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In the "City of Brotherly Love," there are few things taken as seriously as local bragging rights. In a city that lives and dies with its sports heroes, basketball is no exception. This volume traces the lore and history behind Philadelphia’s Big 5, an informal basketball league that features five of the area’s most prestigious colleges: La Salle University, Temple University, Saint Joseph’s University, Villanova University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Formed in 1955, the Big 5 pulls teams from the Ivy League, the Big East, the American Athletic Conference, and, in the case of both La Salle and Saint Joseph’s, the Atlantic 10. With a round-robin format often played at the Palestra, each team plays the other once and best record takes home the trophy. In a sport that has become a nationwide sensation, the spirit of Philadelphia lives on, led by the most loyal and passionate fans in the world.
M. Earl Smith is a historian, professor, author, and father. A graduate of Chatfield College in Ohio, he completed a master of arts in English at the University of Pennsylvania in 2017. Each chapter of this volume has a foreword written by a member of the Big 5 fraternity, and images were sourced from the athletic departments of the schools represented. A portion of the proceeds from this volume will be donated to each school’s athletic department.
