First Team To Ten

From the time conference play began in 1905, the Big Ten was the Western force in collegiate basketball. Minnesota, Wisconsin and Purdue were the first powers in the league, with a combined 23 titles by 1930. Purdue was dominant in the '30s, with seven titles under Coach Piggy Lambert, including a national title in 1935 led by player of the year John Wooden. The creation of a national tournament in 1939 showed the league's early dominance, as a different Big Ten team went to the Final Four in each of the first three years, with two wins. Over the next 30 years, the league produced some of the top teams in the country, led by Hall of Fame coaches like Branch McCracken, Walter Meanwell, Dutch Lonborg, Harold Olsen and Fred Taylor. Top players emerged from the conference, like Jerry Lucas, Cazzie Russell, John Havlicek, Terry Dischinger, Walt Bellamy, Johnny Green, Lou Hudson, Archie Clark and a host of others. This book provides the first-ever basketball history of the Big Ten.

In volumes1-8: the final number consists of the Commencement annual.

Starting Five: Basketball’s Best...Both Real and Imagined chronicles the history of professional basketball like nothing ever has before. With a unique and creative format, it will take readers on a cover-to-cover journey of the sport’s best teams, players, and moments from the past seventy-five years. High school, college, and the ABA also get their fair share of exposure in addition to the most enjoyable and comprehensive analysis of the NBA and its superstars that you’ll find anywhere. Young fans will learn all about the history and evolution of the sport, while older readers will appreciate the author’s focus, recognizing so many of the great starting fives of all-time—both real and imagined. Filled with stories, statistics, and something for everyone, this book is the perfect gift and resource for anyone who loves the game of basketball.

"Hawkeye Greats, By the Numbers features prominent Hawkeye football and men's basketball players by their jersey numbers, and it's bound to be a hit with Hawkeye fans as they recall all the fine players in Iowa football and men's basketball history who wore those numbers." - Ron Gonder "I think it's marvelous how you are arranging Hawkeye Greats, By the Numbers. So often books in this genre are arranged by a ranking with no historical significance, and I'm glad to see a book with a truly unique approach." - University of Iowa Press

'Meijer's portrait is definitive' iNews 'Ten Hag may just be the man to bring the glory days back' Daily Star Who is Erik ten Hag? Calm and cool-headed, he ignores critics, follows his own methods and relentlessly pursues perfection on the pitch. His uncanny ability to analyse and solve problems - the 'process' as Ten Hag calls it - has unfailingly led to breakthrough. There is no magic. There is only intelligence at work, personal devotion to players and near-obsessive attention to detail. At Ajax, Ten Hag brooked no dissent and moulded his team into a smoothly operating unit of attack. His team enjoyed an astonishing run, winning three league cups in a row and reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in a quarter of a century. Along the way, they produced some of the brightest and most entertaining football seen in Europe for years. And throughout his first season at Manchester United, he has more than made his mark. He's brought a winning spirit to the club and silverware back to the trophy cabinet. Maarten Meijer's definitive biography follows Erik ten Hag, from his upbringing in the Dutch countryside to his domestic triumphs and European victories. Meijer's book is the ultimate guide to the man with the momentous task of beginning a new era of great and winning football.

The “beautifully written” biography of the first African American player to be drafted by the NFL, “a must read for any sports fan” (Warren Rogan, host of the podcast Sports’ Forgotten Heroes). As the first African American to play quarterback, George Taliaferro was a trailblazer whose athletic prowess earned him accolades throughout his football career. Instrumental in leading Indiana University to an undefeated season and undisputed Big Ten championship in 1945, Taliaferro was a star when many major universities had no black players on their rosters and others were stacking black players behind white starters. George Taliaferro would later rack up impressive statistics while playing professionally for the New York Yanks, Dallas Texans, Baltimore Colts, and Philadelphia Eagles. His athletic prowess did little to prevent him from facing segregation and discrimination on a daily basis, but his popularity as an athlete also gave him a platform. Playing professionally gave Taliaferro more opportunity to use football to fight oppression and to interact with other important trailblazers, like Joe Louis, Nat King Cole, Muhammad Ali, and Congressman John Lewis. Race and Football in America tells Taliaferro’s story and profiles the experiences of other athletes of color who were recognized for their athleticism yet oppressed for their skin color, as they fought (and continue to fight) for equal rights and opportunities. Together these stories provide an insightful portrait of race in America. “A portrait of a young man who overcame the obstacles of racism, the military draft, and the death of his father. His vehicle for climbing over obstacles was athletic prowess and inner strength.” —Jim Baumgartner, College Football Hall of Fame

Part history, part folklore, part legend, the book touches on the entire history of the Badger football program from 1889 to the present.