Blitz Kids: The Cinderella Story of the 1944 University of Utah National Championship Basketball Team

by Ferrin Tres

In the 1940s, before March Madness, the frenzy of the NBA draft, and multi-million dollar professional contracts, college basketball players played simply because they loved the game. This is the story of a group of kids who loved to play the underdog 1943–44 University of Utah men’s basketball team and their unlikely path to the NCAA championship, who came out of nowhere to upset heavily favored Dartmouth for the title.

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2012

Reviews

[Angela Ito · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book, great for any Ogden Made folks, U of U bball fans, and Cinderella story lovers.

[Lisa-Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fun book about a group of local Utah heroes. Arnie Ferrin was the star of this 1944 team and his son and grandson took a shot at capturing the moment. I was pleasantly surprised with how readable and enthralling it was. Being a lifelong Ute fan and a 30-year basketball season ticketholder, I knew of the 1944 season, but I didn't appreciate the personalities involved. In addition to Ferrin, you can't help cheering for the coach, Vadal Peterson, and also for the Japanese-American player, Wat Misaka. My dad was a huge fan of Arnie Ferrin. He told me about listening to this same National Championship game on the radio when he was a 9-year-old boy. I was lucky to be a sportswriter for the Daily Utah Chronicle when Ferrin was at the U and met him a few times. The whole championship story has twists and turns that you could not invent. "There is a certain comfort in ignorance. The fact that the Utes didn't fathom how much of an underdog they were protected them from their own doubts...If they would have known, they never could have accomplished the task before them."