More Denver Post favorite books to keep you busy during the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week, The Denver Post sports department recommended its favorite baseball books to ride out the coronavirus. Now, it’s time to turn our attention to the rest of the sports world, which has more than enough must-reads to keep you busy during the statewide stay-at-home order. “The Last Season of Weeb Ewbank,” by Paul Zimmerman (1974) — Before Dr. Z
became Dr. Z of Sports Illustrated fame, he was the Jets beat writer for the New York Post. I came across this book when it was referenced in another football book and immediately went to Amazon to buy it. The book about Ewbank’s final season as the Jets’ coach is a great read about getting behind the scenes of a training camp and NFL game week and just how much access media had in the old days to the teams they covered. — Ryan O’halloran
“Once A Runner,” by John L. Parker Jr. (1978) — A novel about undergraduate
miler Quenton Cassidy at a fictional university based on the University of Florida. The 1978 book is a cult classic among serious long-distance runners and tells the story of Cassidy’s extreme training rituals, under the tutelage of Olympian Bruce Denton, in his quest to run a sub-4-minute mile. — Daniel Boniface
“The Breaks of the Game,” by David Halberstam (1981) — A Pulitzer Prize
winning journalist steps into the chaotic, complicated mess that was the NBA of the late 1970s, when issues of race, labor strife and drug abuse cast a shadow over a struggling league. Halberstam embeds himself with the 1977-78 Portland Trail Blazers, who suffer a tragic fall from grace a year after stunning the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1977 NBA Finals. Aside from the storytelling, what makes this book exceptional are the figures Halberstam captures, including the irascible Maurice Lucas, the enigmatic Bill Walton and the brilliant Dr. Jack Ramsay. — Matt Schubert
“The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football,” Paul Zimmerman (1984) —
Bill Barnwell? Peter King? Dr. Z got there first. Zimmerman wrote about football like the game was Chaucer, and he was the coolest literature professor on the planet. The man timed performances of the national anthem, then wrote a column about it. Like “Ball Four,” many of the universal truths in the “Thinking Man’s Guide” — and some of the B.S. it called out — still ring true. —Seankeeler
“Friday Night Lights,” by Buzz Bissinger (1990) — The town is Odessa, Texas, in 1988, the team is Permian High School football and the dream is the glory that winning brings. But there are huge costs. Teenagers’ lives are fulfilled but also shattered, values are compromised and football becomes a false god. As the New York Times book review put it: “‘Friday Night Lights’ offers a biting indictment of the sports craziness that grips … most of American society, while at the same time providing a moving evocation of its powerful allure.” — Patrick Saunders
“Loose Balls,” by Terry Pluto (1990)
— Marvin Barnes. Fly Williams. Wendell Ladner. Slick Leonard. The ABA had more characters than a Warner Brothers cartoon, and Pluto’s first-person, anecdotal collection is a stitch from start to finish. The truth of the nine seasons of the ABA was stranger than Will Ferrell’s fictional “Semi-pro” film could ever hope to be. And twice as funny, to boot. One of the grandpappies, for better or for worse, of the “oral history” style of sports storytelling. —Seankeeler
“The Life of Reilly,” by Rick Reilly (2000) — Ok, so this is definitely a stump for a Colorado native and former Denver Post sportswriter, but the point stands: Reilly owned the back page of Sports Illustrated for over two decades, and this collection of sports columns will make you laugh, cry and feel all sorts of ways about sports. With his signature style and wit, Reilly brings out the important and thoughtful side of sports, with plenty of Colorado players, coaches and stories featured in the book. — Kyle Newman
“The Punch,” by John Feinstein (2002)
— It would be nearly impossible to compile a list of great sports books without mentioning at least one title from Feinstein’s voluminous catalog. While some may prefer “A Season on the Brink” or “A Good Walk Spoiled,” there’s a human element to “The Punch” that makes it one of his best. Detailing the events surrounding perhaps the most infamous punch in professional sports, Feinstein shows how one event forever altered the lives of the two men involved in it — the L.A. Lakers’ Kermit Washington and Houston Rockets’ Rudy Tomjanovich. — Matt Schubert
“The Blind Side,” by Michael Lewis (2006) — Few nonfiction novelists capture
a subject quite like Lewis, who’s extensive and eclectic canon of work includes “Moneyball,” “The Big Short” and “Liar’s Poker.” In his foray into football, Lewis examines the historical evolution of the left tackle position as edge rushers like Lawrence Taylor changed the way the game was played. Football luminaries like Bill Walsh, Bill Parcells and Nick Saban all make appearances, as Lewis deftly weaves in the incredible story of Michael Oher, an undiscovered gem who spent his early years living on the streets of Memphis. — Matt Schubert
“Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich,” by Mark Kriegel (2007) — As a teenager, I
became fascinated by Maravich but never got to see him play on TV. I had to make do reading stories in Sports Illustrated about an electrifying basketball magician wearing gray, floppy sweat socks and attracting sellout crowds. Kriegel’s book is a wonderfully written fast-paced tale of a man who transformed the game he loved but was haunted by demons he could not shake. — Scott Monserud
“Arnie & Jack,” by Ian O’connor (2008)
— It would be too easy to list a John Feinstein golf book since I’ve read them all. I went with O’connor’s book that was released about a decade ago. The cover picture — Arnold Palmer helping Jack Nicklaus line up a putt during a team competition — was a great hook. The book recapped their battles on the course, Palmer’s command of the sport’s fans and endorsement opportunities and Nicklaus’ overall greatness. — Ryan O’halloran
“The Book of Basketball,” by Bill Simmons (2009) — This humorous and
thoughtful deep dive into the history of the NBA is essential reading for any hoops head. After giving his thoughts on “the secret” of the game, Simmons delves into how the league got to where it was in 2009 (going all the way back to the days of Mikan) before ranking the greatest teams, champions and players of all time in a witty and exhaustive manner. Sure, Simmons gets a little verbose. And, yes, he goes heavy on a few ham-fisted pop-culture references. — Matt Schubert
“Unstoppable” by Anthony Robles, 2013 — An incredible biography about Arizona State’s one-legged wrestling champion. Robles, born without his right leg because of a birth defect, became a wrestling icon with his Division I national championship in 2011. The book profiles the courage and strength he summoned throughout his life and athletic journey, going from a scrawny high school wrestler who got dominated to the one doing the dominating at ASU. — Kyle Newman
“Captain Class,” by Sam Walker (2017)
— What makes a sports team great goes beyond X’s and O’s? What makes a great leader in the locker room can be defined, and the answer might surprise you. For what it’s worth: Avs captain Gabe Landeskog uses it as reference book. — Mark Kiszla
“Basketball (and other things),” by Shea Serrano (2017) — Have you ever
wondered where Air Bud would get selected in a fictional basketball player draft? What about Lola Bunny (Space Jam), Sidney Deane (White Men Can’t Jump) or Will Smith (Fresh Prince)? Of course you haven’t. Serrano answers the basketball questions you didn’t know you needed answers to. — Mike Singer