Title/Author:
“The City Game:
Triumph, Scandal and a Legendary Basketball Team” by Matthew Goodman
Tags:
Basketball, college, scandal,
gambling, politics, championship
Publish date:
November 5, 2019
Length:
448 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)
Review:
The 1949-50 basketball team from the
City College of New York accomplished a feat that will never be done again.
They won both the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) and the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) tourney in the same season. At that time, they were held at different
times rather than concurrently as is done now. These championships came at a
time when college basketball was much more popular than the professional game and
also at a time when gamblers have a large influence in the sport. Through these
gamblers, City College was found to have participated in a point shaving
scandal along with several other college teams. This City College team, its
players and both the good and bad times for them is captured in this outstanding
book by Matthew Goodman.
What is the most striking feature
about the book and the writing is how a reader will have a deep connection with
the City College players, especially Eddie Roman and Floyd Layne. Roman is Jewish and Layne is black, making
them the perfect symbols to represent the student body make up of City College,
which was tuition free and comprised mainly of black and Jewish students who were
gifted intellectually but would not otherwise have been able to pursue higher
education. Goodman starts the book off
by introducing the reader to Roman and his family and ends it with a wonderful
success story achieved by Layne in a surprising twist. In between, the reader will be taken back to
that era of smoke-filled arenas and students cramming the cheap seats while the
gamblers, politicians and businessmen filled the lower bowls with other items to
take care of than watching the games.
While the writing about the basketball
was very good and the recap of that special season for City College was easy to
follow (and to cheer for them), the coverage of the point shaving scandal is even
better. The reader will get information from
several viewpoints – the City College players who accepted bribes to shave
points, the gamblers who set up the players and the informants who provided the
information prosecutors needed to charge the players and gamblers. On the latter, the story of Joseph Gross and
his flip-flopping on his willingness to testify was especially
entertaining. Between his arrogance when
he was arrested and his speedy exit from the courtroom when he was supposed to testify,
he is just one character of many with whom readers will become very familiar.
However, that quality is best
illustrated when writing about the City College players and their lives. Whether Goodman is sharing their family life,
their basketball prowess, the shame they felt when arrested and deposed, or
their various degrees of success after City College, the reader will feel like
they have known these men for a long time. The best section in the entire book
is when the players are arrested at Penn Station after disembarking a train
after a road game – the emotions of not only the players but Coach Nat Holman
are on full display.
One more quality about the book that
makes it an outstanding read is how several issues that are still discussed
today are raised in this book. Only two
of the City College players that were arrested served jail time – both of them
African American. Several times it was
pointed out that nearly everyone involved – the schools, the arenas, the gamblers
– were making money off college basketball except the players. These are issues that are still being discussed
today.
For these and many other reasons, this
is a book that should be picked up by either college basketball fans or readers
who want to learn more about the history and times of New York City in the 1950’s
as the dialogue has an authentic feel.
I wish to thank Ballentine Press for
providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying Links:
I agree with all of the above. A great page turner as well. Great for book group discussions.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this book as much as any that I read in 2021. Incredible story and research done on this project.
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