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Author:

Runstedtler, Theresa, author.

Title:

Black ball : Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the generation that saved the soul of the NBA / Theresa Runstedtler.

Edition:

First edition.

Publisher:

Bold Type Books,

Copyright Date:

2023

Description:

pages cm

Subject:

National Basketball Association--History--20th century.
African American basketball players--History--20th century.
Basketball--History--United States--History--20th century.
Discrimination in sports--United States--History--20th century.
Race relations--United States--History--20th century.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents:

Part 1: battling monopoly -- Exile: Connie Hawkins's long journey to the NBA -- Hardship: Spencer Haywood vs. the white basketball establishment -- Bondage: overthrowing the option clause -- Part 2: the black tide -- Troubled: Black Players flood the league -- Professional: Simon Gourdine and the NBA's white ceiling -- Part 3: backlash -- Criminal: Kermit Washington's infamous punch -- Undisciplined: The NBA's "cocaine crisis" -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgments

Summary:

"Against the backdrop of ongoing massive resistance to racial desegregation and increasingly strident calls for Black Power, the NBA in the 1970s embodied the nation's imagined descent into disorder. The press and the public blamed young Black players forthe chaos in the NBA, citing drugs, violence, greed, and criminality. The supposed decline of pro basketball became a metaphor for the first decades of integration in America: the rules of the game had changed, allowing more Black people onto a formerlywhite playing field, and now they were ruining everything. But Black Ball argues that this much-maligned period was pivotal to the rise of the NBA as the star-laden powerhouse we know today, thanks largely to the efforts of Black players in challenging the white basketball establishment of owners, coaches, and spectators. Spotlighting legendary players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bernard King, and Connie Hawkins, scholar Theresa Runstedtler expertly rewrites basketball's "Dark Ages," weaving together her deep knowledge of the game's key icons and institutions with incisive social and political analysis of the era. Black ballers created an aerial, improvisational, and creative style derived from the playground courts of their neighborhoods, laying the foundation for the explosive popularity and profitability of the league in subsequent decades. They also transformed labor in the pro-basketball world, filing lawsuits and organizing unions to demand better salaries and greater autonomy. Without their skills, style, and savvy, there would be no Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, or LeBron James today"-- Provided by publisher.

ISBN:

1645036952
9781645036951

LCCN:

2022029151

Locations:

TCPG826 -- Bettendorf Public Library Information Center (Bettendorf)

KSPG296 -- Burlington Public Library (Burlington)

RZPE145 -- Carroll Public Library (Carroll)

UQAX771 -- Des Moines Area Community College Library - Ankeny (Carroll)

TYPH572 -- Cedar Rapids Public Library (Cedar Rapids)

CDPF771 -- Clive Public Library (Clive)

CBPF522 -- Coralville Public Library (Coralville)

XXPH787 -- Council Bluffs Public Library (Council Bluffs)

TDPH826 -- Davenport Public Library (Davenport)

CAPH522 -- Iowa City Public Library (Iowa City)

OVUX522 -- University of Iowa Libraries (Iowa City)

YEPF572 -- Marion Public Library (Marion)

GOPG641 -- Marshalltown Public Library (Marshalltown)

WWPC305 -- Milford Memorial Library (Milford)

GDPF771 -- Urbandale Public Library (Urbandale)

CQPE926 -- Washington Free Public Library (Washington)

SFPH074 -- Waterloo Public Library (Waterloo)

PQAX094 -- Wartburg College - Vogel Library (Waverly)