( 7 reviews )
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Posted: Jun 25 2008
This book chronicles one of the most beloved sports figures the Boston area will ever know. Johnny Most is one of the most beloved Celtic legends and the ultimate homer. His love for his children and each individual Celtic player is evident in this easy-flowing, fascinating book. Johnny narrates most of the book (with editor contributions and special sections authored by Red and Larry) in a well-versed, fun-to-read style which brings us more insight into the man's early days and career. The laugh-out-loud stories were priceless. His inspirational return after health issues and fatherly counseling of Celtic players add insight into the man's legendary character. I highly recommend this book for to all New England sports fans. JK
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Oct 31 2007
HE MAKES HIS MEMOIRS COME ALIVE. HE WAS A FANTASTIC PERSONALITY AND THE GREATEST BASKETBALL ANNOUNCER EVER. LOOK WHAT HE HAD TO WORK WITH. THE CELTICS AND ALL THOSE CHAMPIONSHIPS. I WISH HE WERE STILL ALIVE. THIS BOOK IS GREAT. BUY IT FOR YOUR PERSONAL LIBRARY.
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( 0 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: May 4 2005
Overall, this is a worthwhile book for Celtics fans to buy. The epilog from Larry Bird alone makes it that. Overall, Johnny told a lot of good stories and had good detail on his years with Boston. There were a couple of problems I had, however: Namely, there were a lot of long quotes by players allegedly "told" to Johnny, and it was clear that they almost certainly never said them. I mean, was Johnny's memory that good, where he could recite word-for-word long passages said to him 20 years earlier? It would have been a better book if he had just paraphrased what he thought they told him, instead of long, ridiculously formalized passages. I'm a professional sports writer, and I can tell you athletes don't normally talk the way they are quoted in Johnny's book. But still, there are a lot of good inside stories for C's fans. The back-and-forth ribbing between Bird and Rick Robey was something I didn't know, and there are a lot of good insights from players about Johnny himself. Robert Parish recouting Johnny's penchant for call girls, for instance. I went to Johnny's basketball camp as a 12-year-old in Nashua, N.H., and he was very nice to all us kids. In fact, he did something nice for me; for some reason, I was getting picked on severely by a couple of older kids, to the point where I was crying and afraid to go anywhere. It was brutal. I mean, just out of the blue, these guys were making my life miserable. So, I went to Johnny about it. I felt like a wuss in some ways, but they were a lot bigger and older than I was, and I just felt scared. I went to Johnny one night as he was sitting alone in the kitchen watching a rerun of "Hawaii 5-O" on a little black and white TV set. I explained my problem, and was very concerned and sincere. A few minutes later, Johnny came into the room where all the boys had bunks and addressed it only for a minute. I can't remember the exact words he said, but it was something about how he can't stand an unfair fight, which was something he learned in the military. And that was it. But it was enough to get the bullies off my ass, and I was grateful to him. So, here's to you Johnny. Rest in peace, high above courtside.
