Asphalt Gods: An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament

Asphalt Gods: An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament

The real basketball dealâ€“the inside story of Harlemâ€™s legendary tournament and the pros and playground legends who have made it world famous.

Earl â€œThe Goatâ€ Manigault. Herman â€œHelicopterâ€ Knowings. Joe â€œThe Destroyerâ€ Hammond. Richard â€œPee Weeâ€ Kirkland. These and dozens of other colorfully nicknamed men are the â€œAsphalt Gods,â€ whose astounding exploits in the Rucker Tournament, often against multimillionaire NBA superstars, have made them playground divinity. First established in the 1950s by Holcombe Rucker, a New York City Parks Department employee, the tournament has grown to become a Harlem institution, an annual summer event of major proportions. On that fabled patch of concrete, unknown players have been lighting it up for decades as they express basketball as a freestyle art among their peers and against such pro immortals as Julius Erving and Wilt Chamberlain. Xâ€™s and Oâ€™s are exchanged for oohs and aahs in one of the great examples of street theater to be found in urban America.

Asphalt Gods is a streetwise, supremely entertaining oral history of a tournament that has influenced everything from NBA playing style to hip-hop culture. Now, legends transmitted by word of mouth find a home and the achievements of basketballâ€™s greatest unknowns a permanent place in the gameâ€™s record.

From the Hardcover edition.
Country USA
Brand Doubleday
Manufacturer Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Binding Paperback
Color Multicolor
ReleaseDate 2003-06-17
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780385520997

Country	USA
Brand	Doubleday
Manufacturer	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Binding	Paperback
Color	Multicolor
ReleaseDate	2003-06-17
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780385520997

Asphalt Gods: An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament

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