Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA [Paperback]

Terry Pluto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Using a lively oral history format, Terry Pluto provides the best look yet at the glory days of the NBA. Tall Tales is essential reading for any fan who understands that the history of the league does not begin and end with Michael Jordan.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An entertaining and informative narrative that re-creates the golden age of the NBA."—New York Times Book Review

(New York Times Book Review )

About the Author

Terry Pluto is a sportswriter for the Akron Beacon Journal and the author of several books, most recently Our Tribe: A Baseball Memoir.

Product Details

• Paperback: 413 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803287666
• ISBN-13: 978-0803287662
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,433,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NBA glory days, December 26, 2001

By 

Cobra (Faribault, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA (Paperback)

Excellent book on the NBA of the 50s and 60s. All the big names are here, Wilt, Russell, West, the Big O and also many names that have been forgotten but shouldn't have been. Bob Pettit, Lenny Wilkens (as a player not coach), Tom Meschery, Al Attles and more. The stories come directly from the players with numerous quotes from different individuals who were actually there. This book is written in the same style as Loose Balls another great book by this author about the ABA. Anyone who thinks the NBA came into being with Michael Jordan should read this book and get a reality check. These are the real founders of the NBA. Current fans think a triple double by a player is a wondrous feat, Oscar Robertson averaged a triple double for a whole season!! If you like basketball and are interested in its history, this is the book for you.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars basketball lovers dream, July 15, 2003

By 

M. A. Doyon (Jewett City, Connecticut United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA (Paperback)

very good book. brillant oral history of the NBA from the beginning until the 1968-1969 season, the end of the Boston Celtic dynasty. A brillant companion piece to Loose Balls the flip side from the ABA version of events.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Worthy Successor To 'Loose Balls', November 12, 2008

By 

Craig Connell (Lockport, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA (Paperback)

This is an account of the both the growing years and the "glory years" of the National Basketball Association. It was written in 1992. A few years before that, author Terry Pluto had written a similar book about the now-defunct American Basketball League. That book, called "Loose Balls," rated by Sports Illustrated at one time as the 13th best sports book EVER, was so entertaining that I couldn't pass up this book, either. It's written in the same style and is almost as entertaining. The ABA is the better of the two, but both are worthy reads.

I actually laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes reading about "The Strangler" and some of the other nutcase fans at small towns in the early ABA. Syracuse was the worst place to play and had the most crazy stories about its rabid fans. How about the night in Syracuse a referee (Sid Borgia) duked it out at half court with a fan one night?

The book goes on with anecdotes about everything from the Celtics amazing achievements to the incredible Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and just about anyone who made a name for himself in the NBA during the '50s and '60. The stories - provided by the people who were there - give the good and bad of each person.

Best of all, Pluto gives us the quirky stories of some participants, and those are the most fun to read. Pluto has a great sense of humor, so this book, like "Loose Balls," is a fun read.