Tricksters in the Madhouse

John Christgau

Description

In February 1948 the brand-new, all-white Minneapolis Lakers were arguably the greatest basketball team in America, favored to win the World Professional Basketball Tournament later that year. Meanwhile the Harlem Globetrotters, at the center of black basketball, were riding their own incredible 103-game winning streak. Best known to white audiences for their clowning and comedy, the Globetrotters were not even thought to be in the same league with the mighty Lakers. So when these two powerhouses met for the first time—on February 19, 1948, before an audience of eighteen thousand in Chicago Stadium—basketball fans everywhere were in for an eye-opening performance.

 

Tricksters in the Madhouse is the story of this pivotal meeting, a game that would encapsulate the growing racial tensions of the era, particularly the struggle of black Americans to gain legitimacy in the segregated world of sports. Play-by-play, John Christgau recreates the heart-stopping game that would shock white basketball fans raised to view black athletes in separate and unequal terms. Through in-depth interviews and extensive research, Christgau brings this critical match-up to life. By looking beyond the drama in the arena to the broader events of the day, he also puts the game in its sociological context, revealing how, even as it enacted the racial inequities of the time, this crucial game represented an important step toward equality.

Sujets

• USA
• Baloncesto
• Basketball
• États-Unis
• Basket-ball

Informations

• Publié par: Bison Books
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780803204430
• Langue: English

Extrait

©2004by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Christgau, John. Tricksters in the Madhouse : Lakers vs. Globetrotters,1948/ John Christgau. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. isbn 0-8032-1526-6(hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Minneapolis Lakers (Basketball team)—History.2. Harlem Globetrotters—History.3. Sports rivalries—United States. I. Title. gv885.42.m56c47 2004 796.323'09776'579—dc22 2004005102

Set in Janson by Bookcomp, Inc. Designed by Roger Buchholz. Printed by Thomson-Shore, Inc.

The best band in the world is the clown’s band in the circus.

Louis Armstrong

1. The Race 2. Ma Piersall 3. The Kangaroo Kid 4. Babe 5. Goose 6. Ermer 7. The Fastest Runner on Sixty-first Street

8. Blackie 9. The King of Basketball 10. The Crisco Kid 11. Olson’s Terrible Swedes 12. Sambo

13. Johnny and Abe

14. Bucky 15. Pop 16. Marques

17. Ted 18. The Wee Ice Mon 19. David and Goliath 20. The Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost 21. The Shot 22. Sweetwater

23. Shaq 24. Rigo

Notes Sources and Acknowledgments

3 11 20 29 37 43 50

57 65 72 78 86

95

105 113 122

135 141 148 155 162 168

177 182

191 217