Cages to Jump Shots: Pro Basketballs Early Years

Robert Peterson

U of Nebraska Press, 1990 - Sports & Recreation - 226 pages

Basketball is now over a century old. Cages to Jump Shots offers an unforgettable glimpse of its exciting and eccentric early years, beginning in 1891 when James Naismith drew up the first rules, through decades of growing popularity and professionalism, and culminating with its fundamental transformation in the 1950s, when the twenty-four-second shot clock and team foul limit were instituted. Along the way we learn about all those who were drawn to the game—players, officials, owners, and fans—and why so many came to love it. Drawing on extensive research and a host of interviews with veteran players, Robert W. Peterson vividly recreates the rough-and-tumble basketball games of long ago and shows why basketball has become such a celebrated part of American life today. This Bison Books edition features an updated appendix of early pro basketball teams.

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Review: Cages to Jump Shots: Pro Basketball's Early Years

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Fantastic history of professional basketball before the shot clock era. The game was created with the idea of no contact being allowed due to the roughness in football and rugby, yet early players ...

Contents

• The Old Pros Remember: 3
• The Birth of Basketball: 15
• The Earliest Professionals: 32
• Fumbling Faltering Failing: 46
• The Rise of the Original Celtics: 69
• Coming Out of the Cage: 80
• On the Road Again: 95
• Metamorphosis: 108
• Seeds of the NBA: 124
• The Big Man Cometh: 142
• The BAA and War Between the Leagues: 150
• The Infancy of the NBA: 166
• Appendix A Notes on Basketballs Origin: 185
• Appendix B Major Professional League Standings YearbyYear 18981954: 187
• World Tournaments: 206
• Notes on Sources: 212
• Index: 217

About the author

Robert W. Peterson is the author of Only the Ball Was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams and Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Cages to Jump Shots: Pro Basketballs Early Years
• Author: Robert Peterson
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: U of Nebraska Press, 1990
• ISBN: 0803287720, 9780803287723
• Length: 226 pages
• Subjects: Sports & Recreation / Basketball; Sports & Recreation / History