Hack's 191 – Released in January 2012
Hack Wilson’s record 191 RBIs in 1930 may well stand the test of time, and so may the record of his hard-drinking lifestyle. In Hack’s 191, Bill Chastain recreates the most productive offensive season in baseball history while giving readers unique insight into the life of one of baseball’s most fascinating, enigmatic, and yet neglected characters.
Drunk or sober, Wilson lived large in Prohibition-era Chicago, where the entertainment and nightclub industries thrived, and Al Capone, a friend of Wilson, reigned as the most publicized gangster in America. Hack finished the 1929 season batting .345 with 39 home runs and 159 RBIs, giving him his fourth consecutive 100-plus RBI season before for misplaying two fly balls in the World Series. Despite losing the Series, the Cubs entered the 1930 season favored again to win the National League pennant. After a slow start and many bad breaks, the team was in first place by the end of August, with Hack Wilson leading the way. Chronicling the ups, downs, and record-setting accomplishments of Lewis R. “Hack” Wilson, this book returns arguably the most hard-living, hard-hitting ballplayer in history to the lineup of the game’s greats.
Jackrabbit: The Story of Clint Castleberry and the Improbable 1942 Georgia Tech Football Season
Clint Castleberry played one glorious year of college football then disappeared, leaving behind hazy memories from halcyon fall afternoons that saw him lead Georgia Tech to victory. Today he remains a mythical figure on the Georgia Tech campus and in the city of Atlanta. Many have heard of him, but few know his story.
September Nights: Hunting the Beasts of the American League East
Pennant races are the essence of baseball. Throughout the history of America’s national pastime, teams have been measured by how they fared down the stretch, when the games mattered most. September Nights is the story of how the 2010 Tampa Bay Rays handled the heat during the most critical part of the season, as seen through the eyes of All-Star pitcher James Shields. Tampa Bay entered the last month of the 2010 season knowing they had to fight off the “Beasts of the East” – the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox—if they were going to achieve their goal of winning their second American League East title in three seasons. The tension mounts as the season reaches high gear. Not only is the team striving to win the pennant, they also know they are running out of time. The Rays players find themselves facing a bittersweet situation: They play for a “small market” team, and the writing is on the wall. The Rays ownership will have to slash payroll in 2011, and many of the team’s players, having outgrown their contracts, will not be back. Can this close-knit team accomplish all their goals in the little time they have remaining as teammates? Shields is not only a master on the mound, he is also a master storyteller with a smooth narrative style. Along the way, he offers insights into the Rays, opposing teams, the art of pitching, and what is going through his mind at key moments in the Rays’ stretch run.
Peachtree Corvette Club
Peachtree Corvette Club rekindles memories from a “Pink Floyd” era of college when students huddled in cramped rooms to smoke joints, listen to music and take advantage of the relaxed attitude toward sex.
The book is set in 1977 at Georgia Tech, the Atlanta engineering school with the high academic standards, and Truman Forbes serves as the book’s introspective, yet somewhat confused, protagonist. At the outset of the story he has come to grips with the fact self denial isn’t all it’s cracked up to be—especially when you lose at love. Despite following all the rules, Lisa Southall dumped him, ending a long-distance relationship with few benefits other than affording him the feeling of being in love. So he vows to make changes at the beginning of his junior year at Tech. And change Truman does, taking off on a degenerative path led by Bone, his friend and fraternity brother.
Once under Bone’s spell, Truman meets Paige Kupryn and he begins to understand what he’s been missing in a relationship. Sex is the initial component of the attraction. Paige is beautiful, blonde, and drives a Corvette, one of the trappings of being the daughter of wealthy, divorced parents from Buckhead. In essence, she is the polar opposite of Lisa.
While Truman cavorts with Bone and other members of his fraternity in various hi-jinx—including Bone’s pursuits of winning the intramural football championship and his scheme to cut down the school whistle, his relationship with Paige continues to evolve, as do his impressions of her. Truman realizes he has never had more fun in college, but the price paid has been the loss of his moral compass. He has an all or nothing personality, making the transition from devoted student and physical fitness freak to thrill seeker with a budding attraction to pot, and an indifference to most everything—spawning interesting, as well as humorous, consequences.
Peachtree Corvette Club brings a reminder of how liberated college students are, holding the privileges of adulthood minus the constraints. Said freedom has allowed childish antics fueled by adult minds during any era of college life and is the backbone of exaggerated behavior, which is personified in this story.
Steel Dynasty: The Team that Changed the NFL
Future Hall-of-Fame players such as Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, “Mean Joe” Greene, and Mel Blount gelled to form the famed “Steel Curtain,” a microcosm of the blue-collar steel city the team represented.
Along the way, scoring plummeted in the NFL, which concerned the lords of the game, who deemed that more touchdowns meant more fans. Given this climate and the dominance of the Steelers defense, NFL officials initiated rule changes to give offenses a fighting chance.
100 Things Jets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die
Knowledge and memory are an important part of the fabric of being a fan. So are experiences. 100 Things also includes things fans should actually see and do before they join their heroes at the Pearly Gates. This book contains numerous tips and suggestions for enjoying a team on a different, more involved, level.
100 Things Giants Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die
Most San Francisco Giants fans have taken in a game or two at AT&T Park, have seen highlights of Willie Mays basket catch on YouTube, and were thrilled by the team s World Series triumph in 2010 the franchise s first since moving to California. But only real fans remember which pitcher started the first home game in San Francisco s history, have attended a spring training game at Scottsdale Stadium, or know how many home runs Barry Bonds hit into McCovey Cove during his record-setting career.
100 Things Giants Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die is the ultimate resource guide for true fans of the San Francisco Giants. Whether you re a die-hard booster from the days of Bobby Thomson or a recent supporter of Bruce Bochy, Tim Lincecum, and Buster Posey, these are the 100 things all fans need to know and do in their lifetime. Bill Chastain has collected every essential piece of Giants knowledge and trivia, as well as must-do activities, and ranks them all from 1 to 100, providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist as you progress on your way to fan superstardom.
Payne at Pinehurst: A Memorable U.S. Open in the Sandhills of Carolina
"A fresh and concise look at Payne Stewart's victory at the 1999 U.S. Open."
---Golf Digest
It has been called the greatest U.S. Open in the Open's over one hundred-year history.
Bill Chastain crafts the dramatic story of Payne Stewart's 1999 U.S. Open victory by combining extensive research with interviews of those who made it unique. Payne at Pinehurst shows how Stewart dealt with his stunning U.S. Open defeat in 1998 and planned victory for the championship that meant so much to him.
Stewart's conquest of Pinehurst No. 2, while fending off Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, David Duval, and Vijay Singh in an epic battle where every swing held significance, is the stuff of which golf legends are made. From compelling action by the best golfers in the world to the tournament's dramatic conclusion, Payne at Pinehurst shows readers why the 1999 U.S. Open is regarded as the best U.S. Open ever played.
The Steve Spurrier Story: From Heisman to Head Ballcoach
Mention the name Steve Spurrier to sports fans and without a doubt a lively discussion and exchange will ensue. Love him or hate him, opinions about the new coach of the Washington Redskins and University of Florida gridiron commander, rarely rate as ambivalent. Bill Chastain's The Steve Spurrier Story: From Heisman to Head Ballcoach is the first comprehensive biography of the man on the sidelines. Through interviews with family, friends, colleagues, and players, Chastain provides an intimate look at the significant influences and events that have helped shape Steve Spurrier into the extraordinary and oftentimes controversial football coach he is today. When Spurrier was growing up, the slogan "It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game …" was not a tenet that stuck in the Spurrier household, where Spurrier's father, the Reverend Graham Spurrier, liked to say, "if it doesn't matter if you won or lose, why do you keep score?" A talented athlete, made better by his competitive instincts, evolved from this philosophy. Spurrier's competitive instincts led him to performances that qualified him to win the Heisman Trophy while playing quarterback for the University of Florida; a disappointing NFL career followed. Spurrier's competitiveness continued to be his driving force once he began his coaching career. Few coaches in the history of college football impacted the outcome of a contest from the sidelines the way Spurrier did. An offensive genius with a unique feel for the game, Spurrier rubbed opposing coaches and fans the wrong way by winning—and winning big—while the University of Florida program reached heights never before dreamed of by alumni and fans.
Spurrier is routinely referred to by media and fans as "the ballcoach." He originated the term at Florida, often referring to himself in interviews as "the Ole' Ballcoach" with a slight southern twang. Since then, it has caught on and no other coach in college or the NFL is referred to that way.
USA Today, the
New York Times and
The Washington Post have referred to Spurrier as "the ballcoach", as have others during broadcast coverage of games and Spurrier features. It sounds a little hokey, but in a way so is Spurrier. A southern, old school football guy who has been known to coin other phrases such as "fun n' gun offense", he likes his persona and coaching style to stand out among others. In the final line of the book, ex-University of Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel is quoted, "He's just a ballcoach. That's what he wants to be and it's what he gets a chance to be."
Purpose and Passion: Bobby Pruett and the Marshall Years
Purpose and Passion: Bobby Pruett & the Marshall Years is the authorized biography of Marshall University former head football coach Bobby Pruett. From the 1996 season up through his retirement in 2005, Coach Pruett led Marshall's Thundering Herd to victory in six Mid-American Conference divisional titles, five Mid-American Conference championships and won five out of seven bowl games, establishing the record along the way as the winningest football coach in Marshall University's history. With a foreword by New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, numerous interviews with former and present Marshall players, and photographs from on the field and off, Purpose and Passion... takes a detailed look at the career of the coach who did more than just reinvigorate Marshall's football team—he made them champions!
