Despite being a collector of sports fiction, I planned to
stay out of this discussion when I saw the word "noir"
combined with the word "sports." However, it's clear to me
that a number of the books mentioned in this thread don't
fall under noir as defined by the many experts on this list
so I am jumping in.
First of all, I agree with the positive comments about The
Damned UTD by David Peace. I believe I commented in the past
about this novel. Here are a few others for your
consideration.
The Jook by Gary Phillips involves a former NFL wide receiver
who in the words of the late Barbara Seranella is "trying
every way he knows to reclaim the life of fast women and big
money. All this leads to the end zone run of his life."
The Spoiler by Dominic Stansberry is a novel of minor league
baseball and murder where a sports reporter becomes involved
with a mysterious woman who provides him with a connection
between the baseball team and a series of arsons.
For those looking for rugby novels, Caveman Politics by Jay
Atkinson is about a Florida reporter who plays the game and
becomes involved in a case where a teammate from Trinidad is
accused of rape.
My two favorites are The Last Season by Canada's most
versatile writer Roy MacGregor and The Great Molinas by Neil
D. Isaacs. The first is about hockey
"goon" Felix Batterinski, who near the end of his career is
attempting to come to terms with his life while serving as a
player-coach in Poland during the early 1980s. The second is
the novelized story of basketball player Jack Molinas whose
life was destroyed due to gambling and who was eventually
rubbed out by the mob. A hockey goon and a basketball player
unable to control his impulses IMO qualify under noir
sports.
Kent Morgan
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