Pistol (Zach Garbacik)

Pistol, Mark Kreiger, Free Press, 323pp

My dad bought be this book for my 13th birthday and told me that Pistol Pete’s story is very inspirational.

Summary: Pistol is more than the biography of a ballplayer. It's the stuff of classic novels: the story of a boy transformed by his father's dream -- and the cost of that dream. Even as Pete Maravich became Pistol Pete -- a basketball icon for baby boomers -- all the Maraviches paid a price. Now acclaimed author Mark Kriegel has brilliantly captured the saga of an American family: its rise, its apparent ruin, and, finally, its redemption.
Almost four decades have passed since Maravich entered the national consciousness as basketball's boy wizard. No one had ever played the game like the kid with the floppy socks and shaggy hair. And all these years later, no one else ever has. The idea of Pistol Pete continues to resonate with young people today just as powerfully as it did with their fathers. In averaging 44.2 points a game at Louisiana State University, he established records that will never be broken. But even more enduring than the numbers was the sense of ecstasy and artistry with which he played. With the ball in his hands, Maravich had a singular power to inspire awe, inflict embarrassment, or even tell a joke. But he wasn't merely a mesmerizing showman. He was basketball's answer to Elvis, a white Southerner who sold Middle America on a black man's game. Like Elvis, he paid a terrible price, becoming a prisoner of his own fame. Set largely in the South, Kriegel's Pistol, a tale of obsession and basketball, fathers and sons, merges several archetypal characters. Maravich was a child prodigy, a prodigal son, his father's ransom in a Faustian bargain, and a Great White Hope. But he was also a creature of contradictions: always the outsider but a virtuoso in a team sport, an exuberant showman who wouldn't look you in the eye, a vegetarian boozer, an athlete who lived like a rock star, a suicidal genius saved by Jesus Christ. A renowned biographer -- People magazine called him "a master" -- Kriegel renders his subject with a style that is, by turns, heartbreaking, lyrical, and electric. The narrative begins in 1929, the year a missionary gave Pete's father a basketball. Press Maravich had been a neglected child trapped in a hellish industrial town, but the game enabled him to blossom. It also caused him to confuse basketball with salvation. The intensity of Press's obsession initiates a journey across three generations of Maraviches. Pistol Pete, a ballplayer unlike any other, was a product of his father's vanity and vision. But that dream continues to exact a price on Pete's own sons. Now in their twenties -- and fatherless for most of their lives -- they have waged their own struggles with the game and its ghosts. Pistol is an unforgettable biography. By telling one family's history, Kriegel has traced the history of the game and a large slice of the American narrative.
The audience for this story would be people that love the game of basketball and who love inspirational stories.
Kreiger did a brilliant job describing Maravich’s first few years in the NBA. Breaking color barriers, facing all of the hype of being a rookie, and being paid one od the highest contracts in the league.
Passages:
“Legendary LSU Superstar “Pistol Pete” Maravich took his swirling basketball magic to paradise 17 years go. Heaven couldn’t wait for showtime. Between the leg dribbles, behind the back passes, dishing the ball off the dribble at full throttle in the blink of an eye, physical acrobatics in getting a shot off…it was magic. It was also instinctive, inventive and incredible.”
This passage sticks out to me because Maravich’s life ended before he should have gone. It kind of made me think if he is still doing all his crazy moves up the in paradise.
“Maravich pushed basketball to new limits. Consider this: Pistol Pete scored 3,667 points during his LSU collegiate playing career, averaging a staggering 44.2 points per game for 83 varsity college basketball contests. All of this occurred before the advent of the 3 point shot.”
This passage stuck out to me because I was jut blown away by his actual statistics. He was an amazing player.
“We’re all doing things he did first.”–Steve Nash
This quote stuck out to me because this was said by an NBA player that is currently playing. It is interesting to here him say that because he would be the one that most closely resembles how Pistol Pete used to play.
My Relationship:
My relationship with this story goes beyond just Maravich’s life. His childhood and his relationship with his father closely resembles the relationship that my father and I have. Both of our fathers are hard nosed and want to see their sons succeed. I related to how Pete felt at times but also learned how he handled it so I could translate that into my own life.