What do you think?
Rate this book
California Sports Astounding: Fun, Unknown and Surprising Facts from Statehood to Sunday
This California sports trivia guide is the perfect gift for the sports die-hard fan in your life!
California is more than just sunny beaches and sky-high redwoods. From the Los Angeles Lakers, and NFL teams like the San Francisco 49ers, to surfing and mini-golf, collegiate, professional, and Olympic athletics alike, California has a rich and fascinating history with sports. Now, over 170 years of California sports history are packed into one book!
Prepare to be amazed and delighted by some of the coolest and most surprising facts from the Golden State. Featuring extraordinary stories and a calendar of remarkable events from baseball to bowling, this complete chronicle is your ultimate resource to the world of California athletics.
Take your sports trivia knowledge to the next level and learn:
• Even though the Kansas City Kings didn’t become the Sacramento Kings until 1985, did you know professional basketball started in Sacramento as early as 1913?
• Which part of the San Francisco Bay is unofficially named after a San Francisco Giants first baseman?
• When did Ultimate Frisbee start at the Rose Bowl and which Oscar winner tossed out the first disk for the International Frisbee Association?
• Which track-and-field coach led the USC Trojans to their most NCAA titles?
• When was California’s official state sport—surfing—introduced and by whom?
Featuring a statewide genealogy of over 65 sports, famous California firsts, origins of the quirkiest and most memorable mascots, and more, this compilation of sports stories and events is made for the California sports fan. Dive into the state’s largest compilation of sports history in a single volume. Get California Sports Astounding and astound everyone with your knowledge today.
California is more than just sunny beaches and sky-high redwoods. From the Los Angeles Lakers, and NFL teams like the San Francisco 49ers, to surfing and mini-golf, collegiate, professional, and Olympic athletics alike, California has a rich and fascinating history with sports. Now, over 170 years of California sports history are packed into one book!
Prepare to be amazed and delighted by some of the coolest and most surprising facts from the Golden State. Featuring extraordinary stories and a calendar of remarkable events from baseball to bowling, this complete chronicle is your ultimate resource to the world of California athletics.
Take your sports trivia knowledge to the next level and learn:
• Even though the Kansas City Kings didn’t become the Sacramento Kings until 1985, did you know professional basketball started in Sacramento as early as 1913?
• Which part of the San Francisco Bay is unofficially named after a San Francisco Giants first baseman?
• When did Ultimate Frisbee start at the Rose Bowl and which Oscar winner tossed out the first disk for the International Frisbee Association?
• Which track-and-field coach led the USC Trojans to their most NCAA titles?
• When was California’s official state sport—surfing—introduced and by whom?
Featuring a statewide genealogy of over 65 sports, famous California firsts, origins of the quirkiest and most memorable mascots, and more, this compilation of sports stories and events is made for the California sports fan. Dive into the state’s largest compilation of sports history in a single volume. Get California Sports Astounding and astound everyone with your knowledge today.
- GenresSports
Kindle Edition
Published April 14, 2022
5 people are currently reading
462 people want to read
About the author
Dan Cisco
2 books1 followerDan Cisco, the California Sports Guy, is a sports researcher with over 25 years of experience. A lifelong sports fan, his sports history expertise has been featured on ABC, CBS, and NBC. His previous book, Hawaii Sports: History, Facts, and Statistics, won the Hawaii Book Publisher’s Association’s Excellence in Specialty Books Award in 2000. A native of San Diego, Dan is a member of the California Historical Society. Learn more at www.californiasportsastounding.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 9, 2024
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
A book with practically everything about sports in California, including things like bicycle racing, handball, and water polo. Really, too much information for one reading.
A book with practically everything about sports in California, including things like bicycle racing, handball, and water polo. Really, too much information for one reading.
April 22, 2022
This book on practically everything related to California sports is more of a reference book than one to enjoy as a leisurely read. There are a lot of things to like about the book. One is the sheer variety of sports that are mentioned. Sure, the "big 4" of team sports have plenty of coverage but here is a partial list of other sports included: water polo, horseshoe tossing, disc golf, ultimate and curling. As long as there is some type of California connection it will be mentioned.
The format of the book is chronological - not in order of when the events took place, but more like a calendar. This sport is mentioned for January 1 in whatever year, that one on January 2 in another year and so on - although not every calendar year is included. There are great trivia questions - although unless you live or have lived in California, many of them will be challenging. Each page/date also has a link to the book's main Web site if a reader wants to learn more about that particular sport or athlete. A fun book to add to one's cloud (currently on available as an E-book) for reference purposes.
The format of the book is chronological - not in order of when the events took place, but more like a calendar. This sport is mentioned for January 1 in whatever year, that one on January 2 in another year and so on - although not every calendar year is included. There are great trivia questions - although unless you live or have lived in California, many of them will be challenging. Each page/date also has a link to the book's main Web site if a reader wants to learn more about that particular sport or athlete. A fun book to add to one's cloud (currently on available as an E-book) for reference purposes.
September 20, 2022
“California Sports Astounding!” is a collection of sports trivia to appease the biggest sports buffs. Dan Cisco, aka The Sports Guy, moves through the days in the months of the year with a short write-up about a sport – better-known ones such as basketball, football, baseball, tennis, etc, as well as possibly lesser known or watched ones such as cross-country, rowing, parachute jumping, curling, skiing, etc., and informs the reader about a record made or how a sport or organization got started. Following the story from various historical points is where you learn some trivia with a question and answer about the write-up. Next he continues with a line or two of athlete’s birthdays, followed by a “Did you know?” paragraph with additional trivia information about an athlete. Each section concludes with a “notable birthday” of more athletes, followed by a “notable event” pertaining to an athlete or team.
“California Sports Astounding!” would make educational bathroom-reading material that could pay off in real money if competing in trivia at a sports bar, or when acting as a ringer with other sports friends. Each chapter has a “clever” title with a play on words related to the month’s name (e.g. February Fun, June Tastic, December Dynamic, etc). Each chapter includes between eight and fourteen short write-ups that highlight important and influential periods of time for sports.
Cisco’s reference list is extensive between the books, magazine articles, newspapers, and websites he pulled from to present all of the trivia and information. Every part of a sport or its team is mentioned at some point in the book – a favorite here is the last “did you know,” about the mascot for the Banana Slugs! Think about it, almost three hundred pages of trivia and information are at your fingertips with the swipe of a tangible or digital page! The format of the book contributes to a simpler time navigating and comprehending the material, allowing the reader the relaxation of knowing what to expect throughout each chapter/month.
When you complete “California Sports Astounding!” and are upset that you’ve reached the end, no fear, there are more facts and trivia at www.californiasportsastounding.com!
“California Sports Astounding!” would make educational bathroom-reading material that could pay off in real money if competing in trivia at a sports bar, or when acting as a ringer with other sports friends. Each chapter has a “clever” title with a play on words related to the month’s name (e.g. February Fun, June Tastic, December Dynamic, etc). Each chapter includes between eight and fourteen short write-ups that highlight important and influential periods of time for sports.
Cisco’s reference list is extensive between the books, magazine articles, newspapers, and websites he pulled from to present all of the trivia and information. Every part of a sport or its team is mentioned at some point in the book – a favorite here is the last “did you know,” about the mascot for the Banana Slugs! Think about it, almost three hundred pages of trivia and information are at your fingertips with the swipe of a tangible or digital page! The format of the book contributes to a simpler time navigating and comprehending the material, allowing the reader the relaxation of knowing what to expect throughout each chapter/month.
When you complete “California Sports Astounding!” and are upset that you’ve reached the end, no fear, there are more facts and trivia at www.californiasportsastounding.com!
February 18, 2023
Meh.
This felt like they took small blurbs about various sports from different newspapers and put them in a book, in chronological order based upon date of publication. This made this boring and not fun to read. It felt like a list of stats being read off in a monotone voice. Then, almost every page was trying to get traffic on their website. It would be for stupid things that could have easily been put into the book. To see a picture of this event/person/logo/stadium… go to www. … Because putting it in the book and making the book somewhat better was out of the question.
#GoodreadsGiveaway
This felt like they took small blurbs about various sports from different newspapers and put them in a book, in chronological order based upon date of publication. This made this boring and not fun to read. It felt like a list of stats being read off in a monotone voice. Then, almost every page was trying to get traffic on their website. It would be for stupid things that could have easily been put into the book. To see a picture of this event/person/logo/stadium… go to www. … Because putting it in the book and making the book somewhat better was out of the question.
#GoodreadsGiveaway
June 19, 2022
If interesting sports stories interest you, this is the book for you. It’s an addictive collection of all sorts of information about all types of sports at all levels of play. I can’t imagine reading it straight through but it is the sort of book that you pick up to get some random facts that will cause you smile and find a way to impress your friends with your knowledge.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
July 24, 2022
Very Interesting indeed!
I quite enjoyed this book. I have to admit I thought it would be « just a lot of facts » about male sportsmen but was very pleasantly wrong. Dan Cisco covers quite a lot of ground, with great “Did you know?” facts and kept quite a nice pace with great background information and interesting tidbits. Quite a bit of female players and sports too! It was great that the author simply looked at sports and players (not just the men)!
I quite enjoyed this book. I have to admit I thought it would be « just a lot of facts » about male sportsmen but was very pleasantly wrong. Dan Cisco covers quite a lot of ground, with great “Did you know?” facts and kept quite a nice pace with great background information and interesting tidbits. Quite a bit of female players and sports too! It was great that the author simply looked at sports and players (not just the men)!
May 2, 2022
Interesting read
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews