The Big O: My Life, My Times, My Game

by Oscar Robertson

Book Overview

This is the story of perhaps the greatest all-around player in basketball history, told straight from his mouth. The name Oscar Robertson nowadays gets mentioned in conjunction with one of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1579547648
• ISBN13: 9781579547646
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Rodale Books
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 1.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

I loved the Big O's honesty and frankness

What a wonderful book. I don't have a lot of time to read sports books so I'm very picky when I read one. Being a man of 50+ the Big O has always been one of my favorite players and I'm constantly amazed by the lack of credit he has been given with regards to his greatness as both a player and a man. This is a book that the true basketball fan can really appreciate. Like Jordan, Bird, West and Magic the O would be a star in any era.

Using basketball as an agent of change!

Oscar Robertson tells it like it was as this book is as much about racism as it is about basketball. I played briefly against Oscar and we were both raised in the hot bed of Indiana basketball. Trying to become an accomplished player was one thing and dealing with discrimination back in the 1950s was quite another. Oscar tries to paint a picture for the reader showing what it was like to muster enough courage to play while being discriminated against. He performed brilliantly despite the bigotry, hatred and prejudice and , perhaps unknowingly to him at the time, used basketball as an instrument of change just as Jackie Robinson used baseball before him. Oscar Robertson's book, The Big O should be looked upon not only as a sports book, but as a history book. If readers would like to add to their understanding of the trials and tribulations players went through in the Golden Era of Indiana basketball they might also enjoy my just published book titled Growing Up in Indiana: The Culture & Hoosier Hysteria Revisited.

A Class Man and Player

At 50 I'm a little young to have followed Oscar Robertson's career other than the Milwaukee Bucks period. I have run into Robertson at Cincinnati ballgames and hotels when in the city although have not spoken to him. This is a biography written in typical form, "Here's what I did growing up, here's the influence of my parents and others, here's what I did that you know me for and here's what I'm doing now." But the difference is Oscar really has something to say and he's rattled a few cages saying it.While many people come from poor backgrounds, particularly basketball players, Oscar's is particularly interesting due to the very rural nature of his upbringing in Tennessee. Most of his early life was centered on working in fields, church and family. A move to inner city Indianapolis was significant in his development as a basketball player. And this is where the book becomes very interesting as Oscar conveys the first noticeable slights from racism. Oscar has always been very well mannered projecting a great image. And maybe in many ways this hid the hurt he was feeling from racism or maybe I was just too young to hear about it.After rising to a top star, Robertson commits to a smaller school, U of Cincinatti, amid rumblings of improper recruiting. He dispels most of this and introduces boosters or mentors who took his best interests at heart and helped him grow as a man. He also meets his wife who he describes in glowing terms, clearly a very strong marriage that eventually yields two daughters. This is another interesting part of the book as one of his daughters suffers from a disease requiring an organ transplant.Robertson starts his pro career in his hometown of Cincinnati with an under funded team which creates conflicts throughout his career there as money and a good supporting cast is always short. Discussing his pro career you can really see his bitterness with the pre-free agent market and how he had to fight for his money and was often blamed for putting himself above his team. This for a man that averaged a triple-double. If you follow the NBA today, you will almost find the numbers thrown around as comical.Clearly, this book has generated controversy as Robertson has alluded to racism throughout the book. While it didn't match the impression I had of Robertson, I found he supported his positions well even though you may not agree with the outcome.Overall, I found this to be an excellent book of a basketball icon in the late 50s to 70s. If you have interest in sports in those periods, life in America in those periods, or a short view of race relations at that time, I think you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

Fantastic

the Big O is One of the Greatest Talents in any sport Period. Wilt Chamberlin is to Me the Greatest Player in the NBA Ever but I could Put the BIG O right there with Him.He was unstoppable & One of the Game's true Ground-Breakers.in His Book He pulls no punches & Brings it here. He is a very down to Earth Soul brother & a Class act. He should Be running a Team in the NBA or something that showcases just How Important He was & is to the Game.Fantastic Book & strong read.

a worthwhile read

I was a big fan of the Big O growing up. He was the most complete player on the basketball court. This book is very well written and well rounded, covering his triumphs and conflicts during the racially charged 50's and 60's. I highly recommned it, as it discusses college and professional basketball history extremely well - particularly the seminal period of the NBA in the 60's which I now only vaguley remember - but also discusses the societal environment in which the Big O' incredible career took place.