Cracked Sidewalks and French Pastry: The Wit and Wisdom of Al McGuire (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Al McGuire was the Mark Twain of college basketball. Never was there a figure in the game so quoted and so quotable, on sports and on the human condition. This book collects more than a hundred of McGuire's most colorful quotations, plus photographs from his life and career, in a tribute that is funny, poignant, and brimming with his streetwise sagacity.

McGuire, a brash and fiery New Yorker who grew up working in his parents' saloon, played a rough and tumble game of basketball at St. John's University and briefly in the NBA before entering the coaching ranks. He reached the pinnacle of his profession and gained national fame at Marquette University in Milwaukee, where in thirteen seasons he compiled a 295-80 record, appeared in nine NCAA tournaments, and won eighty-one home games in a row. He was a fine coach who cared deeply about his players and was beloved by his teams and fans alike, but his flamboyance and his mouth sometimes got him into trouble. The end of his coaching career captivated the nation: McGuire wept on the bench as his Marquette Warriors won the national title.

McGuire then began a ground-breaking career in network broadcasting, adding a zest and unconventionality that the college game had never seen. His sometimes bizarre and always entertaining commentary kept viewers tuned in even after the outcome of a lopsided game was a foregone conclusion. When Al McGuire died of leukemia in 2001, the sports world lost a true original.

Foreword by Dean Smith

From the Back Cover

"Tom Kertscher's book-both words and pictures-helps shed additional light on the complex, complicated, and intelligent man that was Al McGuire."-Dean Smith, coach of the University of North Carolina Tarheels, who lost the 1977 national championship game to Marquette

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; 1 edition (November 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0299183106
• ISBN-13: 978-0299183103
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #497,030 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An unusual coffee table-type book, November 30, 2003

By	m_noland "m_noland" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This is a strange coffee table-type book. Author Kertscher apparently did not know Al McGuire personally, and this book is the product of a posthumous project of collecting McGuire-related photographs and quotes. Yet despite the lack of direct personal connection, the book does a good job of communicating the odd combination of street-level wisdom, humanity, and whimsy that made McGuire such an intriguing and compelling character to a generation of basketball fans and non-basketball fans alike.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun to read!, November 16, 2002

By	Kim M. James (Rochelle, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Growing up in Harvard, IL, I tended to gravitate toward Wisconsin sports. However, I still did not recognize the name Al McGuire. Despite that, I found the book to be wonderful! It made me feel as if I did knew him. Tom Kertscher did a wonderful job of presenting the many quotes and photos, memorializing a man who obviously contributed so much to sports!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Colleague's comment, November 13, 2002

By	Michael (DeKalb, IL United States) - See all my reviews

K. Gridley wrote "Very nice...I like that anyone can pick it up and read it without knowing him."