Review of "SWEDE"

I was thrilled with a review that just came out about "SWEDE".  Kirkus Reviews is an independent, nationally known book review outfit.  Their reviews help libraries and bookstores make product decisions.  I was quite excited to read it, and I have shared a link to it for those interested.

http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/non-fiction/robert-g-masin/swede/

The Three Thugs (plus me)

When I wrote "SWEDE", I took advantage of the opportunity to besmirch the reputations of many of my oldest and closest friends.  That included the Purzycki brothers and Joe Abruzzese.  They are pictured with me above: Joe P. (out of uniform) on the left, Mike P. on the right, and Joe Abruzzese, the tiny little trouble-maker, who routinely found a way to place us in peril, 2nd from left.  All three grew up in the rough and tumble Vailsburg section of Newark.

Growing up in South Orange my siblings and I lived sheltered lives.  When I left for college, and became friends with the thugs, er, gentlemen in the photo, that changed.  They were at times outrageous personalities; there was never a dull moment when I was in their presence.  The impressive thing is that in spite of all their brawls and shenanigans, they are in their own way brilliant, creative people, and all three are wildly successful in their adult lives.  (Yes, miracles do happen).

We have remained close friends over the years, and when we get together (way too infrequently) the sharp wits and trash talking are a sight to behold.  Fortunately, one of us (that would be me) maintains his dignity and rises above the immature banter that predictably ensues when we reunite.  One word to the wise...as Iron Mike, the Purzycki boys's father used to preach, "always keep an arms reach away" (so as not to get sucker punched).

All kidding aside, they are terrific, creative, guys.  

Well, except for Abruzzese.

Swede and Lonnie

On numerous occasions my father has been mentioned along with another phenomenal New Jersey athlete: Lonnie Wright.  Both were from Newark, and both were known for their remarkable versatility.  Conventional wisdom is that they are the two greatest all-around athletes Newark ever produced, and both were included when the Star Ledger of Newark named New Jersey's top 50 athletes of the 20th century.

Swede and Lonnie were in the inaugural group of inductees into the Newark Sports Hall of Fame.  I approached Lonnie and told him that he was my idol when I was a kid.  He laughed and said that Swede had been HIS idol.

Wright was all-state in everything in high school.  At Colorado State he was an All-American basketball player and  set the school shot-put record.  Perhaps his most impressive sports accomplishment came later.  Lonnie is the only athlete in the modern era of pro sports to play the two sports of football and basketball (Denver Broncos and Denver Nuggets).  There have been a small hand full of two sport pro athletes, but not football and basketball.  Wright is the only one.  My father always knew he was in special company when he was compared to Lonnie Wright.

I spoke to my buddy Joe Abruzzese today, and he reminded me that he played baseball against Wright in high school.  Joe, a catcher, tried to throw Lonnie out while he was stealing second base, and joked that by the time the ball got to second, Wright was on third.

It's somewhat unfortunate that Lonnie Wright's name is not a household name.  It should be.  He was that special.

The Rivalry: Weequahic vs. Hillside High

My father received more attention with his basketball exploits in high school, college and as a professional than he did in other sports.  But he felt his best sports would have been as a decathlete in track and field or as a football player.  His size, strength, speed and athleticism must have stood out on the gridiron; he was not only Weequahic's best runner, receiver and linebacker...as a Freshman (!), but based on articles in the scrapbook, his punting was out of this world.

It was unfortunate that Swede's Russian Jewish immigrant parents had no knowledge of or appreciation for football.  They did not attend his games (and that included basketball) until the final game of Swede's Sophomore year...the Thanksgiving Day game against their football rival, Hillside High.  My Uncle Leo, Swede's older brother, took Max, and they watched as Swede was involved in virtually every play, whether it be offense, defense, or special teams.  

Late in the game, Swede was gang tackled after a very long run, and was knocked cold.  As my father's prone body lay motionless in the muddy turf, Leo ran on to the field.  But he was just as worried about Max, who was beside himself in the stands, wondering about the fate of his son.

Swede suffered a concussion, but otherwise there was no permanent damage.  But seeing his son knocked cold was all Max needed to see.  He put his foot down...there would be no more football for his son.  The following two years my grandparents were visited at home by the football coach (several times), the athletic director, other parents, etc.  It was quite frustrating for the student body that the school's top player, arguably the best in the state, was not playing.  I was amazed at how many articles were written in the Newark papers about the  "parental objections" to Swede playing football.

Somewhat miraculously, Swede's crying and nagging finally got Max and Sonia to relent for the final four games of his senior year.  The write-ups of those games are full of his exploits all over the field.

One thing that struck me as I was working on the book was how many people remember that game (played 75 years ago)!  Obviously it was a big rivalry, but it seemed like everyone from my parent's era witnessed Swede get knocked out that day.  And they passed it on to their children!  And everyone had their own spin.  Many were positive that Hillside had it in for my father, and "went after" him, trying to put him out of the game.  (I doubt it).  Many had differing recollections about the details; but more importantly, everyone was there.  Unfortunately, including Max.  Who knows...if Max didn't attend that game, Swede might have ended up playing professional football.

As for Swede, he told me the only thing he ever remembered was making a long run and was about to be met by some defenders.  He had no recollection of what happened after that...other that he didn't play any more football for two years.  

Tubby

Recently I received a phone call from "Tubby" Raymond, my college football coach at the U. of Delaware.  The College Football Hall of Fame member, and one of the very few coaches of all time with 300 or more wins, had read the book.  The first thing he said was "Bobby, I never knew any of my players could read or write!"  After that he was extremely complimentary; he was very impressed by my effort (something he drilled into us all the time!), and said he was proud of me.

He had never known much about my father.  And he never knew that Swede and Iron Mike Purzycki were Newark's best athletes back in the day, and were direct rivals in high school.  Iron Mike's sons, Joe and Mike, were Delaware teammates of mine and life long friends.  In any event, I was excited to receive praise from Tubby...he's not one to throw it around lightly.

A couple of days ago my son Max's friend remarked that her mother started to read the book and found herself in tears.  (I assume she wasn't bored to tears!).  Seriously, I like that "SWEDE" means different things to different people.      

Discovery

One of the most gratifying things in writing the book about Swede is that many of my contemporaries, after reading it, have emphasized that it was a great motivator for them to explore and assess their relationships with their own fathers.  Some have been quite emotional while describing this.  This is somewhat different from my father's contemporaries, who seem to have truly loved remembering old times, as well as remembering someone who clearly made an impact with his warm, gentle nature, combined, of course, with his athletic stardom.

But for my contemporaries, I think many have seized the opportunity to take a positive look at growing up with their families, particularly their fathers.  Like my own experience, many have a new appreciation of their fathers.  If so, it makes me feel great that I may have nudged some old friends in this direction.  

My father, in may ways, was very ordinary.  He wasn't a genius, he wasn't wealthy, he didn't invent anything, he did not aspire to lead people, he wasn't an artist, and he wasn't a hero.  But in researching "SWEDE", I learned that in his own way he did lead people, he was a genius in his own way, to some he was a hero, he was inventive, and he certainly was beloved, which made him very wealthy, but in a non-monetary way.  The same holds true for most people, and that is why I'm thrilled to have enjoyed discovering these things about my father, and I'm thrilled that others are discovering similar things about their own fathers.

There is nothing more satisfying and enlightening than a son realizing how extraordinary his ordinary father really was. 

Hall of Fame

My father is currently in 4 different Halls of Fame:  The Newark Sports Hall of Fame, the Panzer College Hall of Fame, the JCC Metro West Hall of Fame, and the Weequahic HS Hall of Fame.  In each case he was in the very first group of inductees.  I am in the process of preparing a bio of Swede's athletic accomplishments to send to another Hall of Fame for consideration of him being inducted.  His "credentials" are pretty incredible.  And what stands out the most is that, compared to the vast majority of inductees who tend to dominate in one sport, my father was dominant in virtually every sport he tried.  His versatility is what separates him from the rest.  A brief summary:

In high school, Swede was all-state mention in football, even while missing the majority of his games due to parental objections.  As a senior, he received the most votes of any player in New Jersey on the all-state basketball team, and in track and field he dominated the city of Newark in the shot put, discus, low hurdles, long jump, high jump, and sprints.  He was 2nd in the state in the shot put, losing to Al Blozis, who went on to be the best shot-putter in the world.

In 2000, the Star Ledger of Newark named Swede as one of the top 50 New Jersey high school athletes of the 20th century.

In college, Swede took up soccer, knowing his parents would not give him the okay to play football, and went on to make the Coaches All-American team as he was named the best center halfback in the country.  In track and field, he once again starred in many events, and was the state AAU champ in the shot put and discus.  He won the silver medal (discus) in the prestigious Penn Relays, again losing to the great Blozis.  As in high school, he was also his teams best jumper and sprinter.  

It was in basketball that Swede garnered the most attention, earning Little All-American on a spectacular team that won 44 straight games...at the time an all-time collegiate record.  The rave reviews in Swede's scrapbook were over the top, with some writers and opposing coaches suggesting he was the best they'd ever seen.  He captained all three teams in college.

Besides the sports he played in school, my father was an amazing swimmer and diver, volleyball player (nobody could spike like Swede), racquetball and tennis star, and a great ice skater.  

I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I suggest that Swede might have been the most versatile, all-around Jewish athlete...ever.  No wonder his contemporaries referred to him as "God-like", "Superman", "Tarzan", etc.

Despite his extraordinary versatility, the most impressive thing about my father was his humility.  He never really took athleticism too seriously.  And that's what we loved about him the most.

I inadvertently came across a post/comment by one Bob Knuppel.  He was responding to someone else's post about Swede on a website that discusses various novels...in this case "American Pastoral".

Bob Knuppel's father, Herman Knuppel, was the great 6'8" center, and Swede's teammate, on Panzer College's dominant, record breaking (44 straight victories, which at the time was an all-time collegiate record) basketball team.  Like Swede, Herman went on to play professional basketball in a league that was a precursor to the NBA.

In his post, Bob said that his father received plenty of acclaim for his basketball ability.  But Herman always talked about Swede Masin, and that he was easily the star of the team. He said his father claimed Swede was by far the best all around athlete he'd ever known, and added that besides being competitive, was also gracious.  He also remarked that it was interesting how well they got along...the German and the Jew.

I love the accolades I've been hearing about my father since I wrote "SWEDE".  They just keep on coming.

Another Contemporary Reaches Out

Yesterday I heard from yet another contemporary of Swede.  He was two years behind my father, and he was very emotional on the phone as he remembered the big guy, despite the fact they were not close friends.  He was particularly saddened by the last chapter, which describes my sadness and frustration of being 3000 miles away as Alzheimer's Disease was taking it's toll on Swede.

Coincidentally, this man related that he lived downstairs from "Iron Mike" Purzycki, South Side High's super athlete and my father's direct competitor whom I highlight in the book.  Iron Mike and Swede would become good friends later in life.

One of the things this gentleman said was that my father's "name was so famous!".  It seems every person I talk to about Swede introduces another superlative to describe him.  And nothing would make him more uncomfortable than to hear people talk about him that way!