Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association
Encyclopedia
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...
is a sports book originally published in 1990 by Simon and Schuster. The book was written by sportswriter Terry Pluto
Terry Pluto
Terry Pluto is an award-winning sportswriter who primarily writes columns for The Plain Dealer, and formerly for the Akron Beacon Journal about Cleveland sports and religion. He has been named Ohio Sportswriter of the Year eight times...
, although much of his writing is limited to introductions and summaries of each season. Most of the dialogue is from former players, league executives, and journalists, among others.
"The cast"
Almost the entire book is told by former players, executives, and journalists, all of whom are listed at the beginning as the "Cast of Characters". Some of those interviewed include:- Rick BarryRick BarryRichard Francis Dennis Barry III , better known as Rick Barry, is a retired American professional basketball player. He is considered by many veteran basketball observers to be one of the greatest pure small forwards of all time as a result of his very precise outside shot, uncanny court vision,...
- Pat BoonePat BooneCharles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
- Hubie BrownHubie BrownHubert Jude "Hubie" Brown is a retired American basketball coach and a current television analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors being separated by 26 years...
- Larry BrownLarry Brown (basketball)Lawrence Harvey "Larry" Brown is an American basketball coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Bobcats....
- Mack CalvinMack CalvinMack Calvin is an American former basketball player.-College career:A 6'0" point guard from Long Beach City College and the University of Southern California, Calvin was a 14th-round draft pick of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers in 1969.In his final college season, Calvin and his Trojans defeated the...
- Bob CostasBob CostasRobert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...
- Mel DanielsMel DanielsMelvin Joe Daniels is a retired American professional basketball player.A 6' 9" center, he played for the University of New Mexico Lobo men's basketball team from 1964-67...
- Julius ErvingJulius ErvingJulius Winfield Erving II , commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is a retired American basketball player who helped launch a modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and play above the rim....
- Cotton FitzsimmonsCotton FitzsimmonsLowell "Cotton" Fitzsimmons was a college and NBA basketball coach. A native of Hannibal, Missouri, he attended and played basketball at Hannibal-LaGrange Junior College in Hannibal and Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas...
- Dan IsselDan IsselDaniel Paul Issel is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player and coach.-Collegiate playing career:...
- Slick LeonardSlick LeonardWilliam Robert "Slick" Leonard is a former professional basketball player and coach. A 6'3" guard, Leonard played high school basketball at Terre Haute Gerstmeyer High School, where he excelled as a tennis player, as well...
- Rudy Martzke
- George MikanGeorge MikanGeorge Lawrence Mikan, Jr. , nicknamed Mr. Basketball, was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League and the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBL, the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball Association...
- Doug MoeDoug MoeDouglas Edwin Moe is an American professional basketball coach. He is most closely associated with the Denver Nuggets franchise....
- Bob RyanBob RyanBob Ryan is an American sportswriter for The Boston Globe. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston...
- Joe TaitJoe TaitJoseph "Joe" Tait is an American sports broadcaster, who called the radio play by play for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. With the exception of two seasons in the early 1980s and illness in 2010-11, he has been the Cavaliers' radio announcer since the team's inception in 1970...
- Lenny WilkensLenny WilkensLeonard Randolph "Lenny" Wilkens is a retired American basketball player and coach in the NBA...
- James "Fly" Williams
In the book, the writing is set so that a topic is introduced by Pluto, and then one of the "cast members'" name is highlighted, followed by their memories on the subject. The book covers the entire history of the ABA, from the league's founding in 1967 through the ABA-NBA merger
ABA-NBA merger
The ABA–NBA merger was the merger of the American Basketball Association with the National Basketball Association, which after multiple attempts over several years finally occurred in 1976.- Origins of ABA-NBA competition :...
in 1976.