THE BEST ATHLETES OF THE BAY !! San Francisco Area Sports Heroes: Their careers, their lives. "Terrific book" -Gary Radnich, KNBR 680 and KRON-TV Channel 4, San Francisco This unique collection of sports biographies chronicles the lives of superstars raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, home to some of the most famous pro athletes in American history. From Joe DiMaggio to Bill Russell to Barry Bonds to Tom Brady, Bay Area Legends spans nearly 100 years of glory. BRIAN MICHNOWSKI is the first to assemble the stories of these local champions who conquered the worlds of pro football, basketball, baseball, tennis, golf, boxing, and auto racing.

San Francisco Bay Area Sports brings together fifteen essays covering the issues, controversies, and personalities that have emerged as northern Californians recreated and competed over the last 150 years. The area’s diversity, anti-establishment leanings, and unique and beautiful natural surroundings are explored in the context of a dynamic sporting past that includes events broadcast to millions or activities engaged in by just a few. Professional and college events are covered along with lesser-known entities such as Oakland’s public parks, tennis player and Bay Area native Rosie Casals, environmentalism and hiking in Marin County, and the origins of the Gay Games. Taken as a whole, this book clarifies how sport is connected to identities based on sexuality, gender, race, and ethnicity. Just as crucial, the stories here illuminate how sport and recreation can potentially create transgressive spaces, particularity in a place known for its nonconformity.