High Above Courtside: The Lost Memoirs of Johnny Most [Hardcover]

Mike Carey (Author), Larry Bird (Epilogue), Red Auerbach (Introduction), Jamie Most (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

A legendary NBA pioneer and one of the game's most intriguing characters, Johnny Most was the Boston Celtics' play- by-play radio broadcaster for all 16 of the team's championships and 37 years overall. His autobiography is the ultimate insider's in-depth look at the personalities of the players and coaches who contributed to "Celtics Pride." Most's numerous famous, shrill, almost ear-piercing calls, including pro basketball's most memorable moment when "Havlicek stole the ball," are still frequently used to introduce national TV games. Johnny Most's career began as a struggle. A World War II hero, he spent several frustrating years "pounding the pavements" in search of work before landing bit parts on soap operas. He served as a quiz show stand-in, accepted one-line roles in the United Nations' "FM Playhouse" and then served as an assistant program director for tiny Oil City, Pennsylvania's only radio station, where he was the DJ, newscaster, and sports reporter. (He was fired from that job for slugging the station's owner.) Johnny Most, as one referee said, "could cause a riot at a High Mass" with his emotional, pro-Celtic descriptions. He turned shoving matches into "bloodbaths" and minor fouls into "vicious muggings." As Boston's recently appointed director of basketball operations Danny Ainge said, "I always believed we had thirteen guys on the active roster--twelve wore uniforms and the thirteenth--Johnny Most--was high above courtside."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

MIKE CAREY got into writing through comic books, where his horror/fantasy series Lucifer garnered numerous international awards and was nominated for five Eisners. From there he moved into novels and screenplays, while still maintaining a presence in the comics world (he is currently writing two of Marvel's flagship titles, X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four). His movie Frost Flowers, an erotic ghost story, is currently in production with Hadaly/Bluestar Pictures. He lives in London, England, about as far as you can get from the centre of the city and still have access to the London Underground train network. His wife, Linda, writes fantasy for young readers under the pseudonym A.J. Lake. They have three children and an implausibly beautiful cat.

Most received his BA in commincations/visual arts at the University of California-San Diego.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 425 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC; 1ST edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582617406
• ISBN-13: 978-1582617404
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,539,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( B ) > Bird, Larry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reminiscences of The Ultimate Boston Celtics Fan!, April 27, 2004

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: High Above Courtside: The Lost Memoirs of Johnny Most (Hardcover)

No one ever cared as much about the Boston Celtics as did Johnny Most, the radio voice of the Celtics for 37 years including their 16 championship seasons. To him, no one in the green and white ever made a mistake. No opposing player failed to be a "bum" who was "mugging" the Celtics. The referees were all suspect . . . especially Jake O'Donnell. His rants anticipated the development of that form of entertainment, and came equipped in four different voices . . . depending on how outraged he was. Humor was always interceding as Johnny was known to get into brawls with fans, light himself on fire while smoking, insult the security guards who tried to get him to stop smoking, and told one revealing personal story after another that would leave us in stitches. But we never laughed at the man . . . but with him . . . because we knew he loved the Celtics.

Like almost everyone who loved the Celtics, I usually listened to his broadcasts on the radio even when watching the games on television (with the sound off). I would turn on the radio to hear the post-game show whenever I left a home game. My eye would often sweep up to see what antics he was up to while attending a game.

Basketball broadcasting hasn't been the same since Johnny left the field. Tommy Heinsohn is the closest we have now, but he's not the total fan (atic) that Johnny was.

The book is remarkable in many ways. It fills in the gaps in Johnny's story -- as a World War II hero, as someone learning to be a broadcaster in New York, as a New York-born Jew suffering from discrimination, as a loving father of four, a good friend to everyone on the Celtics, a hilarious (but challenging) companion during road trips, a patient recovering from a stroke, and a man keeping his dignity during his final illnesses.

Almost every page has an insider's story about one or more of the Celtics or other basketball insiders which I had never heard or read before. The stories are mostly heart-warming and are often quite funny as we find out more about the pranks that were pulled and by whom. Within those stories are subtle observations about why the various Celtics teams prospered or did not. Former owner John Y. Brown (who was widely despised in Boston) would do well to avoid this book.

While most autobiographies build the person up at the expense of others, the comments by many of the Celtics greats at the end seem to suggest that Johnny's comments actually understate his significance to the team, the franchise and to them personally.

One of the most fun parts of the book is where Johnny picks his top 15 opposing players (done before the full development of Michael Jordan because this book was begun many years ago while Johnny's health began to fail).

The only thing missing from this book is a CD of Johnny calling some of the most famous moments in Celtics history. But if you've ever heard his voice, you can hear him as you read his words.

Johnny may be famous for screaming, "Havlicek stole the ball," but in this autobiography "Most stole the scene."

Keep cheering, Johnny, wherever you are!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Celtics' "Thirteenth Man", October 16, 2003

By 

Calvin Graham (Burlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High Above Courtside: The Lost Memoirs of Johnny Most (Hardcover)

When I began to read "High Above Coutside", I expected to read another somewhat boring history of the Celtics. Instead, I read about a man, a war hero, who did just about everything in the broadcasting field. And he did it using his own unique style---whether it was calling dog races, hockey games, football or baseball.
It took him years to get his first real break. He would walk New York City going from audition to audition, making very little, if any money, from the jobs he managed to get.
Then a famous broadcaster, Marty Glickman, happened to take a liking to Johnny Most's style. He eventually became the radio voice for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York football Giants and then---finally---the Boston Celtics.
As the Celtics broadcaster, he was unbelievably one-sided. He was a classic homer. As Johnny Most said, "There are thousands and thousands of Celtic fans in New England. When I did my job, I just considered myself the one lucky fan who got to tell all the other fans what was taking place on the basketball court."
Along the way, Johnny Most made enemies, from Roughhouse Rudy LaRusso, to Rick Barry, to Kareeem Abdul Jabbar, to Wilt Chamberlain, to Rick Mahorn, Jeff Ruland and the entire Pistons team.
His battles with them, among others including a physical fight with a team owner, makes for fascinating reading.
His battle against ill health was a losing one, but Johnny Most, according to Boston legend Larry Bird, never lost a winner's attitude.
I read the book in four days and I'd recommend it to any New York, Boston, or New England sports fan.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars high above courtside is the best, October 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: High Above Courtside: The Lost Memoirs of Johnny Most (Hardcover)

This book brought an insight into THE MAN HIMSELF THAT we knew as Johnny Most. Anyone growing up a Boston Celtic fan knew and loved Johnny Most for "bringing them right into the game," with a unique approach that left no doubt that he was one of you---a Boston Celtic rooter. He helped us cheer on our team and did it with style---even when the team lost. But we never realized what an incredible human being he was and how much he actually did to bring about the "Boston Celtic Mystique," and how much he meant to all the generations of Celtic players, as well as fans. This book brings all that to light without any actual bragging, just facts. I never knew he was a war hero, a poet and a champion of
worthy causes. All the "behind the scenes" stories Mike Cary has chronicled brought Johnny Most back to life for me---in a new, and much more illuminated light. He was an icon for more than one generation and an inspiration to us all, especially after losing his legs to diabetes and I thank Mr. Cary, Jamie Most and the publishers for bringing us this incredible story. I would like to hear more of Johnny Most's life AFTER his operation and am loking forward to....the rest of the story.