NEWS AND EVENTS

Capital of Basketball

The Capital of Basketball

John McNamara was a 30-year veteran sports reporter and one of five employees tragically murdered in a mass shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, MD last June. In addition to local sports reporting John authored two other books pertaining to University of Maryland athletics, and was in the process of writing “The Capital of Basketball: A History of D.C. Area High School Hoops” at the time of his murder. To honor his memory, McNamara’s widow, Andrea Chamblee, completed the book with the assistance of David Elfin who helped McNamara previously co-author a book. “The Capital of Basketball” is available for purchase now.

John McNamara was devoted to highlighting and celebrating basketball in the Washington, D.C metro area. McNamara, with the help of Chamblee, came up with the idea to document and celebrate the rich history of D.C basketball. This book includes some of the greatest to have ever played, including Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor, Dave Bing, and E.B. Henderson, the first African American certified to teach physical education in public schools. These figures and many others are chronicled in the book, the first-ever comprehensive look at the prolific high school players, teams and coaches in the D.C. metropolitan area.