The Real Hoosiers: Crispus Attucks High School, Oscar Robertson, and the Hidden History of Hoops (Jack McCallum)

Basketball in Indiana is often described as a religion of sorts. The state's tournament, which was a single class of all high schools for over 50 years, brought together small towns, big cities, parochial schools, public schools, and everything in-between. The tournament was opened up to private and Black high schools in the 1940's, with Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis becoming the first Black high school to win the state championship in 1955, repeating the next year.

The movie Hoosiers is largely based on Milan High School, which won the title in 1954, beating Attucks in the semifinals. However, Attucks' back-to-back state championships were largely more transformative for Indiana basketball. Jack McCallum highlights Attucks High School's basketball program in The Real Hoosiers: Crispus Attucks High School, Oscar Robertson, and the Hidden History of Hoops.

In the book, McCallum talks about the history of race in both Indianapolis and Indiana generally, where racism dominated much of the landscape. The book weaves between the rise of Attucks as a basketball powerhouse and how the state of Indiana reacted to it.

Attucks, coached by Ray Crowe, played dominant and inspired basketball, with a young Oscar Robertson leading the team in those days. Even though Robertson declined to be interviewed for the book, press accounts and stories by his fellow teammates help provide a strong narrative of Attucks breaking barriers and winning with class. 

MY RATING: 4.5