First published 2019
Matthew Goodman chronicles the rise and fall of the 1949-50 City College Beavers, a basketball team that defied every expectation. The tuition-free Harlem college was known for academics and radical politics, not sports. The team roster included only Jewish and African American players at a time when professional basketball remained segregated. Under coach Nat Holman, these city kids achieved something unprecedented: winning both the NIT and NCAA tournaments in the same season. The narrative focuses on teammates Eddie Roman and Floyd Layne, one white and one black, whose friendship endures through triumph and disgrace. The following season brings catastrophe when all five starters face arrest for point shaving conspiracies with gamblers. The beloved champions become pariahs overnight. Goodman traces their paths toward redemption, particularly Layne's dedication to teaching basketball in the Bronx and his eventual triumph with Roman's support. Drawing from interviews with surviving team members, the author recreates an era when college basketball overshadowed professional games, when gangsters controlled sports betting, and when corruption infected both police and athletics. The story reveals how young athletes were exploited while others profited from their talents.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, african-american, crime, sports, biography-memoir, basketball, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: corruption, redemption, sports
Setting: City College, Harlem, New York
Period: 1949-1950
448 pages · Hardcover · Ballantine Books
Content warnings: racism