20/20
Hi folks!
I hope you’ve been enjoying the newsletter. However, this is my PBS moment where I ask you to subscribe, if you haven’t already. Below are three various sales pitches: the Twitter Pitch, Short Pitch, and Long Pitch to get you 20% off on ProHoopsHistory in the year 2020.
Regular historical content returns on Wednesday.
TWITTER SALES PITCH (240 characters or less)
SHORT SALES PITCH
The 20% subscription discount ends at 11:59pm on Monday, February 17th! That also marks the end of the trial period where all the newsletters are free. If you want to have access to all the future letters as well as go back and (re-)read older ones, go on ahead and subscribe.
Also I’m finishing up my dissertation on the history of the NBA’s formation. It gives particular focus on the battle between owners and players over labor and economic policy in the new league. Thus your dolla bills would help this broke-ass grad student become ProHoopsHistory, PhD.
LONG SALES PITCH
The ProHoopsHistory Newsletter has made it a point to cover interesting topics that escape mainstream outlets like ESPN, The Athletic, SBNation, The Ringer, etc. I have many fine friends who work at those places, but their focus on basketball is (rightfully) the news of the moment, not the history of the game. Even when history comes up over yonder, it’s usually tethered to something happening in the immediate present.
Nothing wrong with that. It’s just a limited scope.
ProHoopsHistory expands the view allowing y’all to step back from the immediacy of now, take a breath, and see all the ways that the basketball present has been influenced and shaped by the past.
In that spirit, I’ve been chronicling the origins of basketball and the first professional league from the 1890s:
“Basketball’s Christian Origins” - with a great assist from sports and religion scholar Paul Putz
New angles on well-known legends and honoring forgotten pioneers:
An ongoing look at the history of Stretch Fours:
And some miscellaneous material that tries to bundle basketball’s breakthroughs, quirks, and mistakes:
For the ensuing months, I’m already in touch with Friends of the Program to do collaborative work on subjects as varied as the history of basketball cards, Jumpin’ Joe Fulks, and the whole wide world of women’s pro basketball.
Of course, I’ve got plenty of other articles on the vision board such as a mob trying to murder a ref in 1900; the origins of the cage; and the Kiki Vandeweghe curse (yes, there’s a Kiki Vandeweghe curse) to name a few.
Oh, plus my Hot Take Factory on which NBA teams stink at retiring jerseys.
To those of you who’ve subscribed, my great appreciation.
To those of you thinking of subscribing, perhaps start off with the monthly plan and if you really enjoy it, upgrade to the yearly rate later on.
To those of you content with the free plan, I hope I can convince you over the ensuing weeks/months to get thirsty for the full newsletter.
To all of you, thanks for your interest in the history of professional basketball.
Hope you’ve been learning something new every week.
Curtis M. Harris.
I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW
Nothing says 20/20 vision like Johnny Nash’s pop friendly reggae