In 1977, Rudy Tomjanovich and Kermit Washington became entwined in a single punch that would change not only their lives, but how professional basketball is played today. Because the punch dislodged Tomjanovich's skull and nearly destroyed both men's careers, the scuffle never settled as a dusty bit of NBA trivia. Instead, it nearly superseded both men's notable achievements. The history of that punch (it could not, by any standards, be considered a fight) and the fate of the two men are the subjects of John Feinstein's The Punch.

In the early days of the NBA, teams had their stars and their "enforcers." Enforcers such as Washington protected star players on the court with their willingness to mix it up. With concise prose, Feinstein reports on this era, following strings of trades, drafts, and personal relationships to their nexus. Those who do not think about basketball on a statistical level may occasionally find themselves lost, but Feinstein, ever conscious of his subject, ties the tangents neatly to the core of the scuffle that led to the infamous punch.

Thorough and thoughtful, Feinstein does not make any excuses, nor does he vilify. He simply traces the web of both men's lives back to their adolescent years when it was not about the NBA, nor the punch, but about the game. Anyone who has ever wondered about these two men, or the history of the NBA, will want to read this book. --Karin Rosman


From Publishers Weekly
Feinstein's latest (after The Last Amateurs) tears the scab off one of the deepest wounds in the history of professional sports. In 1977, during a Lakers-Rockets match, L.A. forward Kermit Washington forever altered the course of his career and that of Houston's Rudy Tomjanovich when he threw a punch that nearly killed the Rockets' captain. From that moment on, each man's life became defined by the incident and its aftermath. Seamlessly weaving the event itself into the fabric of pro basketball's rocky pre-Magic/Bird/Jordan history of constantly relocating franchises, dismal television support and chronic violence, Feinstein tells a moving story of two men branded by a moment frozen in time, and how the incident changed the game it could well have destroyed. The narrative never gets mired in the fawning sycophantism of many sports books or the moral proselytizing of many others. Feinstein's research is sharp, and his time line jumps around effortlessly, like a good Quentin Tarantino film. Most importantly, the author sustains the balance between Washington's burden of guilt and the genuine misfortune that has followed him since. He's a sympathetic character, almost uniformly described as a smart, good-hearted man bearing the never-healing scar of the one great mistake in his life. Yet he is by no means the saint he might have us believe him to be. Feinstein's portrait of each man is compelling; neither is lionized or demonized. Rather, the complexity of the incident and the depth of the personal trauma for both Tomjanovich and Washington fester under the author's microscope in this excellent and engaging book. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
On a December night in 1977, in the heat of what would become arguably the most infamous basketball brawl in history, Los Angeles Lakers power forward Kermit Washington sensed someone approaching from behind, whirled, and landed a devastating punch to the face of Houston Rocket All-Star Rudy Tomjanovich, who was running full-tilt toward Washington and the battle. Tomjanovich hovered close to death for a short time, endured five operations, and missed the remainder of the season, while Washington served a 60-day suspension as the NBA acted to tighten its rules against fighting. Tomjanovich returned the next season, but many observers agree that neither player was ever quite the same again. Best-selling author Feinstein (A Good Walk Spoiled) tells the story of that night and what followed, recounting the many ironies that surround it: Washington, reviled at the time and still struggling to secure work within the NBA as a coach or scout, is by all accounts a good human being; Kevin Kunnert, with whom Washington was initially skirmishing, is the man Washington blames for his problems accruing from the fight; and despite their subsequent accomplishments, Washington and Tomjanovich are still thought of chiefly as puncher and victim, roles they long to shed. Essential for public libraries.--Jim Burns, Jacksonville P.L., FLCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Ten seconds on December 9, 1977, irrevocably altered two lives and a sport. The Houston Rockets were in L.A. to play the Lakers. In the first half, a skirmish broke out at half-court. Rudy Tomjanovich, the Rockets' star forward, trailing the play, rushed into the fray as--he says--a peacemaker. Whatever his intent, he was seen as a threat by 6-foot-8-inch, 240-pound Kermit Washington, who leveled the onrushing Tomjanovich with a powerful blow to the face. Virtually every bone in Tomjanovich's face was broken, and he was leaking spinal fluid. He recovered physically but was never as effective a player. Washington, after a two-month suspension and a record fine, also resumed his career, but he, too, was diminished as a player. Feinstein, whose mastery of sports reporting is evident in his much-acclaimed books on such disparate topics as Bob Knight, Army-Navy football, and the PGA tour, has overreached this time. The postfight lives of Rudy and Kermit are worthy of an extended magazine piece but not a book. Tomjanovich, now the coach of the Rockets, led the team to consecutive titles in the mid-1990s and has enjoyed a stable, supportive family and a financially rewarding career. Washington's personal life has been a bit rockier; he feels backwash from the incident has kept him from securing an NBA coaching job, but, on balance, his postfight career, like Tomjanovich's, is hardly the stuff of tragedy. Feinstein has a lock on most best-seller lists, so expect typically heavy demand for this one; in the context of his career, however, it's only a minor exhibit. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
With his unerring insight into the deeper truths of professional sports, John Feinstein explores in riveting detail what happened that fateful night in 1977 when, as a fistfight broke out on the court between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, Kermit Washington delivered the now legendary punch that nearly killed All-Star Rudy Tomjanovich, radically changing the trajectory of both men's lives and reverberating throughout the National Basketball Association to this day. Through this one cataclysmic event Feinstein casts a light on the NBA's darkest secrets, revealing the true price men pay when they choose a career in sports.


Download Description
When a fight broke out between the Houston Rockets and the L.A. Lakers one night in 1977, All-Star Rudy Tomjanovich raced to break it up. He was met by Kermit Washington's fist, which delivered one of the most ferocious punches ever seen in sports. The punch dislodged Tomjanovich's skull, and required years of surgeries and therapy to get him back to normal. He was never the same again. Washington was an average player for the Lakers, 6 foot 8, and one of six athletes in the history of the NCAA to be both an academic all-American and a basketball all-American. By all accounts he was an exemplary man, but the split second in which he threw his fist toward Tomjanovich devastated his reputation. Every team in the NBA has refused to hire him in any coaching capacity. Tomjanovich, on the other hand, is a star: head coach of the two-time world championship Rockets, and coach of the 2000 gold medal US Olympic team.With his unique insight, style, and bone-deep knowledge of basketball, John Feinstein finally reveals the truth of that night, and how it changed basketball forever. Through this one cataclysmic event he casts a light on the NBA's darkest secrets, exploring race, violence, and how one mistake has haunted two good men for 25 years.


About the Author
John Feinstein is the author of several acclaimed and bestselling sports books, including A Good Walk Spoiled, The Majors, The Last Amateurs, and, most recently, Open: Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, and Shelter Island, New York.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Legendary sportswriter John Feinstein covers the infamous one-punch assault by NBA player Kermit Washington on Rudy Tomjanovich in 1977, showing how one moment of savage anger led to irrevocable change in the careers and lives of two men. Once again, Feinstein shines an illuminating light behind the scenes of an indelible sports moment.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

With unerring insight into the deeper truths of professional sports, John Feinstein explores in riveting detail what happened one night in December 1977 when, as a fistfight broke out on the court between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, Kermit Washington delivered a punch that nearly killed All-Star Rudy Tomjanovich. The punch -- now legendary in the annals of American sports -- radically changed the trajectory of both men's lives and reverberates throughout the National Basketball Association to this day. Feinstein's compelling investigation of this single cataclysmic incident and its after-math casts a light on the NBA's darkest secrets, revealing the true price men pay when they choose a career in sports.

SYNOPSIS

John Feinstein tells the amazing story of one moment of aggression that changed two lives, the NBA, and how we think about basketball forever.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Feinstein's latest (after The Last Amateurs) tears the scab off one of the deepest wounds in the history of professional sports. In 1977, during a Lakers-Rockets match, L.A. forward Kermit Washington forever altered the course of his career and that of Houston's Rudy Tomjanovich when he threw a punch that nearly killed the Rockets' captain. From that moment on, each man's life became defined by the incident and its aftermath. Seamlessly weaving the event itself into the fabric of pro basketball's rocky pre-Magic/Bird/Jordan history of constantly relocating franchises, dismal television support and chronic violence, Feinstein tells a moving story of two men branded by a moment frozen in time, and how the incident changed the game it could well have destroyed. The narrative never gets mired in the fawning sycophantism of many sports books or the moral proselytizing of many others. Feinstein's research is sharp, and his time line jumps around effortlessly, like a good Quentin Tarantino film. Most importantly, the author sustains the balance between Washington's burden of guilt and the genuine misfortune that has followed him since. He's a sympathetic character, almost uniformly described as a smart, good-hearted man bearing the never-healing scar of the one great mistake in his life. Yet he is by no means the saint he might have us believe him to be. Feinstein's portrait of each man is compelling; neither is lionized or demonized. Rather, the complexity of the incident and the depth of the personal trauma for both Tomjanovich and Washington fester under the author's microscope in this excellent and engaging book. (Nov.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

On a December night in 1977, in the heat of what would become arguably the most infamous basketball brawl in history, Los Angeles Lakers power forward Kermit Washington sensed someone approaching from behind, whirled, and landed a devastating punch to the face of Houston Rocket All-Star Rudy Tomjanovich, who was running full-tilt toward Washington and the battle. Tomjanovich hovered close to death for a short time, endured five operations, and missed the remainder of the season, while Washington served a 60-day suspension as the NBA acted to tighten its rules against fighting. Tomjanovich returned the next season, but many observers agree that neither player was ever quite the same again. Best-selling author Feinstein (A Good Walk Spoiled) tells the story of that night and what followed, recounting the many ironies that surround it: Washington, reviled at the time and still struggling to secure work within the NBA as a coach or scout, is by all accounts a good human being; Kevin Kunnert, with whom Washington was initially skirmishing, is the man Washington blames for his problems accruing from the fight; and despite their subsequent accomplishments, Washington and Tomjanovich are still thought of chiefly as puncher and victim, roles they long to shed. Essential for public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/02.]-Jim Burns, Jacksonville P.L., FL Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile

Fans of professional basketball know this title refers to Kermit Washington's brutal punch, which struck Rudy Tomjanovich and broke virtually every bone in his face. In THE PUNCH, John Feinstein examines how one moment changed the lives of both men and impacted the other players, coaches, and officials involved, as well as the future of the NBA. Richard M. Davidson's performance superbly complements Feinstein's prose. Davidson demonstrates an uncanny ability to use just the right tones, inflections, and emotions and, like Feinstein's prose, is steady and calm. THE PUNCH is not a sports book, but rather a finely tuned analysis of how people deal with triumphs, tragedies, and unfairness. Feinstein and Davidson are a wonderful match; ironically, if you subtract the punch from their lives, so are Washington and Tomjanovich. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews