“What I remember most is the time Al Attles went after Wilt with a chair,” recollects Rick Barry in Terry Pluto’s anthology about the early days of the National Basketball Association. Tall Tales compiles the memories of players, coaches, and referees from the founding of the league after World War II to the end of the Boston Celtics’ dynasty in 1969. The reminiscences are honest and frank, tinged with nostalgia. Since television was not present at these games, these are the only accounts of many bizarre events.
Fans in New York would cheer the spread instead of the score as college basketball was still predominant. As trailblazers such as Chuck Cooper and Satch Sanders experienced awful instances of segregation. Fighting was commonplace. Anyone in the National Hockey League who claims that fighting cannot be extricated from the game should note how basketball refined its game.
Initially, the games were slow and methodical but the introduction of the shot-clock as exciting new players such as Elgin Baylor, Bob Cousy, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson entered the league increased attendance. Gradually, games were televised and the Bill Russell-Wilt Chamberlain rivalry garnered a national audience. A true basketball aficionado cannot get enough of anecdotes about Red Auerbach and the Boston Celtics.
Free Agency did not exist at the time. Players were committed to teams for three years with an option but could be cut at any time. Rick Barry was one of the first players to challenge the status quo and was sued by the San Francisco Warriors. Confessions of a Basketball Gypsy chronicles his thoughts during his many seasons the Association and the American Basketball Association. He is unapologetic and though he was portrayed as arrogant and selfish, I think that he foresaw the money that the sport would generate and wanted to be compensated for his contribution. Co-author Bill Libby includes other perspectives so the work is not solely auto-biographical.
Professional basketball changed dramatically during the first two decades of its existence when the rules evolved and expanded significantly. There would be further changes in the 1980s – inspired by ESPN, cocaine, and individuality – which created the sport that is popular today but that is a story for another post.