Showboat in the Backcourt: 2

by William Campbell Gault

"Circus performers," the college coach explained to the rookies, "were interesting to watch on a high-wire. Basketball, however, was a team game."
But Jay King liked giving the spectators their money's worth—or so he said. His high school buddy and college roommate, Paul Salvatore, called it something else. But the showboat went his own way—right into a bad contract with an expansion team after graduation.
Paul more wisely signed with the New York Silks, member of the NBA's Atlantic Division. the matchups were tough for a team with playoff ambitions. Before long the Silks needed new talent and Jay needed a new team. So King and Salvatore were a backcourt pair once again. Still determined to win—but each in his own way.

122 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

William Campbell Gault (1910–1995) was a critically acclaimed pulp novelist. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he took seven years to graduate from high school. Though he was part of a juvenile gang, he wrote poetry in his spare time, signing it with a girl’s name lest one of his friends find it. He sold his first story in 1936, and built a great career writing for pulps like Paris Nights, Scarlet Adventures, and the infamous Black Mask. In 1939, Gault quit his job and started writing fulltime.

When the success of his pulps began to fade in the 1950s, Gault turned to longer fiction, winning an Edgar Award for his first mystery, Don’t Cry for Me (1952), which he wrote in twenty-eight days. He created private detectives Brock Callahan and Joe Puma, and also wrote juvenile sports books like Cut-Rate Quarterback (1977) and Wild Willie, Wide Receiver (1974). His final novel was Dead Pigeon (1992), a Brock Callahan mystery.


Series:
* Brock 'The Rock' Callahan
* Joe Puma