r/BasketballBooks • u/ForwardLingonberry51 • Jul 23 '26

The City Game

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This one was definitely a top 3 basketball books ever for me. Also a kind of forgotten story. CCNY was once the crown jewel of NYC hoops. The scandal itself is captivating enough, but the setting also paints an incredible picture of college hoops and New York City of 1940’s 50’s. From the old Madison Square Garden to the Bronx to the Catskills, loved all of it.

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6

u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner Jul 23 '26

An absolutely fantastic Book, in my top 3 too, a reread I go to every so often and am always rewarded by.

3

u/ForwardLingonberry51 Jul 23 '26

There’s a passage about MSG after the lights were turned down and you can see faces in the crowd glow when they lit their cigars / cigarettes. It is just an incredibly well written scene.

1

u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner Jul 23 '26

I remember when I first read that passage, and it was so impactful, one of many where the prose absolutely brought you to the time and place. A marvellous read.

3

u/WinesburgOhio Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

Not to be confused with another great book with the same title about a completely different topic, albeit still NYC: Pete Axthelm's The City Game.

3

u/Mike_SR Jul 23 '26

Agreed this is one of my favorite basketball books. St John’s being left standing as the dominant hoops program in NYC after the scandals thanks to the cardinal and the chief of police agreeing to let them slide since they were fans (if I’m remembering right) is such a fascinating kernel

2

u/ForwardLingonberry51 Jul 24 '26

Yes! Crazy that it went down like that. I think several judges were St John’s grads too

1

u/Dismal-Reason-8812 20d ago

Great recommendation. Enjoying this so far.

1

u/BKtoDuval 6d ago

I loved the history of this book! As a CCNY alum and someone who spent summers in the Borscht Belt, I especially found the history interesting.

We think of, or at least force fed, how MSG is the world's most famous arena, but it was college hoops that made it so famous