High Above Courtside: The Lost Memoirs of Johnny Most

No one ever cared as much about the Boston Celtics as did Johnny Most, the radio voice of the Celtics for 37 years including their 16 championship seasons. To him, no one in the green and white ever made a mistake. No opposing player failed to be a "bum" who was "mugging" the Celtics. The referees were all suspect . . . especially Jake O'Donnell. His rants anticipated the development of that form of entertainment, and came equipped in four different voices . . . depending on how outraged he was. Humor was always interceding as Johnny was known to get into brawls with fans, light himself on fire while smoking, insult the security guards who tried to get him to stop smoking, and told one revealing personal story after another that would leave us in stitches. But we never laughed at the man . . . but with him . . . because we knew he loved the Celtics. Like almost everyone who loved the Celtics, I usually listened to his broadcasts on the radio even when watching the games on television (with the sound off). I would turn on the radio to hear the post-game show whenever I left a home game. My eye would often sweep up to see what antics he was up to while attending a game.Basketball broadcasting hasn't been the same since Johnny left the field. Tommy Heinsohn is the closest we have now, but he's not the total fan (atic) that Johnny was. The book is remarkable in many ways. It fills in the gaps in Johnny's story -- as a World War II hero, as someone learning to be a broadcaster in New York, as a New York-born Jew suffering from discrimination, as a loving father of four, a good friend to everyone on the Celtics, a hilarious (but challenging) companion during road trips, a patient recovering from a stroke, and a man keeping his dignity during his final illnesses. Almost every page has an insider's story about one or more of the Celtics or other basketball insiders which I had never heard or read before. The stories are mostly heart-warming and are often quite funny as we find out more about the pranks that were pulled and by whom. Within those stories are subtle observations about why the various Celtics teams prospered or did not. Former owner John Y. Brown (who was widely despised in Boston) would do well to avoid this book. While most autobiographies build the person up at the expense of others, the comments by many of the Celtics greats at the end seem to suggest that Johnny's comments actually understate his significance to the team, the franchise and to them personally. One of the most fun parts of the book is where Johnny picks his top 15 opposing players (done before the full development of Michael Jordan because this book was begun many years ago while Johnny's health began to fail). The only thing missing from this book is a CD of Johnny calling some of the most famous moments in Celtics history. But if you've ever heard his voice, you can hear him as you read his words. Johnny may be famous for screaming, "Havlicek stol

Johnny Most was an original. As the Celtics play by play man, he rooted for Boston on the air. He berated anyone who did not wear a celtic uniform. Yet his calls were so thrilling and ear-piercing that they are still heard today introducing NBA telecasts---11 years after his death.Most was inventive, imaginative and excitable. He once got so excited, his false teeth popped out and almost fell over the balcony and into the lap of an unsuspecting fan sitting below.Even his targets---the refs, Jeff Ruland, Rick Mahorn, Rick Barry, Julius Erving, Wilt Chamberlain, and Isiah Thomas, among others----had fun battling Most, who once described Kurt Rambis as "something that had crawled out of a sewer. The book is not a history of the Celtics but it does provide detailed insight into the personalities of players like Russell, Cowens and Bird.If you're unaware of Most's "classic moments" in broadcasting, I guarantee you'll laugh your way through this book. The epilogue by Larry Bird is a tribute to Most, who countless Boston players termed "a loyal 'teammate' and friend."Johnny Most helped many young, aspiring broadcasters. He critized the "new breed" of broadcasters who he said were "artificial and superficial." He called them clones because they all sounded the same, with no style of their own.The language in "High Above Courtside" can be rough at times but this book was a pleasant surprise for me. Besides detailing Most's fascinating life, it provides a excellent picture of the Celtic players' personalities and life on the road in the NBA.

"High Above Courtside: The Lost Memoirs of Johnny Most is required reading for any true Celtics fan. ' The book chronicles Johnny's truly amazing career in a writing style that captures the broadcaster's passion for all sports and love of the Boston Celtics. I found it amazing that Johnny Most was such a huge part of the Celtics that a number of players complained that he never received a championship ring. The authors, Mike Carey and Jamie Most, pointed out various classic stories which few Celtics fans---even the diehard ones---probably weren't aware of. I enjoyed this book tremendously. I bought it because I thought it would be interesting to read about Most's famous calls. However, the book was not just a rehash of his Celtics broadcasts. It was a fresh look at both Most as a person and his relationships with players, refs, owners, fans and his own family. Even the pictures were excellent.

This book brought an insight into THE MAN HIMSELF THAT we knew as Johnny Most. Anyone growing up a Boston Celtic fan knew and loved Johnny Most for "bringing them right into the game," with a unique approach that left no doubt that he was one of you---a Boston Celtic rooter. He helped us cheer on our team and did it with style---even when the team lost. But we never realized what an incredible human being he was and how much he actually did to bring about the "Boston Celtic Mystique," and how much he meant to all the generations of Celtic players, as well as fans. This book brings all that to light without any actual bragging, just facts. I never knew he was a war hero, a poet and a champion of worthy causes. All the "behind the scenes" stories Mike Cary has chronicled brought Johnny Most back to life for me---in a new, and much more illuminated light. He was an icon for more than one generation and an inspiration to us all, especially after losing his legs to diabetes and I thank Mr. Cary, Jamie Most and the publishers for bringing us this incredible story. I would like to hear more of Johnny Most's life AFTER his operation and am loking forward to....the rest of the story.

When I began to read "High Above Coutside", I expected to read another somewhat boring history of the Celtics. Instead, I read about a man, a war hero, who did just about everything in the broadcasting field. And he did it using his own unique style---whether it was calling dog races, hockey games, football or baseball.It took him years to get his first real break. He would walk New York City going from audition to audition, making very little, if any money, from the jobs he managed to get.Then a famous broadcaster, Marty Glickman, happened to take a liking to Johnny Most's style. He eventually became the radio voice for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York football Giants and then---finally---the Boston Celtics.As the Celtics broadcaster, he was unbelievably one-sided. He was a classic homer. As Johnny Most said, "There are thousands and thousands of Celtic fans in New England. When I did my job, I just considered myself the one lucky fan who got to tell all the other fans what was taking place on the basketball court."Along the way, Johnny Most made enemies, from Roughhouse Rudy LaRusso, to Rick Barry, to Kareeem Abdul Jabbar, to Wilt Chamberlain, to Rick Mahorn, Jeff Ruland and the entire Pistons team.His battles with them, among others including a physical fight with a team owner, makes for fascinating reading. His battle against ill health was a losing one, but Johnny Most, according to Boston legend Larry Bird, never lost a winner's attitude.I read the book in four days and I'd recommend it to any New York, Boston, or New England sports fan.