Pittsburgh Sports

I've always been fond of Pittsburgh, and the sports essays collected by Randy Roberts wonderfully illustrate the charm and idiosyncrasy that make Pittsburgh's sports such a sweet reflection of the whole city.

* Frank Deford *

What a wonderful potpourri of memories and research about Pittsburgh sports! This is a page turner, difficult to put down even by those of us who have no ties to Pittsburgh.

* Benjamin G. Rader, author of American Sports: From the Age of Folk Games to the Age of Televised Sports *

Certain traits add to a city's character . . . neighborhood bars, ethnic enclaves, and sports teams. First love usually fades and eventually disappears but not a first love of sports teams, a love that usually remains even after moving away from that area. This book tells the reader about Pittsburgh teams with feeling. If you grew up in New York, you will enjoy reading this book. If you grew up in western Pennsylvania, you will love it.

* Beano Cook, ESPN *

Having been born and raised in Pittsburgh, and having lived 71 years, I thought I knew a lot about the city's sports history. This book tells me I had barely scratched the surface. Good stuff—revealing and entertaining.

* Myron Cope *

Finally, a collection of stories from a sports-obsessed town that isn't adolescent boosterism. It's a wisely edited offering of memories from our ballfields and grandstands.

* Pittsburgh Post-Gazette *

Pittsburgh Sports is about what it means to be a fan, about sporting, loyalties handed down from parent to child. It is about a shared experience of thes events, our memories of them and the stories they provide.

* McCormick Messenger *

if you're looking for a considered, meticulous history of Pittsburgh sports, extracted from the familiar treatments it might get from recovering jocks and the unrecovering sports press, this volume is the suitable quencher for that . . . highly specialized thirst.

* Pittsburgh Post-Gazette *

If you are Pittsburgh sports fan, this is a book you can't put down.

* The Post-Journal *

Finally, a collection of stories from a sports obsessed town that isn't adolecent boisteriam. It's a wisely edited offering of memories from our ballfields and grandstands.

* Pittsburgh Post-Gazette *

After reading the collection of essays in Pittsburgh Sports, comlpiled by Randy Roberts, I felt the pain of fans reminiscing about the ugly years- the Pirates of the '50s and the Steelers of any year before 1972. Highlights of the collection include a piece on the most ill-fated of the pro franchises, the Pipers, which won the upstart American Basketball Association's inaugural crown and disbanded two years later. The news isn't all bad in Pittsburgh Sports, ..but the message is clear: Enjoy your winning seasons, sports fans, because they don't come along all the time.

* Christopher Fletch