Book Description

"Pick a sport -- baseball, professional or college football or basketball, horse racing, boxing, or tennis -- and in every case New York has consistently had front-row seats for every major development and many of the most memorable events in sports history." -- from the introduction It's every New York sports fan's dream: a chance to analyze, debate, and rank the top 100 sports events in New York history. A list to settle all arguments. What would you choose? First of all, where to start? Babe Ruth hitting the first home run in Yankee Stadium? Arthur Ashe winning the first U.S. Open? Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden? Over the years, New York has been at the center of seemingly every major sporting event. From the integration of baseball to the heyday of boxing and horse racing to the rise of professional sports -- it all happened in New York. The journalist Stuart Miller, a native New Yorker and sportswriter, guides us through the pivotal events with illuminating analysis and colorful detail. Based on extensive research, this richly illustrated book is filled with vivid and authoritative prose. Highlights include: * Willie Mays makes "the Catch" in the 1954 World Series * Jimmy Connors turns back the clock at the 1991 U.S. Open * Willis Reed rescues the Knicks in the 1970 NBA Finals * Joe Namath and the Jets win the 1968 AFL Championship * Mookie Wilson's slow grounder to first is a Mets miracle in the 1986 World Series All of the celebrated franchises are here, from the Yankees and the Mets to the Knicks and the Giants, as well as sports ranging from horse racing to tennis to boxing to the New York City Marathon. There are additional lists and analyses, such as "On the Road: The Top 25," featuring events such as Bucky Dent's 1978 homer over the Green Monster in Fenway Park. "Fearsome Foes" highlights epic performances by the opposition, like Michael Jordan's 55-point night at the Garden in 1992. Miller also gives us the bad side of sports, in "Worst Days," such as when Benny Paret died in the ring at the hands of Emile Griffith. Exhaustively researched and endlessly entertaining, The 100 Greatest Days in New York Sports is a book destined to be on the shelf of every New York -- and every American -- sports fan.