The Holy Grail of Hoops, by Josh Swade

After reading Hoop Genius, a children's book about James Naismith's invention of basketball, and then meeting Naismith's great grandson, I just had to pick up Josh Swade's new book, The Holy Grail of Hoops: One Fan's Quest to Buy the Original Rules of Basketball.  When Swade, who grew up watching Kansas basketball . . . OK, that's an understatement.  At Swade's house, Jayhawk basketball was like a religion.  "Our holy land was located in Lawrence, Kansas . . . and our temple . . . was Allen Fieldhouse."  He says that "had my old man displayed the same passion for Judaism that he displayed for Kansas basketball, I'm quite certain that today I would be a rabbi or cantor . . . ."  So given this religious fervor, when Swade heard that James Naismith's original rules of basketball were being auctioned off, he had an epiphany: there is no other place those rules should reside than at the University of Kansas.

Swade embarks on a journey, criss-crossing the country, meeting KU alumni, athletic supporters, former coaches and players, and members of the Naismith and Allen (Phog Allen, KU coach after Naismith) families.  Woven into his quest is the story of KU basketball, which is, after all, the story of basketball itself.  Naismith came up with the rules of basketball and thumbtacked them to the wall at the YMCA.  Out of those inauspicious beginnings, the game quickly became one of the most popular sports in the world.  Naismith himself got to see the game played in the Olympics.

He brought the game to KU (after being hired as--chaplain!), and his protege Phog Allen led in the expansion of the game at the collegiate level.  As Swade tells the story, virtually all of the greatness in the game of basketball, the great coaches, the great arenas, the great teams, can be traced back to Lawrence and the legacy of Naismith and Allen.  The rules are the founding document, without which "hundreds of millions of people wouldn't have enjoyed playing or watching basketball the way the have over the last twelve decades," as the auction house historical documents expert explains.  To Swade, just as the Declaration of Independence belongs at the National Archives in Washington, so do the rules belong in Lawrence.

Although The Holy Grail of Hoops is a paean to all things Jayhawk basketball (and I have to admit, just as I get sick of KU's dominance in the Big 12, I got a little tired of hearing about them here. . . .), any rabid sports fan will appreciate and enjoy the passion and dedication Swade shows for his team.  I could relate as he talks about struggling tough seasons and hard losses: "When things are going good in life, a tough loss is much easier to handle.  When things are going bad, a tough loss is gut wrenching.  Your entire world and all your supposed problems are magnified times a hundred.  Everything seems to be collapsing around you.  The world is a cold, harsh, unforgiving place during these times."  As a lifelong Baylor fan, I have felt like this plenty of times!

If you love basketball, if you love sports, you will love Swade's story (even if you don't love KU).  When I go to Kansas for the the Baylor/KU game in October, the rules will be on my must-see list, thanks to Swade.

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

And here they are. The rules: