The Golden Age of Amateur Basketball: The AAU Tournament, 1921-1968

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) has long symbolized the idealism of amateur athletic competition. For basketball especially, the AAU provided an opportunity for athletes to showcase their skills for the benefit of the team and the sport, not the bottom line. In The Golden Age of Amateur Basketball, Adolph H. Grundman recounts the history of the AAU National Tournament during its golden age, 1921 through 1968. Grundman analyzes the early tournaments, examining rule changes, key players, and dominant teams. He explores the rivalries between corporations for amateur dominance after 1935, the competition between the AAU and the National Collegiate Athletic Association for representation in Olympic basketball, the question of just how amateur “amateur” basketball really was, and the reasons for the demise of postcollegiate amateur basketball. The Golden Age of Amateur Basketball provides the first history of AAU basketball and identifies players and teams that made major contributions to basketball history.