| Dear Mr. Berman, I just want to thank you
for the incredible website of Dr. J photos. I was an Indiana farm kid in
the 1970s, living out on a farm in Knox, Indiana. After feeding the
animals and completing shores, my passion was playing basketball and Notre
Dame football. Well when the legend of Dr J reached the playgrounds of
basketball crazy Indiana, the stories we heard were beyond belief. He was
a such a legend that he was on par with Paul Bunyan in Indiana. We would
root for the Pacers but hope for The Doctor to score 40 or 50 on the
Pacers. There was such a mystique about Dr J that his presence was
palpable on the playgrounds of Indiana. Everyone was attempting to
finger-roll, float, and make the moves we heard stories about.
Periodically we would catch a Pacers game on a UHF channel, and a Pacers
game against the Doctor was the ultimate TV event. The Doctor's mystique
was so overwhelming that I began collecting every photo and news story
about Dr J that I could find. I would call myself Dr. M on the
playgrounds, and attempt all kinds of crazy shots to try and mimic the
Doctor. Well viewing your photos has brought back such fond memories, that
I cannot express how grateful I am. A continuous stream of basketball
memories came flooding back. I have those internal videos of moves I made
and games I played where I felt like the Doctor, just my moves were below
the rim. Thank you so much for sharing what you captured on film. Your art
is as legendary as the Doctor is. Michael Joseph Merritt |
| I just went to your site and all I can say
is AWESOME!!! What an unbelievable collection of the one and only man that
changed the dynamics of basketball forever. What an unbelievable
opportunity you had to not only photograph him, but to know him, work with
him and to have seen him play. I have to say I am very grateful for you
and your photography. You bring back to life, my childhood ideal in all
his glory. Thank you very much for making these photos available. This is
the next best thing to actually being able to have been as fortunate as
you were to see him in action. Thank again. David P. |
| I still can't believe that I talked to the
person who snapped the photo of Dr. J on the cover of this month's Becket.
Unbelievable. I've had that magazine cover on my desk for several weeks,
remarking to others how cool it looks. You have an amazing talent.
Adam Spencer, Wetstone Technologies |
| Your sight is incredible, amazing to see
all those photos. I could only read about Erving when w/ the Nets due to
the lack of TV broadcasts and used to dream about this stuff; it’s pretty
mind-blowing to see all these photos laid out like that. Kind of
funny/ironic to see all those empty seats in the background as well…
Jimmy J. |
| Let me say that being an NBA fan for 30
years, I am BLOWN AWAY by your photos! BLOWN AWAY! I am not really a Dr.J
fan. I am now though, a Larry Berman fan. Beautiful work Larry ! Dwaynne O. |
| Larry it was a pleasure talking with you. I came across your site while
looking for pictures of my days in the American Basketball Association
(1970-71) Pittsburgh Condors. Looking at your quality collection of
pictures bring great joy to me and my family. My daughter Caprice played
college basketball at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, but
was very young when I played. Your pictures are a great reference and fun
when we look back at the fun days. Your collections are one of the best
I've seen, please keep up the great work. Walker Banks - 1970-71
Pittsburgh Condors. |
| Dear Mr. Berman, my name is André Voigt
and I am the editor of FIVE, Germany's leading basketball magazine
(circ. 25,000). Researching for a planned feature on the ABA I came across
your site and was shocked by the wide array of spectacular pictures you
offer. |
| My name is Brett Ballantini. I'm the managing
editor of Basketball Digest and a big ABA guy. I try to get all the
ABA content I can into the magazine, and thankfully, because we're very
nostalgic in tone, I am often successful. We run a lot of Doctor art, and
through the RemembertheABA discussion group and speaking with Arthur I
know that you are THE source for Doc art. I've seen your work and the
shots are outstanding. It would be an honor to run your work in the
Digest. |
| I'd like to request a possible story about
the Dr. J wall image that you produced and wrote about on your site. Your
site has a lot of good resources that will also be of interest to the
readers of Digital Imaging. Please let me know if you are interested in
contributing and I will submit the story idea to my publisher.
Andrew Darlow, Editorial Director, Digital Imaging Magazine |
| I just wanted you to know that your photograph's are
awesome. I grew up a huge Pete Maravich fan, and am currently serving as
the Chief Researcher for a major book that sports author Marshall Terrill
is doing on Pete. I am also co-authoring David Thompson's life story with
the great Skywalker. David has become a close friend.
Sean Stormes -
author of Skywalker |
| I saw your photos on e-bay and wanted to
contact you. My name is Todd Ant I'm with ABC Sports Radio
in New York. I am an E-bay hog and somehow found my way to these photos
and thought of an idea. We are currently gearing up for an NBA Playoff
preview and I'm in charge of the Atlantic division and specifically the
Nets. I am doing a section on the history of the team, and wondering if I
could do a phone interview on what is was like back in the day when they
were in new York and with "J"... |
| I finally picked up the box of photos! I think the
screensaver gave me a "preview" of the full images (the screensaver is
great in itself), but the full photos are amazing. I spent about an hour
just going through the pile and admiring each one. Really for an ABA fan
it is amazing to see such quality action photos of the Doctor, in large
part the "signature" of the red white and blue league. Interestingly, they
are not all "dunk shots" as I thought they would be. Your shots capture
the Doctor in all phases of his offensive game. My favorite is the one
where he is floating in the air with Dan Issel, holding the ball backwards
in midair. One of the other photos is the "sequel" to this photo, and
indicates that Erving brought the ball forward, floated past Issel, and
bank in a layup. Arthur |
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