Monday, June 1, 2009
All-Sports Books Review, Budd Bailey

Buffalo, Home of the Braves (2009)

By Tim Wendel

Let's get personal here.

Take my all-time favorite basketball team, the Buffalo Braves (particularly the 1973-74 edition, which was a fast-break machine). Add text by Tim Wendel, a good friend of mine from college. Then throw in some outstanding pictures and graphics.

What do you have? A book that I had no chance of resisting.

Your own reaction may not be as heartfelt -- which is why I didn't give it any star rating -- but practically anyone would agree that "Buffalo, Home of the Braves" is a terrific tribute to a team that has been gone for 31 years but not forgotten, at least by a few.

For those who haven't studied basketball history or who haven't visited my Web site on Braves' history, Buffalo entered the NBA in 1970. The Braves were the ugly stepchild to the Buffalo Sabres hockey team, as the Sabres had stronger local ownership in the Knox brothers and a several-month headstart on getting ready to play in that initial season of 1970-71.

The Braves had some missteps in the early years, but by 1974 the team was thoroughly exciting. Watching Bob McAdoo shoot, Ernie DiGregorio pass, and Randy Smith jump qualified as world-class basketball entertainment. They didn't always win, but they were never boring. Ownership never quite matched up to the talent, though. The team almost moved to Florida in 1976 after winning its first playoff series, and did go to San Diego, sort of (long story), in the summer of 1978.

Wendel made a variety of good editorial decisions here. First, he gets the tone exactly right. Wendel doesn't get bogged down in too many game details, except for the playoffs, and rarely turns sentimental or looks at situations with the proverbial rose-colored glassed. Instead, he spends his time on the big picture with the perspective time offers. At this point, that's a pretty good move. And take it from a guy who knows, he gets the facts right along the way, which is important in a book like this.

The photos are a nice mix of newspaper shots and material from other sources, including the vast collection of Western New Yorker John Boutet. There's one other bonus here -- some columns written at the time by Buffalo Courier-Express sports columnist Phil Ranallo. It's nice to see Phil's work back in the public domain.

The biggest roadblock for some is going to be the price, as the cost of the limited edition hardcover edition is pretty high. If you can wait a while, there is talk of a trade paperback down the road, which would be nice. But some won't be able to wait, because memories can be priceless.

Heck, after reading this, I started to hate John Y. Brown for moving the team all over again. High praise indeed.

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