Haymon's Crowd: A Novel

by Robert Greenfield

This story follows a seven-foot tall, athletically gifted boy, as his competitive prowess propels him to manhood, and a coveted role on the Los Angeles Laker's professional basketball team.

The novel chronicles the passage of Haymon "Hulky" Jacobs from playing pick-up basketball on the playgrounds of late-50's Brooklyn, to an NBA championship series in the early 1970's. It shows his driving determination to overcome his childhood deprivations, and succeed in the world of pro basketball.

Along the way, he collects his "crowd" of friends, trophy women, and hangers-on, all of whom profit from his talent in some way or another. Some add a necessary support structure to his life, while others just take, ultimately pushing out the people and enjoyment that add value to his world.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

A former Associate Editor of the London bureau of Rolling Stone magazine, Robert Greenfield is the critically acclaimed author of several classic rock books, among them S.T.P.: A Journey Through America with the Rolling Stones, as well as the definitive biographies of Timothy Leary and Ahmet Ertegun. With Bill Graham, he is the co-author of Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside Rock and Out, which won the ASCAP- Deems Taylor Award. An award winning novelist, playwright, and screenwriter, his short fiction has appeared in GQ, Esquire, and Playboy magazines. He lives in California.