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Jonathan Knight, Editor
 
Inactive.
The Press is no longer accepting proposals for this series.
 
The Classic Sports series celebrates the intriguing histories of beloved sports teams, evoking and enriching the memories of longtime fans. Providing a patchwork narrative of the evolutions of cherished franchises and the essential characters and moments that define them, Classic Sports colorfully illustrates that these ongoing sagas played out on fields and inside arenas across the country deserve reflection and appreciation.

Classic Reds

and | Filed under: Black Squirrel Books, Classic Sports, Recent Releases, Sports
Classic Reds by Joe and Jack Heffron. Kent State University Press.

Choosing the 50 greatest games is hard to do; ranking them is even harder. Now every Reds fan can relive memories of baseball before and after the Big Red Machine, debate about these choices, or make a list of their own.

 


Classic ’Burgh

| Filed under: Black Squirrel Books, Classic Sports, Recent Releases, Regional Interest, Sports
Classic 'Burgh: The 50 Greatest Collegiate Games in Pittsburgh Sports History by David Finoli. Kent State University Press.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Duquesne University basketball was not only the most revered team in the city but also won the area’s only Division I national championship ever in a tournament. Carnegie Mellon University, considered one of the premiere academic institutions in the country today, was still called Carnegie Tech in 1926 when its football team defeated the great Knute Rockne and Notre Dame in one of the most incredible upsets the sport has ever seen.

 


Classic Bengals

and | Filed under: Black Squirrel Books, Classic Sports, Recent Releases, Regional Interest, Sports
Classic Bengals by Steve Watkins and Dick Maloney. Kent State University Press

In Classic Bengals, authors Steve Watkins and Dick Maloney tell the stories of the 50 greatest games in Bengals history — along with the stories behind the games. Their choices are sure to spark much interest, and argument, among the legions of loyal Bengals fans.

They set the stage for each game, detail the big plays, stunning comebacks, and fantastic finishes and paint a picture that makes fans feel as though they’re at the game. They include comments from players and coaches while also listing the scoring details and statistics of each game.

 


Classic Pens, 2nd edition

| Filed under: Black Squirrel Books, Classic Sports, Sports
Classic Pens-David Finoli. Kent State University Press

In the first edition of Classic Pens readers were reminded of the franchise’s most memorable contests, from its beginnings in the 1960s through the 2010s. This new edition brings the team’s standout games up to date, including their triumphant 2016 Stanley Cup victory.

 


Classic Cavs 2nd Edition

| Filed under: Classic Sports, Sports
Knight Cover

This brand-new edition of Classic Cavs counts down the fifty greatest Cleveland Cavaliers games, from their 67-loss inaugural NBA season in 1970–71 through the franchise’s renaissance following the triumphant return of LeBron James. The rich, colorful history of the Cavs is woven into tales that tie together the early games at rickety old Cleveland Arena, the incredible highs and heartbreaking lows played out at Richfield Coliseum, and the fierce battles waged at the “Q.”

 


Classic Steelers

| Filed under: Black Squirrel Books, Classic Sports, Sports
Classic Steelers-David Finoli. Kent State University Press

When it came to football in the 1930s, the college sport was king. But in 1933, former boxer and minor league baseball player Art Rooney, who had quarterbacked the squad at Duquesne University, purchased a team for Pittsburgh for $2,500. Thus began the legacy we know as “Steeler Nation.”

At the time, no one could have imagined that the Pirates, as they were originally named, would become a treasured possession for Pittsburghers. For the first 40 years, the franchise was a national joke. With only one playoff performance—a 21–0 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles for the eastern division title in 1947—highlights were minimal for a team that regularly found itself at the bottom of the standings.

 


Classic Bucs

| Filed under: Black Squirrel Books, Classic Sports, Regional Interest, Sports

Until the surprising 2012 campaign, a generation of Steel City baseball fans had hungered for the Pirates to be involved in an actual pennant race, a goal that even the most diehard could not have imagined. There was a time that it wasn’t a far-off dream, but instead an annual right. From 1970 through 1979, Pittsburgh won six eastern division crowns and two national championships. While impressive, the 1970s were only the second-best decade in franchise history. Classic Bucs looks back to the beginning of the twentieth century, the indisputable best decade of the Pittsburgh Pirates, when a young and brash team captured four senior circuit titles and their initial World Series in 1909.