The Epicenter of Steel City Sports

From Forbes Field to Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood has been home to some of the most iconic moments in sports history. Including the Fitzgerald Field House and the Duquesne Gardens, Oakland has drawn in both professional and college sports fans alike.

Local authors and sports historians David Finoli, Tom Rooney, Robert Healy III, Douglas Cavanaugh and Chris Fletcher celebrate the glorious victories and heartbreaking losses throughout the history of Pittsburgh's Oakland section, the epicenter of Steel City Sports.

Lovingly nicknamed the Igloo, the Civic Arena was home to the Pittsburgh Penguins until 2010 and hosted some of the most important sports and entertainment events in Steel City history. During the glorious Mario Lemieux era, the venue hosted four Stanley Cup Finals, including three championship-winning seasons. Muhammad Ali KO'ed Charlie Powell in 1963 there. It was home to Duquesne Basketball in the arena's early days and has hosted some of the University of Pittsburgh's most important basketball games as well. Some of the biggest acts in music history have rocked the Igloo's seats, including Elvis, the Beatles and frequent favorite, Bruce Springsteen. Join local sports and media writers as they recall the greatest moments in Civic Arena's storied history.

Building the Tradition

Most University of Michigan basketball fans know about the school's success during the Cazzie Russell era, and how the Wolverines built on that foundation, rising ever higher until they reached the pinnacle with their 1989 NCAA championship. But few know the stories behind the headlines. For example, how did Michigan coach Dave Strack, who admitted that U-M basketball was 'bad' when he became the coach, land a player of Russell's caliber? And how did Michigan find Russell's perfect complement, a future All-American who was virtually unknown ?

Using fresh interviews with dozens of coaches and players – including Russell, Rudy Tomjanovich, Johnny Orr, Bill Frieder, Glen Rice and many others – author Mike Rosenbaum digs behind the scenes to reveal the fascinating stories behind Michigan’s basketball successes from 1960 to 1989.

Most people thought it would take a miracle to bring the Gamecocks' women's basketball team to the nation's top teams, but Dawn Staley has always beaten the odds.

She stood at the podium on May 10, 2008, and promised to bring national prominence to South Carolina, and with a lot of hard work, Staley's vision for the Gamecocks' women's basketball team came true over the next nine years, culminating in the 2017 national championship. Her willingness to keep striving and to deliver on her promise was met with early resistance, but it paid off with several winning seasons, terrific recruits, and finally, the only prize Staley had not obtained in a lifetime of championship basketball. David Cloninger takes you on the team's journey to the national title.

In the "City of Brotherly Love," there are few things taken as seriously as local bragging rights. In a city that lives and dies with its sports heroes, basketball is no exception. This volume traces the lore and history behind Philadelphia's Big 5, an informal basketball league that features five of the area's most prestigious colleges: LaSalle University, Temple University, Saint Joseph's University, Villanova University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Formed in 1955, the Big 5 pulls teams from the Ivy League, the Big East, the American Athletic Conference, and, in the case of both LaSalle and Saint Joseph's, the Atlantic 10. With a round-robin format, each team plays the other once and best record takes home the trophy. In a sport that has become a nationwide sensation, the spirit of Philadelphia lives on, led by the most loyal and passionate fans in the world.

Walk into Hinkle Fieldhouse, and you feel it--that palpable sense of history known as the Hinkle mystique. Indiana's basketball cathedral has stood in all its glory at Butler University since 1928. John Wooden, Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird played on its floor. Jesse Owens sprinted to a record at Hinkle, and athletes from around the globe have brought Olympic-level competition to crowds gathered under its steel arches. It was the setting for the climactic scene in Hoosiers, arguably the greatest sports movie ever made. It has hosted evangelists, ice shows, tennis matches, bike races and even roller derbies. Author Eric Angevine gets inside the paint in this complete Hinkle history, featuring archival photographs of the iconic structure and words from those who know it best.