I just finished reading the book, "MARAVICH". It was a splendid read. The true story of the most talented basketball player in history. From the beginning of the book to the very end I enjoyed every paragraph. The two authors, Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill, took 7 years gathering the inforamtion, and then wrote a true masterpiece, in my opinion.
I don't think you even need to like basketball to enjoy this book. However, if you like basketball, then this book will knock your "floppy" socks off. (The floppy socks was one of Pistol Pete's trademarks).
The telling starts with Pete's grandparents, who came to Pittsburgh from Yugoslavia to work in the Steel Mills: "Vajo Maravich found steady employment as a locomotive engineer for a mill and started a family. ...Vajo and Sarah ... rented a small house .. on the south side of Pittsburgh and had 10 children. One evening in 1917, while working the midnight shift, Vajo was killed in a train accident... More misery struck Sarah and her children in 1918 when the worldwide flu epidemic spread to the United States. ... By the time the flu ran its course more then 550,000 Americans had died, including nine of Sarah's children. the only surviving child was a robust boy named Peter..."
Peter was Pistol Pete's dad. He later became know as Press Maravich. And much of this terrific book deals with Press, and his relationship with his son.
But the book is about an extreme talent named Pistol Pete, who had horrible tragedies in his life; a beyond belief basketball career, and in the end, a wonderful testimony for Christ.
I appreciate these authors, who also were in collaboration with Jackie Maravich, for the impeccable writing, from start to finish. I really like the genuineness of the book. With so much phoniness out there, in regards to sharing the truth about Jesus Christ, and trying to be exciting for the sake of the call, I loved reading this book, because the authors are not Christians, and simply tell a true story, and it just so happens to be a wonderful testimony of Christ's love and forgiveness.
I'd encourage all to read this book. Especially if you like basketball. There's great detail in many of Pete's games. And so much more. There's some bad language, but they did bleep out some of the harsher language. It's a book that made me think deeply about family, life, and God. It was a joy to read, and at times made me say, "Wow!", out loud, especially when reading how this man played the game of basketball. And the tragedies this man endured brought water to my eyes.
So five big stars for "MARAVICH" from me.
2 comments:
I always liked Pete and enjoyed the book. When he finally bowed his knee's to the Lord he didn't pull any punches with anybody. He loved "bragging" about his Saviour! Many sports figures give credit to God in a very generic way, but the two sports figures that went front and center about the Lord Jesus Christ was Pistol Pete and Reggie White! I'm sure there are more out there, but I am more familiar with these two.
Thanks for the visit Ike. I wrote to Reggie White way back when he went to Green Bay, and asked him about the $ and so forth.
he actually replied, and said some great things. He was the real deal. And the greatest DE ever to play in the NFL, IMHO.
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