From rags to riches on a magic pigskin, by Buffalo Bills quarterback Kelly and Buffalo News sportswriter Carucci (coauthor, They Call Me Dirty, 1988, etc.). Both quarterbacks in the 1990 Super Bowl now have published autobiographies. Much as in Jeff Hostetler's One Giant Step (1991), the message here is that sports is still a way out of poverty in America, and that family is the root of what coaches call ``character.'' Kelly also had fun, and his childhood competition with his three brothers, combined with his father's cooperation, was strong preparation. And he could throw bullets. He threw them for Howard Schnellenberger at Miami, earning much praise, but the shoulder separation Kelly suffered there (and its long, slow rehab) is sobering, as are the concussions and memory-loss. By contrast, his induction into the USFL's Houston Gamblers is hilarious. Wanting bucks but not wanting icy Buffalo, Kelly went to Houston for his tryout, which saw owner Jerry Argovitz running receiving patterns. A bullet broke an Argovitz finger, and the owner decided that Kelly's shoulder was mended. Nearly four million dollars richer, Kelly went on a tear against the lightweight USFL competition, but what's more interesting here is the continuing family closeness, the debt acknowledged, and the satisfaction Kelly takes in what he can do for the people he loves. The scene in which he and his brothers spread hundred-dollar bills across a table and then fan themselves with the money is priceless. On a roll from that point forward, Kelly ends up with the Bills and annihilates the Raiders on the way to the Super Bowl. And while Buffalo lost that one, it was a game of historic excellence in which neither team (or quarterback) lost face. Aside from injuries, nary a bad event seems to occur here, and there isn't a lot of deep thought—this is a book about winning, and not a bad one. (Thirty b&w photos—not seen.)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-385-42451-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1992
Exquisite photographs and 97 essays, ranging from dubious to exemplary in quality and relevance, trace the 125-year history of professional baseball. Major League Baseball lends its logo to the fan's ultimate coffee-table book. By having unmatched access to various baseball archives, including those belonging to Major League Baseball, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and the New York Public Library's Spalding Collection, Wallace has compiled a powerful visual account of the sport. Photographs of legendary players—including Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, Frank Robinson, and, in one especially riveting still, Yankees' catcher Thurman Munson bracing for a collision at the plate—beautifully, almost eerily, preserve these heroes at the height of their youthful powers. Other effects, including uniforms, endorsements, cartoons, and trading cards, forcefully yet subtly demonstrate baseball's far-reaching cultural impact. While Wallace (The American Museum of Natural History's Book of Dinosaurs and Other Ancient Creatures, p. 1116) intends to show the game from all angles, the text occasionally struggles to meet the estimable standards set by the illustrated sections. Laudable is Wallace's inclusion of reports from the Reach and Spalding baseball annuals of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other noteworthy items are a 1955 scouting report on Brooks Robinson, who later became one of the greatest infielders ever, and Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey's explanation of his choice of Jackie Robinson as major league baseball's first black player in over 60 years. But the impact of such documentation is somewhat mitigated by the inclusion of ghostwritten autobiographies and ``flack'' pieces of questionable objectivity, and by Wallace's own introductory passages, which, with their boosterish tone, gloss over some of the game's less obvious undercurrents. But above all, baseball is a fan's game, and this book, compiled lovingly by a fan, deserves notice as a beautiful and enjoyable baseball time capsule.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-8109-3135-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With the capable help of sportswriter Levine (Life on the Rim, 1990), the smallest man ever to play in the NBA tells his story with warmth and humor. At 53'' Muggsy Bogues is an unlikely basketball star, but the Charlotte Hornets' pesky point guard is annually among the leaders in assists and steals, and he averages 10 points per game. Raised in the projects of East Baltimore, Bogues describes a tough life that included being shot when he was 5 years old and, at 12, watching his father go to prison for armed robbery. But there was always basketball, even if no one would take him seriously. He led his Dunbar High School team to 59 straight victories and national prominence in 1981 and '82 and was sought after by college coaches who were sharp enough to overlook his height. At Wake Forest, he averaged 14.8 points per game, collected 275 steals, and amassed an Atlantic Coast Conference record of 781 assists. He was drafted in the first round by the Washington Bullets in 1987 and became great friends with 76'' teammate Manute Bol (much to the delight of photographers). When Washington didn't protect him in the 1989 expansion draft, Bogues was thrilled to be selected by the Hornets. His career hit its stride when coach Gene Littles instituted ``an up-tempo offense'' with Bogues at the point. Later, with the additions of $84 million power forward Larry Johnson and, in 1992, center Alonzo Mourning, Bogues sparked the Hornets to a first-ever playoff appearance. Asked how he can play against men as much as a foot-and-a-half taller, he simply notes that ``the ball's on the floor more than it's in the air. And down there is Muggsland.'' A refreshingly good-natured sports biography by a man who's proud of his achievements but not an egomaniac. As he says, he's ``one happy little fella.'' (20 b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-316-10173-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1994
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