Lester draws parallels between the history of college basketball in that period with that of America in that period and attempts to look at what ‘the evolution of the game said about America’s social and cultural history during that era.’ This crossover into America’s social and political past gives this book a true sense of time and place throughout. Part historical text, part sporting heritage and nostalgia, Lester paints a delightfully vivid picture in the reader’s mind.
The book is split into three main sections to set apart the early, mid and late 1950s, but rather than being merely chronologically distinct, he sets themes around these. The early years being ‘the age of fun and fear’, with point shaving scandals, and then innovations in playing technique. The mid 1950s is ‘the age of consensus’ and the later 1950s ‘the age of reassessment’ where the rise of African-American payers takes a central role, as does the increase in media coverage in its various forms.
As well as these various “issues” the sport itself evolved in that era too, and Lester goes into detail of the advances in playing style, one handed shots, then one handed jump shots and the resultant rapid rise in scoring, as the game began to evolve into something that would be a bit more recognisable today.
The sections dealing with the point shaving scandals are quite illuminating and would provide plenty of fuel to any sporting cynic’s fire with the tales of the likes of Sherman White, Nat Holman, Alex Groza and Ralph Beard whose reputations would ‘forever be tarnished by the point shaving scandal of 1951.’
‘Our old values seemed to be ending. To many observers at the time, the basketball point shaving scandals of 1951 appeared to be part of an overall sense of betrayal.’ Lester draws a parallel between the players who sold their integrity for a few bucks with the much feared ‘commie spies’ of the era. ‘They were both betraying American integrity.’ That feels like some statement to my 21st century eyes, but the erosion of core values represented by the college basketball scandals was very real, and is well portrayed here.
In addition, the final section, which actually covers quite a few chapters of great depth, which looks at the acceptance of African-American athletes to both college and professional sports were particularly interesting. The parallels drawn to society as a whole, and the civil rights history in the US, are the most stark, and reaffirm the theme of linking the history of the college game to that of the country in general.
Given the great depth and clear level of extensive research that must have been involved in producing this book, it was little surprise on reading the notes about the author at the end of the book to discover that Lester holds a PhD in history and has written extensively on American and local history. He has also taught courses on American culture and sports history. The book has the depth and detail of an academic text, without the convoluted style and language, which makes it a thoroughly educational and fascinating read.
- Aidan Williams - http://thesportsbookreview.com
Publisher - Amazon
Date of Publication - September 24, 2012