BASKETBALL SUBJECT AREA GUIDE

What follows is a guide to some of the more significant basketball related holdings in the University Libraries of Notre Dame. Its purpose is to provide researchers with a convenient overview of available resources in this subject area; it does not aspire to be comprehensive. Some types of materials, including virtually all monographs and some annual and periodical titles, are included in the University Libraries Online Catalog, and may be found in various locations throughout Hesburgh Library, as detailed on the individual catalog record. Other materials, including some annuals and periodicals and most yearbooks, media guides, programs, and special collections, have no catalog records; these items are held in the Rare Books Unit of the Department of Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library. Such items may be consulted in the reading room of the Department, from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. weekdays. Researchers interested in materials specifically pertaining to the history of basketball at Notre Dame should contact University Archives, 607 Hesburgh Library.

Title or collection descriptions on this page are linked to records, inventories, and other appropriate types of finding aid. The dates that follow many of the annual and periodical titles on this page indicate the span of years a given title was published; available holdings are indicated in the linked finding aid. Questions concerning the materials on the page may be directed to the Curator of the Joyce Sports Research Collection, George Rugg, 102 Hesburgh Library.

Monographs

Approximately 350 titles in the Library of Congress GV 883-890 range. These titles may be searched in the University of Notre Dame Libraries' Online Catalog: most are available for circulation, and may be found on the upper floors of Hesburgh Library. Some older or scarcer basketball-related titles are held in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library.

Annuals -- guide format

Holdings of the Spalding (1894/95-1940/41), Barnes (1941/42-1949/50), and National Collegiate Athletic Association (1951- ) annual guides. These titles are generally regarded as the key annuals on men's college basketball -- though in the early years Spalding covered other levels of the amateur game as well, most notably high school, YMCA, and AAU basketball. From around 1910/1911 through 1924/1925 Spalding published its Official Guide in both Eastern and Western editions: these generally contain significant amounts of mutually exclusive material. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).
Holdings of the Reach Official Basket Ball Guide (1901/02-1926/27) from 1906/07. The Reach guide is particularly important for its coverage of the early professional game, something Spalding ignores. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).
Complete holdings of the Sporting News National Basketball Association (1958/59- ) and American Basketball Association (1968/69-1975/76) annual guides. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).

Annuals -- magazine format

An extensive collection of magazine format annuals devoted wholly or primarily to men's college basketball in the US. Many different titles are represented. While college coverage is generally emphasized, many of these titles also include sections on the professionals. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).
An extensive collection of magazine format annuals devoted wholly or primarily to men's professional basketball in the US. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).
Holdings from 1953/54 of Basketball's Best (1951/52-1972/73). This "NBA Pictorial Review" is one of the better sources on the league's first two decades; it's especially valuable for its write-ups of individual players. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).
Holdings from 1945 to 1976 of the Converse Basketball Yearbook (1922-1983). The Yearbook includes features and statistics on high school, college, professional, and international basketball. It is valued today both for its attractive layout and for its informative and often idiosyncratic content. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).

Yearbooks and media guides

A collection of approximately 5100 men's college basketball team media guides, 1940s to date. In the years since World War II these guides, like their football counterparts, have evolved dramatically, from typed and mimeographed sheets to highly informative trade paper publications readily available to the public. Also, a collection of around 700 college winter seasonal media guides; these typically emphasize men's basketball (and generally function as the publishing school's basketball media guide), but also contain information on other traditional winter sports. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).
A collection of 142 men's college basketball conference media guides, 1950/51 to date. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).
A collection of 248 men's professional basketball team media guides, 1948/49 to 1990/91, representing clubs in the National Basketball Association, the American Basketball Association, and the Basketball Association of America. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).
A collection of 105 National Basketball Association team yearbooks, mostly from the 1990's. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).

Programs

A collection of about 2600 men's college basketball programs, dating for the most part from 1940 to 1975. Approximately 600 of these were produced for tournaments, doubleheaders, or other events involving four or more teams. Larger and smaller schools from all parts of the United States are represented, with some emphasis on institutions from California. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).
A collection of 1150 men's professional basketball game programs, mostly from the late 1940s, the 1950s and the 1960s. Just under one thousand of these involve teams from the National Basketball Association (1949/50- ), though a number of other leagues are represented as well, including the National Basketball League (1937/38-1948/49), the Basketball Association of America (1946/47-1948/49), and the American Basketball Association (1967/68-1975/76). Also included is a small group of All-Star Game programs from the NBA and ABA. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).

Special Collections

A small collection of items on the Harlem Globetrotters professional basketball team. Materials include promotional photographs and literature, game programs, and a collection of the team's annual yearbooks, complete from 1947/48 to 1971. Location: HESB Special Coll (Sports).

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