Terry Pluto reflects on when the Cavs called the Richfield Coliseum home. He remembers those days fondly and writes about them in his new book 鈥榁intage Cavs.鈥�
The Cleveland Cavaliers have had their good days and their bad days. Winning the 2016 NBA championship is a highlight.
Pluto recalls the 2016 team. LeBron James had returned to Cleveland after a split from the team, coming back to help guide them to a win over the Golden State Warriors. Pluto says there was no love lost in that team, but James鈥� return was a business decision. A good one, it turned out.
鈥淚t was a marriage of convenience, there was not a lot of romance to it,鈥� Pluto said. 鈥淚t was pure business.鈥�
50 years of Cavs history
Pluto鈥檚 book is a rich history of the first 50 years for the team, beginning with their start in the Cleveland Arena. He said the Arena and the Coliseum had different feels to them when the Cavs played there.
鈥淭hey were almost like a neighborhood team,鈥� Pluto said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 face it, next to the arena there was a farm 鈥� and they had sheep. And the other side of the arena was the park.鈥�
People, Pluto included, still return to that spot, seeking out the space that once was the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now, the land where the Coliseum stood is part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
鈥淭he interesting thing to me, too, along those ways is that players who played there have gone there,鈥� Pluto said. He mentions players like World B. Free and Mark Price who've shared stories of returning to the space and staring at the field. Pluto remembers Price saying, 鈥淚t鈥檚 strange. It鈥檚 like I could hear it and feel it, but it鈥檚 not there. It鈥檚 like it almost didn鈥檛 happen.鈥�
Summit County's team
While these players, like Free and Price, seem like larger than life characters, Pluto said they made themselves accessible. After practice, they鈥檇 get into pick-up games. But, Pluto said, it carried even further.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a playground up in Cuyahoga Falls called Valley Vista,鈥� Pluto said. 鈥淭hey would get in pick-up games with just guys off the street.鈥�
In his research for the book, Pluto said he received emails from people recalling times they鈥檇 not only met the players, but had the opportunity to play with them.
鈥淭he fact is that you don鈥檛 see that now,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou know, because there just such bigger business.鈥�
Memory lane
Pluto said he鈥檒l go into press boxes and often be the oldest one there nowadays. But he shares his stories with younger writers, who might not otherwise know these players.
鈥榁intage Cavs: A Warm Look Back at the Cavaliers of the Cleveland Arena and Richfield Coliseum Years鈥� is a nostalgic, wistful memory of the team鈥檚 beginnings.
鈥淔rankly, part of sports is memory, is nostalgia, is history,鈥� Pluto said.
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