Maravich turns 60

MARAVICH
By Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill
In collaboration with Jackie Maravich


The Ultimate Maravich highlight video creates Internet sensation.
Pistol Pete’s 60th birthday approaches.

To help demonstrate the basketball artistry of Pistol Pete Maravich to a new generation of sports fans, Wayne Federman, one of the co-authors of MARAVICH created a compilation of rare film and video clips and uploaded it to YouTube, Yahoo, Google Video, and other sites. The Ultimate Pistol Pete Maravich MIX became an Internet phenomenon. It just passed over one million views, and still generates about four thousand hits a day.

“Click this,” gushed Sports Illustrated (March 9, 2007). “A reminder of what made him so mind-blowing in the first place.”
“The dopest ball handling/passing/shooting clinics you’ll ever see from one person in six and one half minutes,” added DIME Magazine (May 2007).

Pete Maravich, who would have turned sixty on June 22, is the subject of two new biographies, but MARAVICH was written with the full cooperation of Pete’s immediate family. After staying silent for two decades, Maravich's widow, Jackie, provided unfettered access to the family’s private archives with authors Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill. The two first examined Pete Maravich’s scrapbooks, films, letters, calendars, diaries, and photographs. Then they scoured thousands of newspaper articles, hundreds of game logs, and interviewed over 300 teammates, opponents, journalists, coaches, detractors, fans, and extended family. The project took nearly six years to complete.

The result was MARAVICH, easily the most comprehensive, personal, and detailed account of Maravich’s life. It is, according to ESPN, “the definitive biography of Pistol Pete Maravich.” And now, twenty years after his death, Maravich continues to thrill and inspire

“I have a lot of Pistol Pete in my game,” admits two-time MVP Steve Nash.
“I learned all my tricks from Pistol Pete,” says Kobe Bryant.
“He was so deceptive with the ball and that’s what I wanted to be: the guy who could fool you with the basketball,” says Houston Rocket’s guard Rafer Alston.

MARAVICH also includes a comprehensive appendix of Pete Maravich statistics, including what the NY Times called, “the single most convincing statistical refutation of the charge that Maravich was a selfish gunner...”

“This book is incredible,” gushed NBA Hall-of Famer Bill Walton. “I was blown away. The amount of research that Federman and Terrill did is staggering.”






CONTACT:
Wayne Federman (author) 310 657-0405 WayneFederman@mac.com
Jeff Abraham (Jonas Public Relations) 310 656-3355 Jeff@JonasPR.com

www.MaravichBook.com

"Maravich" College Basketball Mix ready to view

With more than 1 million viewers fascinated by the "Ultimate Pistol Pete Maravich Basketball" mix, Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill, authors of "Maravich" (Sport Classic Books, $24.95) have unveiled the sister video.

The "Ultimate Pistol Pete Maravich College Basketball" mix, which highlights Maravich's storybook career at LSU where he became Division I's most prolific scorer, is now posted on www.maravichbook.com and www.youtube.com.

"The words in our book vividly describes Pete's talent and how he played, but on this video, you get to see some of the incredible plays he made on the court in a game," said co-author Wayne Federman. "Some of the things he did will leave you shaking your head and asking, 'How did he do that?'"

The six-minute video is accompanied by music and contains footage from Maravich's LSU varsity career (1967-1970).

"Maravich" is now in its second printing and remains one of the top-selling sports books in the country.

"Maravich" book signing at LSU game on Feb. 24

Gabcast! A Book Buzz #15 - "Maravich" book signing at LSU vs. Florida game on Feb. 24

This Saturday, the "Maravich" team will sign books in the Pete Maravich pass before, during and after the Feb. 24 game at LSU. Jackie, Jaeson & Joshua Maravich, as well as authors Marshall Terrill and Wayne Federman, will sign copies of "Maravich." The book retails for $25.

"Maravich" in the Livingston Parish News

Pee Wee Day: Maravich book brings back memories of showtime

PETE'S PALACE - This time forty years ago on a football farm in Tigertown, a basketball seed suddenly sprouted out of the turf.

Back then, freshmen were not eligible to participate on the varsity squad, so all eyes were focused on the LSU Baby Bengals basketball team.

Actually, all eyes were zeroed in on one particular player, a skinny 6-foot-5 mop-top phenomenon, who was about to change basketball forever at LSU.

Pete Maravich took Louisiana by storm during the 1966-67 season and proceeded to cultivate a new fan base that spread far beyond Baton Rouge.

Four decades later and 19 years following his untimely death at age 40, the "Pistol" remains firmly planted in the hearts of his fans, whom he inspired both on and off the court.

Bringing "Showtime" to a cow barn, which laid down a hardwood on top of the dirt floor to house basketball for four months a year, Pistol Pete dazzled the crowds with an array of basketball skills that one could only see before when the Harlem Globetrotters came to town.

Three years later, Maravich had become the NCAA all-time leading scorer, while at the same time, leading the Tigers to their first post-season action in 15 years.

Far from a fluke, Maravich went on to have a very successful professional basketball career, where he was a multiple All-Star selection and scoring leader. Following his retirement in 1980, Maravich was named one of the "NBA's 50 Greatest Players" of all time. He was also enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Many books have been written on Maravich, beginning with a pair while he was still at LSU. Maravich himself joined in with an autobiography entitled "Heir to a Dream," which paralleled his entire of life in basketball with his father Peter "Press" Maravich, who was also his coach during his tenure at LSU.

But none of the books come close to documenting his incredible story of trials and tribulations like the current "Maravich," written by Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill. What even authenticates the book to the utmost, is the fact it's the first book written with collaboration of Maravich's widow, Jackie.

Not to be confused with yet another current book on the racks, "Pistol," by Mark Kreiegel, the 400-plus page "Maravich" is practically a play-by-play of his life. Not only is the book packed with incredible detail and statistics, but the eight-year project by the authors unveil some stunning facts that even a diehard Pistol Pete fan like myself never knew, including one mystery never revealed before.

Even though they interviewed some 300 people who, in some way or another, crossed paths with Maravich, I'm living proof that the number of lives Maravich actually touched, is countless.

I was fortunate enough to be at the ideal age, 11-13-years-old during his playing days at LSU. I stood in line for hours to buy one of those "standing-room-only" general admission tickets for the student section. I was fortunate enough to have mid-court tickets for the night he broke Oscar Robertson's all-time scoring record and I can still watch myself on the highlight reel dashing on the court with a friend moments after he made the milestone bucket.

But I must confess, I also snuck into the sold-out home finale his senior year against Kentucky. But well-worth the risk.

Although I still treasure the autographs and memorabilia I've collected over his entire career, the memories of watching Maravich play are still etched in my mind to this day.

"Pete would always make the comment, 'when you die, they forget about you. You're last week's news,'" said Jackie Maravich McLachian.

How wrong he was.

Pete's "Homework Basketball" video series, which he filmed at the Albany High School gym in four days back in the late 1980's is still widely sold to help youngsters learn the fundamentals of the game.

And Pete's basketball camp at Clearwater Christian College in Florida is thriving as well.

Or just type "Pete Maravich" into the ebay search engine and one will finds trading cards, replica jerseys and various other memorabilia up for auction day-in and day-out ... and garnering top dollars.

Fans won't need a computer to get a signed copy of "Maravich," however, as Jackie, her and Pete's two sons, Jaeson and Josh, along with author Marshall Terrill, will all be on hand at none other than the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Saturday afternoon to sign copies of the book prior to and at halftime of the LSU-Florida game.

Both Jaeson and Josh played roundball at St. Paul's in their hometown of Covington, with both trying their hand at college basketball as well. Josh followed in his father's footsteps as a member of the Tiger squad from 2002-2005.

The two were just eight and five years old when their father died of a heart condition while playing a pickup game of basketball at the First Church of Nazarene in Pasadena, Calif.

Although the average fan may have known of Maravich's struggles on the court, battling both injuries and acceptance as a pro player, those were overshadowed by his many off-the-court struggles in life.

Just days before the beginning of his first season with the New Orleans Jazz, Maravich had to deal with the suicide of his mother.

Maravich gave his life to the Lord a little more than five years prior to his death and proceeded to coach his father into reborn Christianity. Press Maravich died of cancer just months prior to Pete's death.

"What was surprising was that as fun as he was to watch, there was the dichotomy that he was tortured and unhappy in his personal life because of so many factors," said co-author Terrill. "He was the highest paid player in pro sports, but he didn't get respect by his teammates. He was an all-star, but he never played on a winning team. He was so expressive on the court, but was a very private person.

"I think any baby boomer who loved basketball gravitated to the 'Pistol,'" said Terrill. His game was not only innovative, but fun to watch. Every kid on the playground wanted to be "Pistol Pete."

Me included.

(P.S. - If you're not able to attend the LSU-Florida game on Saturday to obtain an autograph copy of "Maravich", Jackie Maravich is finalizing dates to sign books at various Livingston Parish libraries in March.)

Sam Muffoletto is a sportswriter for the News and long-time newspaper and radio figure on sports in the Baton Rouge area.

"Maravich" reaches its highest ranking ever on Amazon

Gabcast! A Book Buzz #14 - "Maravich" reaches its highest ranking ever on Amazon

Three months after its initial release, "Maravich" by Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill has reached its highest ranking ever by Amazon.com. The book is currently the sixth-ranked sports book in the U.S. according to the bookseller.

NY Times calls "Maravich" essential biography

Crowd Pleaser

By JAY JENNINGS
Published: February 11, 2007

On May 3, 1989, I popped a VHS tape into my machine and recorded an entire game of the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan to save for posterity. It was an ordinary first-round playoff game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, admittedly a team Jordan often torched, but I had no idea what would happen. Jordan ended with 44 points and delivered a few signature moments — a steal and a breakaway dunk, a series of fadeaway jumpers, an end-to-end rebound, sprint and layup. In an ESPN world of quick-cut highlights where a player’s dunk dissolves into the next clip before he hits the ground, I wanted to preserve what snippet-sports often denies us: context. While the most sensational exploits of our athlete gods become as luminescent in public consciousness as stained glass (Julius Erving’s behind-the-backboard layup, Willie Mays’s over-the-shoulder catch), the proof of greatness often lies in their ability to amaze every day. Arguably, no basketball player, not even Jordan, met that test as regularly as Pete Maravich, whose between-the-legs assists and next-ZIP-code jumpers still defy belief. Too bad he played mostly pre-VCR.
Skip to next paragraph

Pete Maravich
MARAVICH

By Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill in collaboration with Jackie Maravich.

Illustrated. 422 pp. Sport Classic Books. $24.95.

Forum: Book News and Reviews

Even a casual fan may know of Maravich’s trademark floppy socks and hair and his college scoring average of 44.2 points per game during his three years at Louisiana State University, a record as seemingly unassailable as Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. The more ardent will know Maravichiana like his idiosyncratic ball-handling drills, an obsessive practice ethic that found him sitting in aisle seats at movie theaters so he could dribble while he watched, and a checkered pro career marked by injury, coaching turmoil, frequent drinking and, most of all, losing. After retiring from the pros, he embraced evangelical Christianity and died unexpectedly in 1988 at the age of 40, owing to a genetic heart ailment.

A pair of recent biographies — one by Mark Kriegel, the author of “Namath,” and the other a team effort from the actor and comedian Wayne Federman and the journalist Marshall Terrill, with an assist from Maravich’s widow, Jackie Maravich — cover this material baseline to baseline, with admirable thoroughness. In “Maravich,” Federman et al. assay a more exhaustive (and occasionally exhausting) approach, dutifully summarizing statistics in parentheses, front-loading each chapter with not one but two epigraphs and stacking up repetitive encomiums. Once you’ve had the Hall of Famer and onetime Maravich coach Elgin Baylor say, “Pete is the best I’ve ever seen,” do we really need to hear the same from a dozen others? But its labor-of-love enthusiasm is infectious, and it’s essential for Maravich completists, especially for the reassessment of his pro career and for anecdotal feats of basketball wizardry, like his delivering on a boast to hit 100 jumpers from beyond 25 feet without missing two in a row. It also contains the single most convincing statistical refutation of the charge that Maravich was a selfish gunner: in the N.B.A., when he scored more than 40 points, his team won 82 percent of its games, compared with Jordan’s 69 percent and Allen Iverson’s 68.

Kriegel’s prose is flashier but often errant. A young Maravich is described as having “a big head mounted on a wispy frame, dense as a wafer”; the Maravich-as-Elvis theme is hammered ad nauseam; and one chapter in “Pistol” has the truly awful title “The Unbearable Whiteness of Being Pete.” But Kriegel does uncover some nuggets otherwise lost to history, as when he traces one inspiration for Maravich’s dribbling drills to a ball-handling sensation named Ah Chew Goo, whom Pete’s father, Press, had seen when stationed in Hawaii in the service.

Kriegel also tries to situate Maravich in his times, particularly in relation to the era’s racial dynamics. Despite the precedent of Bob Cousy’s legerdemain, Maravich’s crowd-pleasing style was identified with that of the urban playground and its black stars. Marvin Turner, a black player from Baton Rouge who competed against Maravich in the summer, tells Kriegel, “There had never been a white guy who played like that — he had a soul game.” The growing National Basketball Association was beginning to be dominated by African-Americans, and the mantle of “great white hope” thrust upon Maravich, along with the accompanying rich contract, didn’t help his transition to the league; when he joined the Atlanta Hawks, black veterans like Lou Hudson and Joe Caldwell, who’d toiled for years for a fraction of the money Maravich commanded, were understandably annoyed. In time, the tempest blew over, but over a 10-year career that saw enough success for him to be named one of the N.B.A.’s 50 greatest players, a complementarity of teammates and coach failed to materialize, and he never came close to showcasing his skills in the service of a championship.

Over the 800 pages in these books, despite tales of drinking, vegetarianism and interest in extraterrestrials, Pete Maravich the man remains something of a mystery. Perhaps that’s because he was a mystery to himself, constantly searching before his post-career embrace of Christianity. His innate basketball talent was manifest so early in life — he once said, “There isn’t anything I did at L.S.U. or in the N.B.A. I couldn’t do at 13” — that the young man was the sum of his basketball feats, which he all but admitted late in life when he described that earlier self as “a basketball android.”

What may be a revelation here is the portrait that emerges of Press Maravich, who might stereotypically be viewed as merely riding his son’s remarkable skills to the L.S.U. head coaching job. Kriegel is particularly good at offering a corrective, and the most successful part of his book describes the elder Maravich’s hardscrabble upbringing in the Serbian immigrant enclave of Aliquippa, Pa., a company town where nearly everyone worked for the steel producer Jones & Laughlin. These vivid pages follow Press as he masters basketball in a church gym, stars in college and in the fledgling pro game, serves as a Navy flier, and works his way up the high school and college coaching ranks by forming teams of players as hard-nosed and hardheaded as he was. “Press didn’t recruit ability,” Kriegel writes. “He recruited desire. He wanted guys who loved the game as much as he did, who shared his confusion of basketball with salvation.”

At basketball backwaters like Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia and the football powerhouse Clemson, his undersize teams became so well drilled in his theories of tenacious defense and meticulous execution that the legendary U.C.L.A. coach John Wooden often sought him out for advice. “They were an odd couple,” Kriegel writes, “Wooden measured and modest while Press was loud and profane.” In both books, Press emerges as a full, flawed but appealing man, driven and tender, boastful and loving. “Press was one of the greatest, most entertaining guys I’ve ever met,” an L.S.U. administrator says in “Maravich.” But Press’s formidable basketball mind became mush when his son was involved. “He had ... become obsessed with Pete’s numbers,” a former assistant coach says in “Pistol.” “He had gone from being one of the greatest coaches in the game to the coach of the greatest player in the game.”

In the end, reading about Maravich the son is like reading about Gale Sayers, the incomparable Chicago Bears running back: it mostly makes you want to watch those precious old films, to witness with your own eyes the impossible moves. That’s why the most exciting part of either of these books for me was in an appendix to “Maravich” under the “Selected References” section, titled “Video”: “Games: 1967 L.S.U. at Tennessee; 1968 L.S.U. at Georgia,” and so on. Out there somewhere is Maravich in context.

Jay Jennings, a former college basketball reporter for Sports Illustrated, is a frequent contributor to the Book Review.

"Maravich" video featured on Yahoo.com

Gabcast! A Book Buzz #13 - "Maravich" video of Pistol Pete featured on Yahoo.com

Yahoo.com's feature of "The Ultimate Pistol Pete Maravich Mix," a six-minute video compilation of the "Maravich" book, has been viewed by approximately a half-million people in one day.

"Maravich" is reviewed by the New York Times

Gabcast! A Book Buzz #12 - "Maravich" gets reviewed by the New York Times

New York Times writer Jay Jennings Feb. 10 review of "Maravich" is now available on podcast. Go to www.newyorktimes.com or www.digitalpodcast.com

Wayne Federman at Harrah's during All-Star Week

A look at Pistol Pete and more
Story Tools:

Kevin Hench / Special to FOXSports.com
Feb. 18, 2007

Hanging out at the free carbs media brunch at the MGM Grand on Sunday morning, I caught up with Wayne Federman, the world's foremost Pete Maravich biographer/comedian.

After a week of slaying 'em at Harrah's, Federman, co-author of Maravich, fielded questions about Vegas, All-Star weekend and his favorite NBA subject, Pistol Pete.

1. The big question surrounding this weekend's festivities is should the NBA make a permanent home in Las Vegas. What do you think?

I don't know if this is such a great idea. Every time a guy goes 3-for-17 you'll wonder if he's shaving points. They'll be surrounded by strippers, hookers, pimps, gamblers and gangsters — and that's just at the buffet line at Treasure Island — but the players will still have a dress code. No jeans! And now that they all have at least a semester of college under their belt, the NBA doesn't have to worry if they're mature enough to handle Vegas. I mean, how could a 19-year-old millionaire get into trouble here? Impossible.

If the NBA has a team in Vegas, the so-called "fifth quarter" will be extended to three overtimes. And there will be a whole bunch of new proposition bets. You'll be able to bet the over-under on positive paternity tests or get odds on Tim Hardaway and Elton John co-hosting a charity event.

2. If Bird and Magic through Jordan was basketball's Golden Age, where do you see the league right now?

I think the league is in great shape. The globalization of the game is incredible. I mean, just 10 years ago could you imagine that the two best players in the league would be Canadian and German? Not after the Leo Rautins and Uwe Blab flameouts. Like any era, there are only about eight teams you care about, but that's to be expected. I mean, does anybody really want to watch the Milwaukee Bucks? Or did they fold? Are they still in the league?

3. It's the 30th anniversary of Pete Maravich leading the NBA in scoring and the 10th anniversary of his being named to the Top 50 all-time team. Where do you see the Pistol's influence?

Well, Pete only had the moustache for a couple of years, the ancient mariner look, but it's great to see young Adam Morrison picking up the mantle. It just gives you that moment of hesitation, is that a basketball player or an arms dealer?

You see Pete's influence everywhere in the league. Steve Nash goes between his legs three times just bringing the ball up the court. What is common now was extraordinary when Pete was doing it. Nobody was making behind the back passes. Pete used to say that there was a method behind throwing a behind the back pass, that it gave another option for the defender to think about. Pete was all about misdirection, like a great close-up magician. Not like David Copperfield who makes entire airplanes disappear.

4. Bird won three MVPs and Nash has won two, but there hasn't been a white scoring champ since Maravich. Do you root for Pete to maintain this legacy?

Wow, I hadn't thought about that. I guess I'm just color blind when it comes to the NBA. I just see ballplayers. But now that you mention it, I guess Pete was white.

5. A young Dick Bavetta made a dubious charge call that led to Maravich fouling out of his career-high 68-point game in 1977. Do you feel a measure of satisfaction with Bavetta's loss to Charles Barkley on Saturday?

Bavetta still can't keep up with the speed of the league, even if the league is a 44-year-old, 300-pound, hungover TV commentator. Tom McMillan still hasn't gotten set on the one charge call where Bavetta waved off a Maravich basket. The bucket should have counted and Pete should have gone to the line. That would have been 71 right there.

6. Pete must have loved the All-Star game, the one game every year where nobody else played any defense either.

He was playing zone defense when the rest of the league was playing man-to-man. It's just another example of his artistry. Of course there are a couple of people, including Pat Riley, who had their career highs against Pete.

7. Doesn't the All-Star skills competition look like something right out of a Maravich instructional video?

It's almost like it was designed by his dad Press Maravich, except he would make Pete do it blindfolded hanging out a moving car.

8. Wouldn't Pete have owned the 3-point contest?

He loved the idea of the 3-point shot. Anything that made the game more exciting to the fans, he liked. Pete said, "The game is entertainment for the fans. It's not for the coaches, it's not for the players, it's for the fans. If you don't have the product that's marketed right, that's out there, that's entertaining, nobody will show up." In his one NBA season with the 3-pointer Pete went 10-for-15 from behind the arc as a part-time player for the Celtics, so the mind boggles at what might have been had he had the 3-pointer for his whole career.

9. Is it just me or has the All-Star game lost a little of its luster?

It's just you, you've lost a little of your luster. Pete had an idea for the All-Star game. Instead of teams of 12, he wanted to go five-on-five for the whole game. That's a game you wouldn't forget. There's always a point in the second quarter of the All-Star game where the subs come in and the game loses some juice. Pete's idea would have solved that. Not sure what his contingency plan was for guys getting hurt.

10. What can the hoop world learn about Pete Maravich that it doesn't already know by reading your book?

Well, one thing people don't know is that Pete's teams won 82 percent of the games in which he scored 40 or more points. What that tells me is Pete should have shot more. Also, Pete is the only player in NBA history to score 50 points on Super Bowl Sunday, which he did in 1972 against the Sixers. But you probably knew that.