Upon seeing that a book was being published about Archie Clark, I immediately jumped at the chance to read it. At first, I was disappointed because I wanted to learn more about his time at the University of Minnesota but as I kept reading, I ended up enjoying it a lot as it was a great look at the life of professional basketball players during that era. Here is my review of "Shake and Bake"
Title/Author:
"Shake and Bake: The Life and Times of NBA Great Archie Clark" by Bob Kuska with Archie Clark
Tags:
Basketball, professional, biography, Lakers, 76ers, Bullets, Supersonics, Pistons
Publish date:
February 1, 2021
Length:
352 pages
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review:
Sometimes an athlete can have a very good career and while he was recognized and lauded by the fans, the press and teammates while playing, that player may not be remembered after his or her playing career ends. Archie Clark could be considered one of those athletes. He was an All-Star guard who played for five NBA teams – Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers (he was one of the players in the famous Wilt Chamberlain trade), Baltimore/Capital Bullets, Seattle SuperSonics and Detroit Pistons. He was one of the early pioneers of the crossover dribble and used it quite effectively, hence the title of this book by Bob Kuska that looks back on his NBA career.
The subtitle, however, can be a bit misleading as the book does not cover his "life and times" very much – whether it is Clark's personal life, his childhood or his playing days in high school and the University of Minnesota. These parts are not completely missing, and there are segments in which Clark himself talks about some of this, such as when his first marriage was ending. But the vast majority of the text is about Clark's NBA career.
That career was enough to make the book a very interesting and enjoyable one to read. A reader will learn much about the life and times of a professional basketball player in the 1960's and 1970's - maybe it is here that the subtitle is appropriate. In addition to the games and seasons on the court, the book contains many stories about contract negotiations, the NBA's reserve clause preventing players from becoming free agents at the end of their contracts. That was being fought in the courts during much of Clark's playing career, eventually being deemed illegal. Because of his own sometimes tenuous contract negotiations, Clark became a champion for player's rights, including retired players. Reading about his negotiations, the means of how owners or their representatives would trick players into signing for less than their worth or even Clark's adventure with trying to find the best agent is great reading. As one who likes to read about the business side of sports, this was very enlightening.
Other stories about the life of a NBA player include the flights on road trips on commercial airlines, the meager amount of per diem meal money that sometimes resulted in vending machine food having to be a player's dinner and the conditions of some of the arenas at the time. These stories are very interesting. The writing about the games, playoff pushes (Clark was on a playoff team every season of his career) and other stories about his teammates and owners is also informative and entertaining.
Any basketball fan who followed the game during the era in which Clark played will enjoy this book immensely as it felt like it would take the reader into a time machine when professional basketball had a very different look than it does today.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
E-book (PDF)
Buying Links:
https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9780803226548/
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