Table of Contents
Introduction: True to the Way It Happens by Bill Littlefield ix
Out of the War
Transition Autumn 1945 3
On the Seat
Memories of a Great Jockey: George M. Woolf, 1910-1946 49
Beau Jack Is Good Customer: "Ah'm Buyin' Hats…" 52
Down Memory Lane with the Babe: The Ascension of George Herman Ruth 55
About Two Guys Named Joe: DiMaggio and Louis Are Picture-Perfect Sportsmen 58
German Heavyweight Checks In: Hein Ten Hoff Says "Ja" to America 60
"They Used to Fight Dogs": Ringside with William Jennings Bryan 63
Rumpus in the Living Room: "Toughie" Brasuhn, Queen of the Roller Derby 66
Uncle Mike Is Back: You Can Tell He's All Right, He Won't Listen to Morgan 69
Late Afternoon on the Harlem: The Columbia Freshmen Are First on the River 72
How They Told Charlie Keller: The Yankees Send a Good Man Down 75
Jake Steals the Show: Mintz Crowned Heavyweight Manager of the World 78
Death of a Race Horse: Air Lift, Son of Bold Venture 81
The Psychology of Horse Betting: Hooked on the Thrill of Almost Winning 84
"The Lost Leader": Gardella Drops His Suit Against Baseball 87
Retired Undefeated Heavyweight Champion: Or, How Joe Louis Makes a Living 90
Out in the World
Brownsville Bum: Al ("Bummy") Davis, 1920-1945 95
The Day of the Fight: Graziano-Zale, September 27, 1946 113
The Fighter's Wife: Norma Graziano Gets Through the Night 131
Punching Out a Living: Billy Graham, Boxing's Uncrowned Champ 146
Young Fighter: The Trouble with McNeece Is That He Fears Nothing 163
Brockton's Boy: A Rising Marciano Lifts All Boats 178
Scouting for the Yankees: Between Phone Calls with Paul Krichell 191
The Rocky Road of Pistol Pete: The Dodger They Padded the Walls For 204
The Ghost of the Gridiron: Red Grange Could Carry the Ball 224
Work Horse on Ice: Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings 238
The Happiest Hooligan of Them All: What a Card This Pepper Martin Is! 253
The Rough and Tumble Life: Jim Tescher, Rodeo Rider 273
The Twilight of Boxing: They're Dimming the Lights at Stillman's Gym 293
Among the Monuments
The Shy One: The Quiet Power of Floyd Patterson 309
The Man Who Belongs in Blue Jeans: Jim Tescher Revisited 343
So Long, Jack: John C. Hurley, 1897-1972 373
The Foreman: Joe Page's Good Days 412
The Artist Supreme: Dancing with Willie Pep 430
The Coach, Relived: Willie Davis Talks Vince Lombardi 445
The Greatest, Pound for Pound: There's Only One Sugar Ray 469
The Smallest Titan of Them All: Eddie Arcaro Rode to Win 493
Somebody Up There Likes Him: The Life and Times of Rocky Graziano 519
Afterwords 551
Sources and Acknowledgments 571
Index 579
