Abe Saperstein and the American Basketball League, 1960-1963: The Upstarts Who Shot for Three and Lost to the NBA

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McFarland, Mar 29, 2013 - Sports & Recreation - 220 pages

This book examines the American Basketball League and its short history, beginning with its conception in 1959-60 and its two seasons of play, 1961-1963. The league was the first to use a trapezoidal, wider lane and a 30-second shot clock, as well as the 3-point shot. With a team in Hawaii, the league created an adjusted schedule to accommodate the outsize distance. Many players such as Connie Hawkins and Bill Bridges and coaches such as Jack McMahon and Bill Sharman later found their way to the NBA after the collapse of the league, but it took more than 15 years for wide acceptance of the 3-point shot. John McLendon and Ermer Robinson were the first two African American coaches in a major professional league as they both debuted in the ABL.

 

Contents

An American Basketball League Overview
1
One The ABLthe Run Up
13
Two The Formation of a New League Rules Constitution Referees and More
29
Three ABL Financing Expectations Hopes Realities
37
Four The Exiles and the Deserters
51
Five The Coaches and the Starting Fives
70
Six Chicago Battleground of the ABL and the NBA
97
Seven The 19611962 Season First Half
109
Ten The ABL and Then What?
158
Appendix 1 Team Standings 19611962
167
Appendix 2 ABL Scoring 19611962
168
Appendix 3 Team Standings 19621963
177
Appendix 4 ABL Scoring 19621963
178
Appendix 5 ABL Most Valuable Player and AllLeague Teams 19611962
182
Chapter Notes
185
Bibliography
197

Eight The 19611962 Season Second Half
125
Nine The ABL Begins a Second Year 19621963
139

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About the author (2013)

A professor emeritus of Education and American Studies at Penn State University, Murry R. Nelson is the author of a history of the New York Celtics, as well as biographies of Bill Russell and Shaquille O’Neal.

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