Cavs from Fitch to Fratello: The Sometimes Miraculous, Often Hilarious Wild Ride of the Cleveland Cavaliers [Hardcover]

Joe Menzer (Author), Burt Graeff (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joe Menzer is a sportswriter for "The Winston-Salem Journal." His articles have appeared in "The Sporting News, Inside Sports, Hoop Magazine, " and "Basketball Weekly." He is the author of "Four Corners: How UNC, N.C. State, Duke, and Wake Forest Made North Carolina the Center of the Basketball Universe." He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife and children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Sagamore Publishing; 1st ed edition (October 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571670068
• ISBN-13: 978-1571670069
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,196,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Like the Cavs, this book is soft, but likable, October 28, 1999

By 

James D. Jindra (Parma, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cavs from Fitch to Fratello: The Sometimes Miraculous, Often Hilarious Wild Ride of the Cleveland Cavaliers (Hardcover)

If you are a long-suffering Cavaliers fan, you won't want to miss this book. From Fitch to Fratello chronicles the Cavs erratic history, from a doormat of a franchise team to the Miracle of Richfield year, from the Ted Stepien-owned standing joke, to the 57-game winning teams of Lenny Wilkens. The book is not especially well-written, and I would have liked to have learned a little more about initial owner Nick Miletti, and about how the Cavs fit into the context of Cleveland sports. But still, it was fun to remember the magic of Bingo Smith's 25-footer against the Bullets in 1976, and easier to look back and laugh at the idiocy of Ted Stepien and coach Bill Mussleman than it was to live through it. The authors, too, are fair, offering praise AND criticism of Lenny Wilkens, Mark Price, Bill Fitch, and Wayne Embry, as well as other important Cavs personnel. Unfortunately, if you don't follow basketball, or if you are too young to remember the pre-Jordan era, this book is not for you. But for the true Cavs fan, i.e., masochist, it is a very enjoyable read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! Must read! (Don't listen to Graeff ...he's old!), March 21, 2001

By 

"joemenzer" (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cavs from Fitch to Fratello: The Sometimes Miraculous, Often Hilarious Wild Ride of the Cleveland Cavaliers (Hardcover)

I, too, am one of the authors of this book. And I must say that I disagree with co-author Burt Graeff's assessment (of the book, that is -- not the fact that he, um, had imbibed a bit before writing his tongue-in-cheek author's review). He's old as dirt and obviously is losing some of his memory in his old age. But this is fact: he has covered more Cavs' games than any other writer in the world, and what he or I haven't seen in person we were told about from those who lived the wildest, craziest days in team history. This is a book bursting at the seams with funny stories that any NBA fan past or present would enjoy. Read and enjoy it (and don't worry about Burt ... I'll take care of him)!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For Any Cavs Fan, July 24, 2005

By 

Patrick (Chardon, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cavs from Fitch to Fratello: The Sometimes Miraculous, Often Hilarious Wild Ride of the Cleveland Cavaliers (Hardcover)

In order to appreciate the history of the Cavs, this book is a must read. Having grown up following the Cavs since the 70's, this book is crammed full of interesting behind the scenes crazy happenings and highlights from the Miracle of Richfield and the old Cleveland Arena. Especially astonishing is the section of the fiasco ownership of Ted Stepian. Terrific book.