Customer Reviews

Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the best books ever written about sports. An oral history of the American Basketball Association, it is spare in style, which is a good thing because Pluto - a talented writer as he's proven in other sports books - lets his sources tell most of the story. His genius is in the reporting, finding all these people and getting them to tell him (and us) their stories. The ABA was a product of its times and those times will never come again. Even now, that period is becoming just a distant memory. But this is an important part of basketball history and, even better, a great, great group of stories and personalities.

I very much enjoyed this book, as it brought back a multitude of memories. I lived in Colorado and during my middle school and high school years, I followed the Denver Rockets/Nuggets. They were my team, and this book caused me to wax nostalgia. The book is filled mostly with quotes from those most closely involved with the ABA. The black-and-white photos were also great reminders. Terry Pluto's writing and summations are a quick read. The book gave me the feeling the ABA is still highly regarded and fondly remembered, red, white and blue ball, etc., etc.,. Fun and nostalgic as far as I was concerned.

This book is a sports gem. The wild ride of the American Basketball Association from inception to its eventual collapse and NBA absorption of the San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets and New Jersey Nets.
The book is divide into 3 parts.Opening Gambits, Middle Game and Endgame.
The first part deals with the origins of the league from the hiring of its first Commisioner, George Mikan and the idea behind the red, white and blue basketball and the struggles of early ABA teams to stock their rosters to a great section on The Indiana Pacers, one of the leagues best organizations. Everything is told in a series of stories told by the people involved. It is a credit to author Terry Pluto's reporting skills and ability to edit that makes this so enjoyable.
Part 2 deals includes a lengthy section about the greatest player to come out of the ABA, Julius Erving. The Doctor must have been a wonder to behold in his early years as he is spoke of in awe by teammates, opponents, and coaches. Also the many stories of the often bizarre characters that inhabited the ABA are priceless in and of themselves.Of which the reader will often find themself laughing out loud. The section on The San Antonio Spurs is enjoyable in that you learn the humble origins of the current NBA dynasty.
Part 3 covers such franchises as the Kentucky Colonels who were considered underachievers until they finally won an ABA championship in 1975. Probably the most entertaining section of the book chronicles the story of the Spirits Of St. Louis. The tales told of this franchise often boggle the mind if one has any isea how professional athletes are expected to act. The antics of Spirits star Marvin "bad news" Barnes are some of the most outrageous I've ever heard of in my life and I've been a sports fan for decades. Great stories of All time great coach Larry Brown and so many others they are too numerous to name.
In the end the massive contracts the ABA gave out became their undoing and eventually forced capitulation to the rival NBA. It is a fun read and you learn so much about so many unheralded ABA players and coaches.

I just finished reading this book. While I feel like I have learned a lot about the ABA and even NBA I think the book could have been written much better.

The writing style got boring and jumbled. The book reads more like a transcript at times. Chapters open up with just blocks of text that look like run on sentences with no paragraphs or breaks. Basically when the writer actually had to write about a topic and not just copy what someone else said the writing was poor.

I read the book Rebel League about the World Hockey Association before Loose Balls and the former set the bar high (that book was great). I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn about the ABA. I am glad I read the book but I just couldn't give a higher rating given the writing style, I feel it could have been so much better.

The five-star rating of the book across the board is well deserved. This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. Pluto allows the players to tell their own unbelievable tales. The pre-packaged NBA in its current form has nothing over the ABA and its love of the game.

Included in every chapter seemingly is a Bad News Barnes story involving Bob Costas as the rookie broadcaster of the St. Louis Spirit. Dr. J's exploits are talked about with reverence. Tales of strength and awe about Artis Gilmore and George McGinnis make current NBA musclemen seem puny.

And then there is the smell. Yes, the smell of the bad ABA areas, hotels, and travel accommodations literally seap through the book.

Pluto, as always, does a great job in putting it all together. No one is a better interviewer in sports journalism. A book that I've read two times and will probably read again.

Some books you read once and while they are good, they are good for one reading alone.

Not this book, I refer to it time and time and time again.

Just the stories of the Spirits of St. Louis make this book a must-read. They show that truth is stranger than fiction.

Great oral biography uses a lot of sources, this book has them. And you can just see the smiles on the faces of the people as they told Pluto their stories, grateful that someone wanted to hear them.

Five stars plainly are not enough for this book.

Not living in an ABA city, I never saw many of that league's games but after reading this book, I sure wish I had! Terry Pluto has put together a fantastic book of comments ("oral history") from various people who were involved with the ABA. Man, this was fun read!

I lost count how many times I just laughed out loud and some of the outraegous people that made up the fledgling pro basketball league. I learned a lot about the various teams, from the Kentucky Colonels, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, New York Nets to - best of all - the St. Louis Spirits. A young "Bobby Costas," who got his pro start in broadcasting with that team, relates some very funny stories in this book.

Some of the players are just plain thugs (see the chapter, "The Meanest Men in the ABA") and some are brutal prima donnas (can you say, "Marvin Barnes?") but the good guys are equally memorable. For instance, I have more respect for Julius Erving than ever after reading this book. There are some wonderful unsung "stars" of this league that few people got to appreciate.

If you like basketball and fascinating people, this book is a real treasure. Check it out!

What can I say about Loose Balls that has not already been said??...Probably nothing...There is a reason why Sports Illustrated ranked this book Number 13 on the Top 100 Sports Books of alltime and why it is still in print 18 years after first coming out....That reason is it's a great book that is the definitive history of the ABA and at the same time has you literally laughing out loud at times...I had more laughs reading this book than I do at most movies....Most people in other reviews have noted the principals like Fly Williams...Marvin "Bad News" Barnes....John Brisker..Pat Boone.. Julius Erving..etc..etc so I won't rehash or spoil the tales but they are memorable because they are true....Pluto's genius in putting this book together was that he let the principals tell their stories and he just put them on paper in an orderly format and let the story tell itself...No need to do anything else...I was pretty young during the ABA Days so I only remembered a little about it,but after reading this book I felt like I was there for all 9 years of the ABA....I can't recommend a book any more than I do this one...Buy this book...you will not be able to put it down once you start and I guarantee you will get a ton of laughs

In a few words, -Loose Balls- offers more than just the story of the ABA and men and women who made it work. It is also outlines the transformation of the professional sports economy along with describing the hedonism and excess of the 1970s. Highly recommended for the basketball fan.

This is a hilarious book. Marvin Barnes could be a book himself. The story of the player who thought $1,500 was less than a thousand dollars had me crying from laughing so hard. Great book!