Overview

In the 1960s, the biggest dream for many young boys across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was to play for their high school basketball team. In the small town of Bessemer, this meant one thing: wearing the blue and gold of the Speedboys. The two obstacles standing in every young Bessemer boy's way were bitter winters of endless snow-and a padlock on the doors to the only good gym in town. One day, when a young, inexperienced coach is hired to lead the team, the Speedboys' usual aspirations of winning championships suddenly become far humbler: they merely want to win a single game. Mired in an epic losing streak, the team's declining fortunes come to mirror those of the town itself. Mines are shuttered. Jobs are lost. Decades of prosperity and stability begin to evaporate. And the Speedboys' losses start piling up. What transpires is nothing less than a test of the town's soul and the character of its people. Bring One Home is an irresistible trip back to the days when kids played basketball on snow-covered driveways, drank chocolate malts in the Tip Top Café, and folks got their news in the local barbershop. This is an underdog story as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking. Filled with historical insights and laugh-out-loud moments, Bring One Home is a tribute to the author's beloved hometown and their undeniable determination to win.

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Reviews

""A love letter to underdogs and growing up in a small town that resonates for anyone who enjoys a heart-warming story and a victory parade. I didn't grow up in the Upper Peninsula, but Thomas Pelissero's memoir made me feel like I did."" - Judy Battista, NFL columnist and reporter ""Bring One Home is the ""Wonder Years"" meeting ""Hoosiers"" - almost. You'll laugh, tear up, cheer, and feel what it means to lose basketball games and all that makes a small town in the 1960s special. But most of all, you'll feel a kinship with people you've never met and places you've never been because Pelissero makes his childhood story universal."" - Seth Wickersham, ESPN Senior Writer and New York Times bestselling author ""Pelissero makes you root for the Bessemer Speedboys by weaving their challenges and eventual triumphs against the backdrop of crises that included JFK's assassination, fears of nuclear conflict, the escalation of the Vietnam War, and even the cultural paradigm shift created by the Beatles. Bring One Home is a trip back in time worth taking."" - Bob Glauber, 30-year NFL columnist at New York Newsday, author of Guts & Genius and The Forgotten First

Author Information

Thomas L. Pelissero is a gifted storyteller who was born and raised in Bessemer, Michigan. He graduated from A.D. Johnston High School in 1973, where he was a multi-sport athlete for the Bessemer Speedboys. In 1978 he paid tribute to his hometown by penning the lyrics to the song ""My Bessemer."" He earned a B.A. from University of St. Thomas and an MBA from Concordia University, both in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 2019, he was named a Distinguished Alumni of his high school alma mater. Tom is known for his sense of humor and regaling friends and family with colorful stories. When he retired, he and his wife moved back to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where they enjoy skiing, hiking, fishing, hunting, family gatherings and preserving local history through the Erwin Township Historical Society.

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