The Milan Miracle: The Town that Hoosiers Left Behind

by Bill Riley

Will lightning ever strike twice? Can David beat Goliath a second time? These questions haunt everyone in the small town of Milan, Indiana, whose basketball team inspired Hoosiers, the greatest underdog sports movie ever made. From a town of just 1,816 residents, the team remains forever an underdog, but one with a storied past that has them eternally frozen in their 1954 moment of glory. Every ten years or so, Milan has a winning season, but for the most part, they only manage a win or two each year. And still, perhaps because it s the only option for Milan, the town believes that the Indians can rise again. Bill Riley follows the modern day Indians for a season and explores how the Milan myth still permeates the town, the residents, and their high level of expectations of the team. Riley deftly captures the camaraderie between the players and their coach and their school pride in being Indians. In the end, there are few wins or causes for celebration there is only the little town where basketball is king and nearly the whole town shows up to watch each game. The legend of Milan and Hoosiers is both a blessing and a curse."

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2016

Reviews

[Erin Cataldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I thought it would be and I think I loved it even more for that. Based off the title I naively assumed that this would be about the 1954 Milan team that inspired the movie Hoosiers, but instead it focuses on Milan High School's current basketball team (2010-2011) and the struggles they face. Since the introduction of the class system in 1998 and even before that Milan, ceased to be the basketball powerhouse that it once was. Bill Riley follows the coach, the team, and the town for one whole season and tells of the ups and downs they face. It's a gripping high school basketball story, one markedly different then the legendary team that most people associate with Milan, but it doesn't make it any less important. Basketball is king in Indiana and books like this are just another reason why it will always remain that way. A wonderful read and I'm not even a sports junkie or basketball enthusiast.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must Read for Hoosier basketball fans

I enjoyed Mr. Riley’s year long synopsis of Milan, Indiana High School basketball season, with a second year coach trying hard to restore tradition, pacify parents, and mold success from high school youngsters.

[Jackchristopherhill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story

This was a good story, but not very well written. The author is too worried about 1954 instead of focusing on 2011, unfortunately that meant he left out important details.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very detailed about basketball in a small dying Midwest town. I am not a big basketball fan in general, but as a teacher who spent time at a small school in a dying Midwest town, I really felt that setting deeply. There were moments when it was a bit more detailed about basketball than I prefer, but that should be expected based on the title. The end brings together all of the ideas nicely. It is more emotional because we have had all of those details about their season previously. The epilogue and afterward were essential to wrap up the whole story. Those might have been my favorite chapters. The narrative voice was very factual. There wasn’t much editorializing. I would have preferred a bit more editorializing, but that is a minor point.