Earl the Pearl: My Story

by Earl Monroe, Quincy Troupe (Editor), Bill Bradley (Foreword by)

Overview

In his own words, the story of Knicks hero, NBA champion, and iconic superstar Earl “The Pearl” Monroe.

Earl "The Pearl" Monroe is a basketball legend whose impact on the game transcends statistics, a player known as much for his unorthodox, "playground" style of play as his championship pedigree. Observers said that watching him play was like listening to jazz, his moves resembling free-floating improvisations.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with the ball," Monroe once admitted, "and if I don't know, I'm quite sure the guy guarding me doesn't know either."

Traded to the New York Knicks before the 1971–72 season, Monroe became a key member of the beloved, star-studded 1972–73 Knicks team that captured the NBA title. And now, for the first time in paperback, Monroe tells his remarkable story of that championship season and so much more.

Written with bestselling author Quincy Troupe (Miles, The Pursuit of Happyness), Earl the Pearl retraces Monroe's life from his upbringing in a tough South Philadelphia neighborhood through his record-setting days at Winston-Salem State, to his NBA Rookie of the Year season in 1967, his tremendous years with the Baltimore Bullets, and ultimately his redemptive, championship glory with the New York Knicks. Updated since first published in hardcover, the book culminates with a revealing epilogue in which Monroe reflects on the events of the past 45 years, offers his insights into the NBA today, and his thoughts on the future of the game he loves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683583295
Publisher:	Sports Publishing LLC
Publication date:	03/19/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Earl Monroe is one of the greatest and most beloved players in basketball history. Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990 and named to the NBA's 50 Greatest Players list in 1996, Monroe left an indelible stylistic mark on the game of basketball. He lives in New York City.

Quincy Troupe is the author of seventeen books including Miles: The Autobiography of Miles Davis (with jazz legend Miles Davis) and The Pursuit of Happyness (with Chris Gardner), which was a New York Times bestseller for 40 weeks. He lives in New York City.

Senator Bill Bradley is a former politician and retired basketball player who won two championships as a member of the New York Knicks. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Bradley has his number hanging above the rafters in Madison Square Garden, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983. Along with a stellar basketball career, he was a three-term senator for the state of New Jersey.

Read an Excerpt

Earl "The Pearl" Monroe is a basketball legend whose impact on the game transcends statistics, a player known as much for his unorthodox, "playground" style of play as his championship pedigree. Observers said that watching him play was like listening to jazz, his moves resembling freefloating improvisations. "I don't know what I'm going to do with the ball," Monroe once admitted, "and if I don't know, I'm quite sure the guy guarding me doesn't know either."

Traded to the New York Knicks before the 1971–72 season, Monroe became a key member of the beloved, star-studded 1972–73 Knicks team that captured the NBA title. And now, for the first time in paperback, Monroe tells his remarkable story of that championship season and so much more.

Written with bestselling author Quincy Troupe (Miles, The Pursuit of Happyness), Earl the Pearl retraces Monroe's life from his upbringing in a tough South Philadelphia neighborhood through his record-setting days at Winston-Salem State, to his NBA Rookie of the Year season in 1967, his tremendous years with the Baltimore Bullets, and ultimately his redemptive, championship glory with the New York Knicks. Updated since first published in hardcover, the book culminates with a revealing epilogue in which Monroe reflects on the events of the past 45 years, offers his insights into the NBA today, and his thoughts on the future of the game he loves.

Table of Contents

Foreword Senator Bill Bradley v

Prologue ix

Part 1 Growing Up in South Philly: 1944 to 1959

Chapter 1 Early Life in South Philly 3

Chapter 2 Coming of Age, Junior High School, and My Introduction to Basketball: 1958 to 1959 33

Chapter 3 High School Years: 1959 to 1962 53

Part 2 Stepping on the Gas: Running Over Potholes on the Road to Glory

Chapter 4 Becoming a Star in South Philly: The Turning Point, Summer 1982 83

Chapter 5 A Lost Year: 1862 to 1963 93

Chapter 6 Lessons from My First Year at Winston-Salem: 1963 to 1964 103

Chapter 7 Reuniting with My Father: Summer 1964 119

Chapter 8 Reaching for Stardom in My Sophomore Year: 1964 to 1965 124

Chapter 9 Becoming "Black Jesus" in My Junior Year: 1965 to 1966 134

Chapter 10 Becoming "Earl the Pearl" in My Senior Year and the Pan American Games Debacle: 1966 to 1967 148

Part 3 My Hunger for NBA Respect and a Championship Ring

Chapter 11 A Paradigm Shift in Pro Basketball: My Rookie Year, 1967 to 1968 169

Chapter 12 Pressing Pedal to the Metal, Full Speed Ahead: 1968 to 1969 210

Chapter 13 Reaching for the Dream of an NBA Championship: 1969 to 1970 237

Chapter 14 The Pain of Getting Close But No Cigar: 1970 to 1971 259

Chapter 15 Leaving Baltimore and Going to Play for the "Enemy": 1971 to 1972 283

Chapter 16 The Death of My Mother and the NBA Holy Grail: 1972 to 1973 317

Epilogue: My Take an NBA Basketball and the Future of the Jame 353

Acknowledgements 400

Index 402

Editorial Reviews

"I, like hoop fans everywhere, have hoped to get my hands on Earl's life story and now it's finally here as told by the master himself. The Pearl's story is something every basketball fan should read. I know hoop fans everything are smiling."
—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

"Earl Monroe was an unconventional type of player who came out of the Philly playgrounds. He was great at creating stuff—the spin move, the double pump—and he was deceptively quick. I enjoyed playing against him because he was unpredictable and could challenge you in so many different ways. He definitely could affect the outcome of a game."
—Oscar Robertson
 

"Earl Monroe was a special basketball player, a true original on and off the court, and a real student of the game. I would have loved to have played with him."
—Patrick Ewing

"Earl the Pearl was simply music on the basketball court. Every time we watched him play on TV, our bodies would shake in accordance with his rhythm. This is a truly wonderful, soulful, funny book. So cool. Just like the Pearl."
—Chuck D, Public Enemy

From the Publisher