About the Author:
Art Shamsky was a major part of the "Miracle Mets" that won the 1969 World Series. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri. After his Major League Baseball career ended, he remained in New York and became involved in a number of successful business enterprises. He also worked as a sports broadcaster on radio and television for eight years. He and his wife, Kim, reside in New York City.
Barry T. Zeman, a nonfiction writer, antiquarian, historian, longtime sports fan, and former CEO, recently ended two terms as national Executive Vice President of the Mystery Writers of America. He writes and lectures extensively at national and international conferences on a variety of subjects, and has edited and contributed to numerous books, journals, and magazines, many of which have garnered writing awards and nominations. He lives in New York with his mystery writer wife, Angela.
From Publishers Weekly:
In 1968–1970, New York fans were treated to an amazing, extended sports season, as the football Jets, baseball Mets and basketball Knicks all won championships during one glorious "harmonic convergence." Only the Knicks had enjoyed anything close to previous glory; the Mets were reliable failures, and the Jets were similarly mediocre. Shamsky, who played for the Mets during their "Amazin' " year, goes beyond the normal jocular jock anecdotes, reminding readers of the lift this trio of wins meant to a New York beleaguered by political upheaval and financial difficulties and grappling with the larger issues of racial unrest and the Vietnam War. He pins a hero to each team, explaining how, for example, Jets legend Joe Namath's swagger and swinging style made waves. The Knicks had a proud but battered leader, Willis Reed, who played with badly aching knees to propel the team into the NBA finals. Then there were the Mets. The lovable losers became cult favorites thanks to their penchant for poor play. But after Gil Hodges, a former Brooklyn Dodger star, took over as manager, they surprised everyone and took the championship. Although Shamsky's prose is clumsy at times, it accurately portrays the sense of what these teams, and those seasons, meant to New York.
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