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

The ABA was crazy fun, I imagine. I'm not even a basketball fan but I love history of things and learning about stuff. I know the usual names like Moses Malone, Dr J, etc. but the really good stories were the ABA players who were so unique and too crazy for the NBA, or came too soon before the merger. Lots of good interviews and quotes in here.

If you were a fan of the old American Basketball Association, or simply a fan of good sports stories, Terry Pluto's "Loose Balls" is a must read.

Great book. I totally enjoyed it

One of the best books, I've ever read. The only thing that would have made it better was a Stats and Roster section in the back of the book.

great insight into the ABA. I lived in San Diego the year Wilt was the coach. wow. he just stood around and did nothing. we used to be in the 50-100 fans that were there. it was spectacular. this book captures the essence

Thanks to other reviewers here, I discovered this book. They made it sound worth buying, sight-unseen, as it certainly was that. This book is extremely entertaining. It's a fast read and a very funny book. It was tough to put down each night.I knew the ABA had some great players but I didn't know much background on them or some of their feats because very few ABA games were televised. After reading this book, I really feel I missed some incredible basketball by some very exciting players. It was a crime the nation missed seeing many of these cagers in their early days or in their prime.You get fascinating portraits - good and bad - of some wonderful guys and some real jerks, both on the court and in the front office as this upstart pro basketball league tries to compete and survive against the established NBA. You read about the stars and some of the wackos on the bench.Kudos to author Terry Pluto for picking out some incredible stories. I was actually sad when I came to the end of this book. It had entertained me all week as I savored it, chapter by chapter. In each chapter, we hear accounts of a certain subject from different people. For instance, a young "Bobby Costas," in his first job as an announcer (for the St. Louis Spirits), gives us some hilarious accounts, as do others.When I was finished I was so impressed, I ordered through Amazon two more sports books by Pluto.

Great stories if you like basketball or if you just like reading funny stories.

Hey, if you don't take MY word that this is an excellent read, refer to the 2002 Sportsman of the Year issue of Sports Illustrated. It has this in the top 100 sports books of all time.As a kid who had one of those ABA basketballs in the 70's this brought back a LOT of memories...It is the perfect book for someone on the go, or on a plane, or in other situations where a long drawn out read is not possible. It consists of short stories, woven together around various themes (the barnstorming nature of the ABA, tough guys in the league, etc.)The most AMAZING thing about this book is a picture of Julius Erving, during his rookie year, shooting a free throw for the Virginia Squires. If you look in the background, you can count the number of fans in the stands on ONE HAND. Can you imagine? The chance to see Julius Erving (who gets his own special section of this book) in his ROOKIE YEAR?Also, I never really knew the Connie Hawkins story until this book. Larry Brown, Dan Issel, Doug Moe, Zelmo Beaty, all your old ABA faves are here.Plus, for stat geeks, a list of all the seasons, the standings, playoff results, etc are contained.And pictures of the Miami Floridian 'ball girls' in tight-tights! :)

This is the must book for all basketball fans wanting to delve deeper into the history of the sport and what helped make the NBA what it is today. It covers ABA from its inception until its merger with the NBA. Covering the teams, the players, coaches and general craziness of a league that clearly shook the sport out of a complacent slumber.

Great service

This book is truly magnificent with it's more relaxed interview-style writing and it being in chronological order you can immerse yourself in the fast paced, drama driven league that the ABA was on and off the court.The modern NBA wouldn't be recognizable with out the ABA influences from the 3 point line to the 4 expansion teams and the treasure trove of players that would ciment themselves as part of the greatest of all time.

This book is a gem for anyone interested in pro basketball’s fun days. It covers an era before political correctness and is an easy and entertaining read. Glad I had heard about it.

Enthält lustige und interessante Storys, hat mich aber im Vergleich zu anderen Büchern nie recht gefesselt. Für spezifisch Interessierte sicherlich lesenswert.