Asphalt Gods: An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament
by Vincent M. Mallozzi
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Book Summary Information
Author: Vincent M. MallozziEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-06-17
ISBN: 0385506759
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Doubleday
Book Reviews of Asphalt Gods: An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament
Book Review: WHERE BASKETBALL PLAYERS COME TO PLAY
Summary: 5 Stars
Many players played for the Pied Piper(Holcombe Rucker).No one was has great as him though.He was a great man and founder of the Rucker Tournament.Most people who ended up playing in the Rucker Tournamet was better then most players in the NBA.They first started playing just in Harlem,New York then went to playing more teams in New York then more and more teams.They played as far as Mississippi.
this book talks about problems the players and coaches had with racism.Most players got started in the Rucker Park Tournament.After the park tournament they went on to college ball even some went to the NBA!
Asphalt Gods by Vincet M. Mallozziwas a great book about players before professional ball games.This book is a excellent book to pick up and read.
Summary of Asphalt Gods: An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament
The real basketball deal?the inside story of Harlem?s legendary tournament and the pros and playground legends who have made it world famous.Earl ?The Goat? Manigault. Herman ?Helicopter? Knowings. Joe ?The Destroyer? Hammond. Richard ?Pee Wee? Kirkland. These and dozens of other colorfully nicknamed men are the ?Asphalt Gods,? whose astounding exploits in the Rucker Tournament, often against multimillionaire NBA superstars, have made them playground divinity. First established in the 1950s by Holcombe Rucker, a New York City Parks Department employee, the tournament has grown to become a Harlem institution, an annual summer event of major proportions. On that fabled patch of concrete, unknown players have been lighting it up for decades as they express basketball as a freestyle art among their peers and against such pro immortals as Julius Erving and Wilt Chamberlain. X?s and O?s are exchanged for oohs and aahs in one of the great examples of street theater to be found in urban America.
Asphalt Gods is a streetwise, supremely entertaining oral history of a tournament that has influenced everything from NBA playing style to hip-hop culture. Now, legends transmitted by word of mouth find a home and the achievements of basketball?s greatest unknowns a permanent place in the game?s record.
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