March 1939: Before the Madness―The Story of the First NCAA Basketball Tournament Champions

I am a new reader of books by Terry Frei (started with his acclaimed historical fiction Olympic Affair) and regret that it has taken me this long to discover his books. I love history and history combined with sports. Getting the story behind the story is an art and Terry is a master at doing just that. "Before the Madness" is a wonderful accounting of the beginning of the what we all know now as March Madness. But it is more than just the story of the 1st NCAA Basketball Championship Tournament and how it came to be. The story does a masterful job interspersing US and world events documenting the rise of tension in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy with life back home; all while bringing to life the members and doings of the University of Oregon basketball team as the team, players, and coaches went through the 1938/1939 season. The book also documents an early instance of that great attributes of sports that we love to observe these days where a team catches fire later in the season and rides that skill and momentum to the final championship perch. Without knowing anything else about that season, I join Terry in being convinced that LIU would have had no chance against the Tall Firs of the Webfoots had LIU made it to the NCAA Championship in lieu of the NIT that year. This is a fun read, full of valuable information and insight, and leaves me waiting to see the next gem Terry graces all of us with in the future.

I highly recommend “March 1939…”, by Terry Frei. In “March 1939…” Frei takes the reader on a historical, very well researched and true story of the very first NCAA Basketball Tournament Champions. Through very personal stories of coach Howard Hobson and his team the Oregon Webfoots Frei brings to life the dedication, hard work, talent and maturation of the team as they become the first NCAA Basketball Champions. Frei has a marvelous way of capturing the history of the times and through his writing allows the reader to step back and feel as if they are truly there. This included marvelous research and writing on the rest of the tournament, the national basketball scene and the America of 1939. I found myself thinking about Coach Hobson and his players as I would go about my day. I wondered how it would feel to be playing basketball at a time when the rules were so different and the trips to tournaments and other schools had to be made on a train. I also found it interesting to read about the thoughts that went into developing the first NCAA Tournament and the history of basketball in general. Through Frei’s dedication to quality research and an understanding of the history of college basketball in general, I felt he was able to tell a historical story in a personal way which made the pages fly by and the images vibrant.

Enjoyed book. Excellent early history of NCAA basketball. I was amazed at the wide variety of noted sports figures connected to the beginning of "March Madness." Connecting this event to the the events leading to WW II was a stroke of literary genius.

Very informative