We hear about the misbehavior of athletes, but not enough about their good qualities.
In “The Reason We Play: American Sports Figures and What Inspires Them,” intended for young adults, Akron writer Marc Bona has chosen an eclectic group who are notable not only for their prowess on the field or rink but for their integrity and commitment.
The 23 profiles are listed in alphabetical order, beginning with Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano and including Dayton native and former Cleveland Indians player Dave Burba. Another Indians player is Andre Thornton, whose grace and faith after the accidental death of his wife and son remain inspirational. Every profile is accompanied by quotations and advice.
Mike Eruzione, captain of the U.S. team in the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey triumph, auto racers Janet Guthrie and Lyn St. James, rodeo star Ty Murray and soccer great Kristine Lilly reveal their favorite books, as do former University of Akron coach Gerry Faust (“The Golden Dream,” which he wrote with Steve Love) and Cy Young winner Vernon Law (“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”).
Besides the athletes, Bona profiles famed sportswriter Frank DeFord and NCAA director Dick Schultz. The many footnotes show Bona’s intensive research, and the wealth of cultural references that he uses to sweeten the profiles will clue in the readers about Erasmus, Bing Crosby and Tiananmen Square.
The black-and-white illustrations are by former Beacon Journal staff artist Brian Shellito.
“The Reason We Play” (186 pages, hardcover) costs $28 from Rowman & Littlefield.
‘Vintage Browns’
Terry Pluto has written four books about the Cleveland Browns, but there’s no reason at all the veteran sports columnist can’t continue putting them out, especially with his storehouse of inside stories. “Vintage Browns: A Warm Look Back at the Cleveland Browns of the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s and More” tells some of those stories.
In his introduction, Pluto says that the book was inspired by a series of stories he wrote for the Plain Dealer, about players’ memories of the day they were drafted. There’s some of that in this book, as wide receiver Brian Brennan recalls sitting in his dorm room as classmates drifted in and out, asking for updates. Doug Dieken, now a veteran broadcaster, interrupted his mother’s bridge game to tell her he’d been selected by the Browns.
Greg Pruitt talks about watching Jim Brown on television with his friends as a child, and placekicker Len Dawson discusses the merits of different apps to anticipate Cleveland’s notoriously changeable weather.
Pluto revisits the Kardiac Kids era and the origins of the Dawg Pound. Though he, of necessity, also introduces The Drive, The Fumble and Red Right 88, it is not to dredge up devastating memories but to respect the players involved. Bernie Kosar commends Earnest Byner, saying “I admired how he handled all that” (Byner’s fumble cost the Browns a tie in the 1987 AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos).
Pluto analyzes the comings and goings of coaches Marty Schottenheimer and Bill Belichick, and quarterbacks Brian Sipe, Kosar, Vinny Testaverde and Tim Couch. This book, a followup to the similarly titled 2019 “Vintage Cavs,” is a quick and enjoyable read.
“Vintage Browns” (208 pages, softcover) costs $16.95 from Gray & Co.
‘A Christmas Courtship’
Just when it seems there are no new ideas for romance novels, along comes Shelley Shepard Gray with the Holmes County-set Berlin Bookmobile trilogy. “A Christmas Courtship” is the final book in which librarian Sarah Anne Miller Cannon acts as Cupid, matching sweethearts as well as books to patrons.
Awkward and clueless Amish bachelor Atle Petersheim is sweet on widow Sadie Mast and has come to Sarah Anne to ask for a courtship manual for middle-aged men. She offers the sudsy and lengthy (closing in on 500 pages) “Finding Love’s Fortune.” Atle is reluctant but takes the book, and there are comical scenes as Atle talks back and takes notes as he reads.
Sadie’s older son Cale is working on a romance of his own, with the daughter of a neighboring farmer, and will have to overcome some misunderstandings. The Christmas theme doesn’t really appear until more than halfway through, with a last-minute scramble for all the characters to find suitable presents.
“A Christmas Courtship” (320 pages, softcover) costs $16 from Gallery Books, a division of Simon and Schuster. Shelley Shepard Gray, a former resident of Loveland in southwest Ohio, now lives in Texas.
Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.
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