Fine books will captivate any high school sports fan
Most kids are really hitting the books hard right now in the final push for final exams.
So with that in mind, here's a look at some worthwhile book reading material with an emphasis on high school sports. Most of them can be found through an internet search.
Friday Night Lights: Long before the movie and TV series was the memorable book by H.G. Bissinger about a season spent with Texas football powerhouse Odessa Permian. It shows just how crazy some Texas towns are for high school football - particularly at a time in the late 1980s when Odessa was struggling from the crash of the oil market.
It also captured the good, bad and sometimes ridiculous - a coin flip to determine which two teams in Odessa's district advance to the playoffs from a three-way tie - of high school sports.
100 Years of Madness: A great look at the history of the most prestigious IHSA event - the boys basketball tournament - since it started in 1908. There is a detailed look at every tournament with scores, statistics and all-tournament teams.
But there are also great stories that include how the tournament started and evolved, the change from a one- to a two-class tournament and the controversial move from Champaign to Peoria. It also has a short biography of all 100 IHSA legends.
Once There Were Giants: This was Illinois' version of the movie "Hoosiers" as Hebron, the school with 98 students with a stage for is home court, tangled with the big boys and won the 1952 one-class tourney.
Written by Elgin native Scott Johnson and his wife Julie Kistler, it looks at everything that led to a somewhat improbable story even though Hebron was ranked No. 1 in the state most of the year and lost just once. But the Green Giants ultimately answered all their doubters by beating powerful Quincy in overtime and capturing the imagination of the state.
The Greatest Basketball Story Ever Told: This was the inspiration for "Hoosiers," as tiny Milan won the 1954 Indiana state title over powerful Muncie Central. How the small school pulled off the miracle as Bobby Plump held the ball at the top of the key for nearly four minutes in a tie game and wound up hitting the winning shot in the final seconds.
This was what Indiana purists used as ammunition for more than 40 years before the state's controversial expansion to four classes.
The Right Kind of Heroes: St. Louis sportswriter Kevin Horrigan spent the 1990 and 1991 seasons with the East St. Louis football team during its heyday under legendary coach Bob Shannon. It provides a look into how Shannon produced one of the few bright lights in a city burdened by poverty, despair and political shenanigans.
Having covered a playoff football game there in 1988, the descriptions of the city and "venerable" Parsons Field, the old home of the Flyers, are no exaggeration.
Sweet Charlie, Dike, Cazzie, and Bobby Joe: Former Sun-Times sportswriter Taylor Bell takes a colorful and in-depth look at the history of high school hoops in Illinois from 1940 to the 1990s. It's filled with great stories of some of the best-known players, programs and coaches as well as those not as prominent from all over the state.
Shooting Stars: I'll include this one since I just finished it by LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger of "Friday Night Lights" fame. The focus is on all the controversy and animosity involved in James' high school career in Akron, Ohio and his ascent to rock-star status as his team won three state titles in four years.
There are definitely more out there that I've read and I'm sure you would recommend. Consider these a good place to start.
mmaciaszek@dailyherald.com