Historical Dictionary of Basketball - (Historical Dictionaries of Sports) by John Grasso (Hardcover)

About the Book

The Historical Dictionary of Basketball is a comprehensive account of all forms of basketball-amateur, professional, men's, women's, Olympic, domestic, and international-from its invention in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith through the present day. This is done through a chronology...

Book Synopsis

The Historical Dictionary of Basketball is a comprehensive account of all forms of basketball-amateur, professional, men's, women's, Olympic, domestic, and international-from its invention in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith through the present day. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 600 cross-referenced dictionary entries on the people, places, teams, and terminology of the game.

Review Quotes

Overall, this is a useful source for getting the basic facts on basketball history. Recommended for academic libraries with sports collections as well as public libraries.

This dictionary by historian Grasso features over 600 alphabetically ordered entries covering professional, amateur, Olympic, college, and men's and women's basketball, both in the US and abroad. Specific entries discuss players, coaches, teams, leagues, schools, countries, and positions. Entries are short, concise, and heavily cross-referenced. Preceding the entries is a 25-page chronology ranging from 1891, when James Naismith concocted the initial set of basketball rules to help alleviate the winter doldrums, to John Wooden's death in 2010. A 24-page introduction addresses a range of subjects with titles including "Basketball's Beginnings," "The First True Major League," "The Harlem Globetrotters," "Integration, Scandals, and the Near Death of the NBA," "Michael Jordan and the Dream Team," and "Kobe, LeBron, and the Multimillionaires." Following the entries are a dozen appendixes covering topics such as Naismith's original rules, NCAA champions, and inductees to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Completing the volume is a 40-page bibliography that guides readers to source material and features interesting subheadings such as "Playground," "African-American Influence," and "Corruption." Overall, this is a useful quick-and-dirty resource. Summing Up: Recommended.

This is a sound reference book for libraries and a very handy source for those individuals who research basketball history.


While the majority of the entries deal with the game played in the US there are many entries for players and teams from other parts of the world. With this dictionary Grasso updates any previous historical dictionaries on the game of basketball. His work is comprehensive and covers the amateur and professional game....Of special interest are the appendices in Grasso's book. These can be used separately from the other entries and provide a wealth of historical information about the game....John Grasso's Historical Dictionary of Basketball provides a current and comprehensive reference source for fans and researchers. Both will find much value in this book. There has been a lack of a source such as this that pulls much of the information together in one location and Grasso has provided a great service in completing this work.

About the Author

John Grasso is an Olympic historian and Treasurer of the International Society of Olympic Historians.