Table of Contents COURTSIDE STORIES INTRODUCING Table of Contents BLUE-COLLAR BEGINNINGS 8 GLIMMERS OF HOPE 16 NEW RECRUITS TAKE CHARGE 22 BACK TO SQUARE ONE 30 THE KING’S SHORT REIGN 38 INDEX 48 COURTSIDE STORIES THE MIRACLE OF RICHFIELD 11 THE TED STEPIEN EXPERIENCE 21 JORDAN SINKS THE CAVS 24 THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY 29 CAVS FASHION 32 A BITTER SPLIT 44 INTRODUCING BINGO SMITH 13 WAYNE EMBRY 15 BRAD DAUGHERTY 18 MARK PRICE 26 LARRY NANCE 35 LEBRON JAMES 41
BLUE-COLLAR BEGINNINGS CLEVELAND’S DOWNTOWN AREA SITS ON THE BANKS OF THE CUYAHOGA RIVER BLUE-COLLAR BEGINNINGS 8
Swampy damp inclement Such unpleasant terms could be used to describe the southern shores of Lake Erie but during the westward expansion of the United States the area was too practical to pass up Proximity to Lake Erie and the Ohio River system meant shipping and transportation opportunities and in 1796 General Moses Cleaveland laid out plans for a city that would become a vital hub of distribution That city Cleveland Ohio became even more relevant with the development of railroads and it was soon a web of canals and railways Cleveland and its residents earned an ongoing reputation for their resourcefulness and hardiness Perhaps seeking a break from their blue-collar lifestyles Clevelanders rallied behind a local professional baseball team eventually called the Indians starting in 1901 and football’s Browns in 1946 In 1970 a new National BINGO SMITH 9
