Championship Ball

Chip Hilton #2

by Clair Bee, Cynthia Bee Farley, Randall Farley

When a broken leg forces him off the high school basketball squad, Chip Hilton faces the coming season with all odds against him as he attempts to help build a winning team.

Genres: Sports, Fiction, Juvenile, Childrens

Paperback

First published January 1, 1948

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this second book of the long-running Chip Hilton series, Chip, Soapy, Speed, Biggie, Taps, Chip's mother, Coach Rockwell, and the rest of the Valley Falls crew welcome basketball season. Chip, whose father has been killed in an accident prior to the start of the series, was the star center the year before, but suffered an ankle injury in the recently completed football season and assumes the role of team manager. Bee's main concern is in demonstrating the importance of humility, working together, getting along, and treating other people well. There's no religious content in this initial 1948 edition, but demonstrating strong moral character is the main message. The concepts and trappings may seem quite dated now, but I think it's still a nice, uplifting kids' story. Bee was a long-time coach, and fans can still learn lot about the fundamentals of the sport the way it's supposed to be played.

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023 Reread
Just as enjoyable. Some really good lessons for Chip, and some really good lessons for anyone.

2019
This book starts just a few weeks after the first book. Football season is over and it’s time for basketball.
Chip Hilton is the kind of guy who does what is right even if it’s hard. Yes, he struggles with things, but I love his commitment to his friends and his determination to help them be the best they can be.
There is a little bit of a mystery in this book, but it’s not the main focus, and what happens with it is something that makes me enjoy the book even more.

This is a clean book that I would recommend to anyone.

[Ph. D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Chip Hilton series are simply the best sports books for kids ever written. Maybe some things are a little dated (this book was written in 1948), but the technical instruction on basketball is still surprisingly relevant, and the character lessons are timeless. Championship Ball teaches lessons both on and off the court -- the most valuable being humility. I am almost 70 and I never get tired of reading a Chip Hilton story. Meeting up with Chip, Soapy, Biggie, Speed, Red, and The Rock is like getting together with old friends. Rest in peace, Clair Bee -- and thank you.

[Grace]

Awww, my dad's childhood favorite series

[James Hogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up at Half Price Books a few weeks back...surprised to find Chip Hilton books there! This was the first of 3 I picked up. The only ones I'd ever read were the old ones that Dad had from back in the day, so it was a very odd experience reading one for the first time! This one is actually the second one in the whole series and it is...ok. While I definitely appreciated them showing how someone can contribute to a team without actually being on the court (spoilers - this book had Chip being the player manager of the basketball team since he's healing from a broken leg), I missed seeing Chip actually participate in sports! I enjoyed (as always with Chip Hilton books) the focus on integrity, honesty and kindness - but I will confess the actual story didn't really interest me that much. It felt odd reading a basketball book where so many of the crucial games took place off-page! I wanted more basketball and less filler. And of course, the championship was never in doubt, although Bee did his best to increase the suspense! A fun little read, but not as enjoyable as the baseball books of his I've read.

[Michael David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't finish the book because I lost it, but from what I've read, it wasn't as good or as impressive as the Hardy Boys. Chip seems to be a character one has difficulty relating with, and the writing was subpar.

[Steve Rutherford]

Have DJ and PC