That's My Team!: The History, Science, and Fun behind Sports Teams' Names - Hardcover

Paul Volponi is an author, journalist and educator. His twelve novels for young adults have been the recipient of a dozen American Library Association honors. His novel Black and White, winner of the International Reading Association Children’s Book Award, is a staple in many middle school and high school English classes. The Final Four is on the New York City Chancellor’s Ninth-Grade Reading List. You can learn more about his books at paulvolponibooks.com.

The unifying power of sports, writes novelist Volponi, means an affiliation with a certain team can create “lifelong bonds” and extend into the “collective consciousness” of the team’s city and beyond. Yet the provenance of many team names are often puzzling—Utah Jazz, anyone? Volponi dedicates a paragraph or two of context to dozens of team names—past and present, popular and obscure—whose origins span an encyclopedic array of history, science, literature, pop culture, geography, and other subjects. He also sprinkles in a collection of instructional but skippable sports-related challenges for those who are competitive about trivia. The book is full of fascinating factoids about mostly collegiate and professional teams, that also double as mini lessons in civic history: how the Great Depression inspired the naming of the Philadelphia Eagles, how the Oklahoma Sooners sprinted into existence, and why the Los Angeles Dodgers are an homage to the trolleys of their native Brooklyn. Even fictional teams like the Springfield Isotopes of The Simpsons get a nod. Written for teens but enlightening for any trivia or sports fan. (Booklist)

A unique and certain to be highly prized addition to personal and community library Sports History collections, "That's My Team!: The History, Science, and Fun behind Sports Teams' Names" is an inherently fascinating read from cover to cover. (Midwest Book Review)

This is a great book for kids or to have on a flight or a train. You can read it for stretches and then pick it back up easily. You can look in the well-done index to see your favorite teams first, as I did. I enjoyed this book. (Sportsology)

Sometimes we read to be informed. Sometimes we read to be entertained. Paul Volponi has done both with That’s My Team! This is a can’t-put-it-down book for sports fans and you’ll be sorry there isn’t more when you’re done. (Bob Ryan, Boston Globe, ESPN)

Wow! Great stuff! What a fun way to learn about your favorite sports teams and their opponents. (Ann Meyers-Drysdale, member of the Basketball Hall of Fame)

Paul Volponi’s That’s My Team is masterful. This is one of those brilliant ideas I wish I’d thought of. I’m glad I didn’t because I couldn’t have pulled it off the way Volponi does. It’s a perfect teaching tool. What a way to get sports and activity-minded kids reading! There are nuggets in this work that will keep readers digging. (Chris Crutcher, author of Whale Talk, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, and Deadline)

Part reference guide, part history, That’s My Team is 100% fascinating. A terrific book for sports loving teens—and sports enthusiasts in general. Volponi doesn’t just tell you where your favorite team’s name comes from, he takes you on a tour through time. That’s My Team is indispensable reading for curious, thoughtful sports fans. (Paul Griffin, YA author, The Orange Houses, Burning Blue and Stay With Me)