It's Not Over 'Til It's Over: The Stories Behind Most Magnificent Heart-Stopping Sports Miracles of Our Time

by Al Silverman

Find inspiration in these “enjoyable” accounts of historic last-minute victories—both legendary and little-known—in the world of sports (Booklist).   From a former editor of Sport magazine, this book is a journey through a century of athletic endeavor, from baseball to boxing and beyond—filled with true stories that remind us of some of the qualities that can help to create a perseverance, determination, and hope.   “Re-creations of 13 dramatic sports events from the 20th century . . . While Silverman has chosen to profile a handful of well-documented events, such as New York Giant Bobby Thompson’s 1951 home run at the Polo Grounds, the first Ali-Frazier prizefight in 1971 and the 1980 US hockey team’s Olympic victory over the Russians, the real value of the book lies in his depiction of such obscure or neglected events as the 1923 boxing match between Argentine Luis Firpo and American Jack Dempsey, and the 1968 Harvard-Yale football game . . . The best piece follows an unknown Native American Marine from Kansas who shocked himself and the world by winning the 10,000-meter road race at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics . . . He often tracks down and interviews event participants to provide perspective from both the victor and the vanquished.” —Publishers Weekly

315 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 14, 2002

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book transports you to the place and time of some amazing sports events. The book expands upon some special memories. A very enjoyable read for the sports fan.

[Kellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love sports. This book sounded really interesting and I was excited to read it. Al Silverman took 10 of the most exciting sports stories and wrote a book about them. He wrote about Boxing, Tennis, Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, Golf and Hockey, among others. I had a difficult time following the story in some of them. There are so many names involved in some of the stories like the one about the Reds and the Red Sox. Or the football story about Yale and Harvard. It was hard to follow some of them. If you didn't know about the teams, it was hard to keep track of who was on what team.
I thought the stories could be told better. There was so much to tell, I think Silverman tried too hard to get as much out there as he could and as a result he lost something. I can't exactly put my finger on it but I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. It took me way too long to read this book because I wasn't excited about it.
There is definitely some interesting stuff I learned by reading this book. The guy who invented the Alligator shirts, Lacoste, was actually a famous tennis player. Tommy Lee Jones played football for Harvard and Coach K from Duke is a very classy guy. This kind of stuff peaked my interest and I'm glad a read this book. The disappointment is I wish I liked the book better.