{"product_id":"the-city-game-triumph-scandal-and-a-legendary-basketball-team-paperback","title":"The City Game: Triumph, Scandal, and a Legendary Basketball Team - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMatthew Goodman\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe powerful story of a college basketball team who carried an era's brightest hopes--racial harmony, social mobility, and the triumph of the underdog--but whose success was soon followed by a shocking downfall\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A masterpiece of American storytelling.\"--Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of\u003ci\u003e Devil in the Grove\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eNAMED ONE OF THE BEST SPORTS BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY \u003ci\u003eTHE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe unlikeliest of champions, the 1949-50 City College Beavers were extraordinary by every measure. New York's City College was a tuition-free, merit-based college in Harlem known far more for its intellectual achievements and political radicalism than its athletic prowess. Only two years after Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color barrier--and at a time when the National Basketball Association was still segregated--every single member of the Beavers was either Jewish or African American. But during that remarkable season, under the guidance of the legendary former player Nat Holman, this unheralded group of city kids would stun the basketball world by becoming the only team in history to win the NIT and NCAA tournaments in the same year. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e This team, though, proved to be extraordinary in another way: During the following season, all of the team's starting five were arrested by New York City detectives, charged with conspiring with gamblers to shave points. Almost overnight these beloved heroes turned into fallen idols. The story centers on two teammates and close friends, Eddie Roman and Floyd Layne, one white, one black, each caught up in the scandal, each searching for a path to personal redemption. Though banned from the NBA, Layne continued to devote himself to basketball, teaching the game to young people in his Bronx neighborhood and, ultimately, with Roman's help, finding another kind of triumph--one that no one could have anticipated. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Drawing on interviews with the surviving members of that championship team, Matthew Goodman has created an indelible portrait of an era of smoke-filled arenas and Borscht Belt hotels, when college basketball was far more popular than the professional game. It was a time when gangsters controlled illegal sports betting, the police were on their payroll, and everyone, it seemed, was getting rich--except for the young men who actually played the games. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTautly paced and rich with period detail, \u003ci\u003eThe City Game\u003c\/i\u003e tells a story both dramatic and poignant: of political corruption, duplicity in big-time college sports, and the deeper meaning of athletic success.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMatthew Goodman\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of three previous books of nonfiction: \u003ci\u003eEighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Sun and the Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century New York\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eJewish Food: The World at Table\u003c\/i\u003e. A\u003ci\u003e New York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller, \u003ci\u003eEighty Days\u003c\/i\u003e has been translated into eight languages. Goodman's work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe American Scholar, Harvard Review, Salon, \u003c\/i\u003e and many other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and two children.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 448\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 7.9 x 5.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 02, 2021\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51768050483488,"sku":"9781101882856","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/8ddd78c38c41f1237e4546594b1e9d50.webp?v=1780323546","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-city-game-triumph-scandal-and-a-legendary-basketball-team-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}