I came across a pair offered by “Thriftbooks,” which I’d never used before. I wanted both books, so I Googled the titles, hoping to find a couple of used copies to fill my void. I also couldn’t find my copy of David Halberstam’s classic, “The Breaks of the Game.” Written in 1981 by the former Pulitzer Prize winner, it recaps the Blazers’ 1979-80 season and contains plenty of the likes of Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas, Kermit Washington and Billy Ray Bates, along with extensive discourse on race in the NBA during that period. My copy, however, was nowhere to be found - the victim, quite likely, of a move to a new residence a year ago. It’s a combination of a collection of Ramsay’s coaching philosophies and a historical perspective about the Blazers’ championship team and how it was put together. I enjoyed the book and thought it was well-done. The book was going to sell if it was good or a piece of crap because of the popularity of the Blazers and of Jack. I’d take it and shape it and talk to Jack about it before putting it together. “Jack would dictate to a secretary in his office, who would transcribe it and get it to me. So I was either a full-service ghost writer or a full-service contractor for him. “And later, I ended up remodeling his house. “During training camp in Salem, I met with Jack and we hit it off,” Strawn says. Colton, who didn’t have time to collaborate, recommended Strawn. Ramsay, meanwhile, had a contract to write his own book and was seeking a ghost writer. “I had started a little construction business and was doing free-lance writing to make my way forward.”Īnother Portland writer, Strawn’s friend Larry Colton, had landed a contract to write “Idol Time,” which examined the aftermath of the championship season. “I had left teaching because I wanted to be a writer but didn’t think I could make a living at it right away,” says Strawn, now 77. Strawn, who lives in Portland and later enjoyed a prominent career in the golf design and publishing fields, had helped put together the book in the months following the Blazers’ 1977 NBA championship. Sometimes a rare nugget reaches your pan when you’re not even mining for gold.Ī couple of weeks ago, I scanned the library in my study for a book entitled “The Coach’s Art.” It was written in 1978 by Jack Ramsay, then head coach of the Trail Blazers, with help from Portland writer John Strawn, an old friend of mine.
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