You know how most Americans don't get soccer despite what the rest of the world says? Have them read this book. If that doesn't do it, they are a lost cause. Hornby's memoir humorously chronicles his obsession with Arsenal and does a brilliant job of showing even non-football fans what all the fuss is about.
That's it. As a sports fan, I'd be happy to get any of the above titles. It's certainly not a complete list of my sports library, and I'm always looking for new stuff, so if you have recommendations or ideas, throw them in the comments or drop me a line.
The Education of a Coach, David Halberstam
I'm already on the record for this one, but suffice it say, while a solid book about football and the teams and players Belichick has come across during his career, this book goes deeper and looks at the development and ultimately the type of man it takes to lead and succeed in today's NFL. I've never come across a Halberstam book I've disliked. He's just that good. A few of his other sport's books worth a look:
October of '64
The World Series between the "white" Yankess and the "black" Cardinals was perhaps a tipping point in a turbulent decade.
The Teammates
A moving portrait of lasting friendship between Ted Williams, Dom DiMaggio, Bobby Doerr and Johnny Pesky as DiMaggio and Pesky make one last road trip to Florida to visit a dying Teddy Ballgame.
Juicing the Game, Howard Bryant
I plan to write a longer review on this one at some point. This book should have gotten more attention. What once looked like perfect publishing timing, published almost at the height of the steriod scandal, this book may have been overlooked in the wave of stories and eventual fatigue of anything steriod related. I know it took me awhile to pick it up. Perhaps burdened with a poor title, this book goes far beyond simply BALCO, greenies and the size of Bonds's head. It is a fascinating and thoroughly researched book on the late history of the game from the events leading up to the 1994 strike through the game's offensive "renaissance" and subsequent blind eye toward those causes. If perhaps Bryant bogs down in the chemical research at times, he more than makes up for it with passages on Selig, the owners, Brady Anderson, McGwire, Sosa, and a host of others. I'm convinced time will prove this out to a seminal work in the baseball canon.
Now I Can Die in Peace, Bill Simmons
Worth reading for the sidebar notes alone, Simmons pulls together his best Sox columns from his old site and his ESPN page. Personally, I liked the older columns best as remembering some of those crappy and dysfunctional mid-nineties teams was fun (Pat Rapp anyone?) as was looking at his predictions and opinions in hindsight.
Boys of Summer, Roger Khan
What if the Red Sox up and moved to Portland, OR? Roger Khan brilliantly looks back at the 1950's Dodgers, the tragedies and triumphs both for the team, the men that made up those teams and the city that loved them. A poetic, moving and ultimately bittersweet, classic. This should be required reading before you receive your Baseball Fan membership card.
Drive, Larry Bird
The one book that probably convinced me that my adolescent dreams of NBA stardom weren't going to happen. Bird's autobiography (with Bob Ryan) doesn't get too deep into #33's makeup, but it does show the obesssion, dedication and passion Bird brought to the game. A fun read filled with anecdotes and interesting stories from his playing career in the 80's.
The Natural, Bernard Malamud
The real story of Roy Hobbs. Don't get me wrong, I love the movie, but Malamud's book is a wider, more complex, and ultimately darker portrait of hubris, good, evil and redemption.
The Bill James Historical Abstract, Bill James
You know when LaRussa is making his sixth pitching change of the inning during a June snoozer with the Pirates? Have this book handy by the La-Z-boy. Flip it open to any page and dive in to James's unique views on teams, players and the game in general throughout its history. The Bill James brand has become so ubiquitous with stats, SABR, OBP and complex equations it's easy to forget that the man is a wonderfully clear and cogent writer, with a wicked sense of humor at times.
Shoeless Joe, WP Kinsella
Along with Friday Night Lights, Kinsella's novel is the one you most likely encountered during high school summer reading. If you didn't, pick it up. Left out of the movie are a few more memorable characters and a more in-depth look at relationships between fathers and sons and the generation gaps that can get in the way. Not as corny as it sounds, trust me, and reading the book makes the ending of the movie version a bit better.
Only the Ball Was White, Robert Peterson
Perhaps you know the name Josh Gibson. But do you really know how good he and his contemporaries were? You have to wonder what the history of baseball would look like if it were colorblind. Peterson introduces Gibson, Paige, Cool Papa Bell and others while looking back at the black game from the late 1800's through Jackie Robinson in 1947. A thorough and fascinating read about an era that is almost extinct.
King of the World, David Remnick
Remnick looks at the rise of a youthful Cassius Clay from Louisville to his defeat of Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship. More than just a look at Clay, Remnick uses his life as a prism to view the bigotry, stereotypes, history, state of the fight game (Floyd Patterson and Sonny Liston are also central characters) and the nation's perception as Clay transformed himself into Muhammed Ali.
Heaven Is a Playground, Rick Telander
As much a book about basketball as it is about a time and place. Telander writes about his summer of watching (and eventually "coaching") a group of young, talented kids from Bed-Sty in 1974. Like most of the books on the list, this one goes beyond mere sports and between the lines we find boys on the verge of being men, surrounded by crime, poverty and few options. It's readily apparent that basketball is way more than just a game to them.
Last Night of the Yankees Dynasty, Buster Olney
Of course they are still the Yankees, but Olney uses the 2001 World Series loss as a turning point of sorts for the franchise. The last hurrah of a collection of men that perfectly complemented each other and rose above their singular talents. For a Sox fan, it was an interesting look at the principals involved in causing me such heartache. I still may dislike them, but perhaps I respect them a bit more. Plus, there aren't too many books out there where the Yanks end up losing in the end.
The Bad Guys Won, Jeff Pearlman
Frankly, after reading this, I'm surprised no one died during the season. Pearlman's account of the '86 Mets is almost too over the top to be believed. He chronciles the high times, rollicking roadtrips and endless debauchery of the ultimately championship team. A writer for Newsday, Pearlman's style can get a bit tiring and you may feel you need a shower after putting it down, but it is a guilty, sordid pleasure akin to peeking at the tabliod headlines in the checkout line.