Tag Archives: Earl Monroe

The Sick, The Lame, and The Swollen

In March 1971, the Baltimore Bullets and Philadelphia 76ers met in the first round of the NBA playoffs. It would be the start of Earl Monroe’s final playoff run in Baltimore. It also would go down in NBA history as one of the league’s more-grueling playoff jousts. Not quite in the category of the Knicks-Heat clashes of the 1990s—but close. Having recently published the book Shake and Bake with NBA great Archie Clark, I have a clip file of the series from the Baltimore Morning Sun, Baltimore Evening Sun, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. Beloved bylines such as: Alan Goldstein, Seymour Smith, Bob Maisel, Mark Heisler, Alan Richman (yes, the food critic), Bill Tanton, Mike Janofsky, and Jack Kiser. 

The Magnificent Monroe

[Below is text drafted for the book Shake and Bake. It didn’t make the final cut over concerns about the length of the book. Too bad. This vignette shares a truly fun-and-intimate moment between superstar and fans that would be unimaginable in today’s NBA. Enjoy!] . . . The next day brought the 76ers aContinue reading “The Magnificent Monroe”