{"product_id":"tall-men-short-shorts-the-1969-nba-finals-wilt-russ-lakers-celtics-and-a-very-young-sports-reporter-9780525567318","title":"Tall Men, Short Shorts: The 1969 NBA Finals: Wilt, Russ, Lakers, Celtics, and a Very Young Sports Reporter","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis \"part memoir, part sports story\" (\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e) from the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Big Bam\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles the clash of NBA titans over seven riveting games--Celtics versus Lakers, Russell versus Chamberlain--covered by one young reporter. Welcome to the 1969 NBA Finals!\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThey don't set up any better than this. The greatest basketball player of all time - Bill Russell - and his juggernaut Boston Celtics, winners of ten (\u003ci\u003eten!\u003c\/i\u003e) of the previous twelve NBA championships, squeak through one more playoff run and land in the Finals again. Russell's opponent? The fearsome 7'1\" next-generation superstar, Wilt Chamberlain, recently traded to the LA Lakers to form the league's first dream team. Bill Russell and John Havlicek versus Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. The 1969 Celtics are at the end of their dominance. The 1969 Lakers are unstoppable. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAdd to the mix one newly minted reporter. Covering the epic series is a wide-eyed young sports writer named Leigh Montville. Years before becoming an award-winning legend himself at The \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSports Illustrated\u003c\/i\u003e, twenty-four-year-old Montville is ordered by his editor at the \u003ci\u003eGlobe\u003c\/i\u003e to get on a plane to L.A. (first time!) to write about his luminous heroes, the biggest of big men. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat follows is a raucous, colorful, joyous account of one of the greatest seven-game series in NBA history. Set against a backdrop of the late sixties, Montville's reporting and recollections transport readers to a singular time - with rampant racial tension on the streets and on the court, with the emergence of a still relatively small league on its way to becoming a billion-dollar industry, and to an era when newspaper journalism and the written word served as the crucial lifeline between sports and sports fans. And there was basketball - seven breathtaking, see-saw games, highlight-reel moments from an unprecedented cast of future Hall of Famers (including player-coach Russell as the first-ever black head coach in the NBA), coast-to-coast travels and the clack-clack-clack of typewriter keys racing against tight deadlines. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eTall Men, Short Shorts\u003c\/i\u003e is a masterpiece of sports journalism with a charming touch of personal memoir. Leigh Montville has crafted his most entertaining book yet, richly enshrining luminous players and moments in a unique American time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThree-time \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author LEIGH MONTVILLE is a former columnist at \u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e and former senior writer at \u003ci\u003eSports Illustrated\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eSting Like A Bee\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEvel\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Mysterious Montague\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Big Bam\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTed Williams\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAt the Altar of Speed\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eManute\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eWhy Not Us?\u003c\/i\u003e He lives near Boston.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Anchor Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50485983445266,"sku":"9780525567318","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_8c26414f-d20f-4b15-8a87-500e1f949f1a.jpg?v=1730417021","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/tall-men-short-shorts-the-1969-nba-finals-wilt-russ-lakers-celtics-and-a-very-young-sports-reporter-9780525567318","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}