Books for the Hoops Fan in Your Life

The Epicenter of Steel City Sports

From Forbes Field to Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood has been home to some of the most iconic moments in sports history. Including the Fitzgerald Field House and the Duquesne Gardens, Oakland has drawn in both professional and college sports fans alike.

Local authors and sports historians David Finoli, Tom Rooney, Robert Healy III, Douglas Cavanaugh and Chris Fletcher celebrate the glorious victories and heartbreaking losses throughout the history of Pittsburgh's Oakland section, the epicenter of Steel City Sports.

Lovingly nicknamed the Igloo, the Civic Arena was home to the Pittsburgh Penguins until 2010 and hosted some of the most important sports and entertainment events in Steel City history. During the glorious Mario Lemieux era, the venue hosted four Stanley Cup Finals, including three championship-winning seasons. Muhammad Ali KO'ed Charlie Powell in 1963 there. It was home to Duquesne Basketball in the arena's early days and has hosted some of the University of Pittsburgh's most important basketball games as well. Some of the biggest acts in music history have rocked the Igloo's seats, including Elvis, the Beatles and frequent favorite, Bruce Springsteen. Join local sports and media writers as they recall the greatest moments in Civic Arena's storied history.

In the "City of Brotherly Love," there are few things taken as seriously as local bragging rights. In a city that lives and dies with its sports heroes, basketball is no exception. This volume traces the lore and history behind Philadelphia's Big 5, an informal basketball league that features five of the area's most prestigious colleges: LaSalle University, Temple University, Saint Joseph's University, Villanova University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Formed in 1955, the Big 5 pulls teams from the Ivy League, the Big East, the American Athletic Conference, and, in the case of both LaSalle and Saint Joseph's, the Atlantic 10. With a round-robin format, each team plays the other once and best record takes home the trophy. In a sport that has become a nationwide sensation, the spirit of Philadelphia lives on, led by the most loyal and passionate fans in the world.

Amid a series of three destructive floods that pounded little Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in less than a century, Cambria County residents somehow maintained their lofty expectations and big-picture foresight to begin what would become the oldest Christmas high school basketball tournament in the nation, as they would boast. Learn the amazing history behind an historic hardwood tournament.

Seton Hall Basketball: The story of how a sport grew in popularity and led to major success for this New Jersey institution.

Seton Hall Pirates: A Basketball History explores the emerging popularity of hoop action within the context of school history and development of the game at large. The hard-court history found at Seton Hall University as the program nears its 100th year of competition is a story highlighted by a host of top-notch players, brilliant coaches and memorable victories. Seton Hall Pirates: A Basketball History reflects on a sport that celebrates athletic prowess, school spirit, and spectator appreciation as it relates to the dramatic and colorful drama that is Pirate basketball.

Basketball began at Seton Hall in 1903, and success with the round ball soon followed for the white and blue. From Alumni Hall to the Meadowlands Arena, the tradition is alive in the memory of winning seasons under Frank Hill along with immortal squads including the "Wonder Five" of John "Honey" Russell in 1941, the National Invitation Tournament champions of 1953 and the 1989 Final Four contingent led by P.J. Carlesimo, which came within one game of winning a national title. The talents of such legendary figures as Bob Davies, Walter Dukes, Richie Regan, Nick Werkman, Terry Dehere, and several other performers and personalities who represented "Old Setonia" through the ages are also captured within this volume.

Relive the Ups and Downs of the Storied Saga of the Nomadic Nets

The Nets have led a wandering existence spanning over five decades. The team has been known as the New Jersey Americans, New York Nets, New Jersey Nets and now Brooklyn Nets, while constantly relocating throughout the New York metropolitan area. Though often plagued by instability and futility, the franchise has celebrated iconic moments in the course of ABA and NBA history. Julius Erving's legendary play led the team to a pair of ABA titles in 1974 and 1976. The meteoric rise of European superstar Dražen Petrović followed by his tragic death in 1993 is etched into basketball fans' hearts worldwide. Jason Kidd's uncommon will steered New Jersey to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003. An enlightening phone call from NBA commissioner David Stern in 1997 paved the way for the team's move to Brooklyn in 2012.

Author Rick Laughland charts the brutal lows and exuberant highs throughout the history of the Nets.

Steel City Sports as a Catalyst for Change Though Pittsburgh athletics had many of the same barriers to equality and racial discrimination as the rest of the nation for far too long, the city has celebrated some of the most important moments in the integration of sports in the country. Pittsburgh was the only city with two Negro League teams, fielding such future Hall of Famers as Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston and Satchel Paige. Local high school basketball stars Chuck Cooper, Bill Nunn, Jr., Dick Ricketts, Maurice Stokes, and Jack Twyman held integrated pick-up games at local parks such as Mellon Park in Shadyside in the 1950s. In college football, Connellsville native Jimmy Joe Robinson became the first African American player on Pitt's football team in 1945 as the school continued to integrate its squad ahead of federal desegregation. The Association of Gentleman Pittsburgh Journalists present the compelling, heartbreaking and courageous history of how Pittsburgh's integration of sport helped lead the nation.

The University of Pittsburgh first fielded an intercollegiate basketball team in 1905, but an entire generation of fans has only heard or read about a small number of these colorful and outstanding players. An invitation to join the prestigious Big East Conference in 1982 opened the eyes of the nation to Panther basketball. Continuing a tradition of growth and excellence, the 2001-2002 Panthers again put University of Pittsburgh basketball on the map. Picked by the league coaches to finish sixth in the seven-team Big East Conference's West Division, Ben Howland directed the team to an overall record of 29-6, earning the Panthers the West Division regular-season championship. The Panthers then advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in twenty-eight years.

Panther Pride: University of Pittsburgh Men's Basketball is the pictorial history of Pittsburgh's basketball program, before and since the Big East Conference. Well before Dr. Roy Chipman, there was eccentric Doc Carlson. Long before All-American Charles Smith, there was Charley Hyatt. Twenty-eight years before Brandin Knight led his team to the Sweet Sixteen, Billy Knight led another remarkable Panther squad to the Elite Eight. From Motor Square Garden in East Liberty to the Pitt Stadium Pavilion and Fitzgerald Field House in Oakland, Pittsburgh basketball teams have provided their fans with exciting victories and heartbreaking defeats for close to a century.

Anyone who has spent time in Syracuse, New York, knows that basketball season is the most wonderful time of the year. And while the local popularity of the sport is known nationwide, the region also has a long and rich basketball history. Sports historian Mark Baker traces the evolution of Syracuse's hoops roots,"? beginning in the early days, when local, national and college basketball organizations were primitive institutions. It was during this time that one of the first teams to gain a national following was founded here by an Italian immigrant, Danny Biasone, and it was in Syracuse that the 24 second clock was invented. From the outset, Syracuse residents and fans were hooked, and this love of the game has endured, feeding the fanaticism that sustains the sport today."