Overview

A veteran sportswriter profiles the most interesting Cleveland athletes ever. It takes all kinds to fill out the sports pages. Heroes, like Jim Brown and Rocky Colavito. Scamps, from ""Shoeless"" Joe Jackson to Albert Belle. Good guys, like Bernie Kosar and Mark Price. And a few special cases like Gaylord Perry, who were a little bit of each. Sportswriter Bob Dolgan coverd them all during six decades on the sports beat for The Plain Dealer. This book collects his best short profiles of the most interesting athletes ever to grace the fields, courts, and rinks of Cleveland. Most of the big names are here. But Dolgan also shares the tales of some special people who deserve to be remembered as more than just a few statistics in a record book. Kevin Rhomberg, for instance, the Indians outfielder best known for his extraordinary superstition about being touched. And Eddie Klep, the only white player in the Negroe Leagues. And jovial Honest Yockim, diminutive denizen of Cleveland's notorious Short Vincent sports gambling scene. These stories will rekindle memories in any Cleveland sports fan and introduce some remarkable characters from the past who are worth getting to know. Look back on any era, and dozens of wonderfully memorable people stand out, sparkling like diamonds in the grass. ""This book tells the story behind the story in Cleveland sports. You really get to know the players as people."" -- WERE AM Radio

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9781886228672

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Reviews

If you are a red-hot Cleveland sports fan, this book will entertain you and probably should have a place in that part of your book shelf devoted to works on the Indians, Browns, Barons and Cavaliers . . . Like all good desserts, you can take this one or two pages at a time. No hurry . . . Let it be a guilty pleasure.-- (07/22/2003) Dolgan's stories can make a satisfying read even years after the events they discuss. Some stand alone. Some are like a motion picture trailer that whets your appetite to learn more. Only a few in the book fail to survive the passing of time . . . Overall, the book is one Cleveland area sports buffs will want for casual reading or to give to friends to prove that past Cleveland sports stars were as colorful, funny, and moving as even the most extreme among our current heroes.-- (07/02/2003) Dolgan takes a more objective look at the best and the bastards in Cleveland's pro sports history . . . Most of all, 'Heroes, Scamps, and Good Guys' is nostalgic for a time when sports were played solely for the love of the game.-- (07/16/2003) Cleveland native Dolgan re-creates those economical box seats for the readers, introducing--or reintroducing--such athletes as Satchel Paige, Ken Keltner, Lou Groza, Albert Belle, Mel Harder and even the idol of Saturday afternoon TV wrestling, Lord Layton. Dolgan's aim is to entertain bread-and-butter sports followers, but it also contains people stories that will hopefully please even readers who are not particularly interested in sports.-- (08/01/2003)

If you are a red-hot Cleveland sports fan, this book will entertain you and probably should have a place in that part of your book shelf devoted to works on the Indians, Browns, Barons and Cavaliers . . . Like all good desserts, you can take this one or two pages at a time. No hurry . . . Let it be a guilty pleasure.-- (07/22/2003) Dolgan takes a more objective look at the best and the bastards in Cleveland's pro sports history . . . Most of all, 'Heroes, Scamps, and Good Guys' is nostalgic for a time when sports were played solely for the love of the game.-- (07/16/2003) Cleveland native Dolgan re-creates those economical box seats for the readers, introducing--or reintroducing--such athletes as Satchel Paige, Ken Keltner, Lou Groza, Albert Belle, Mel Harder and even the idol of Saturday afternoon TV wrestling, Lord Layton. Dolgan's aim is to entertain bread-and-butter sports followers, but it also contains people stories that will hopefully please even readers who are not particularly interested in sports.-- (08/01/2003) Dolgan's stories can make a satisfying read even years after the events they discuss. Some stand alone. Some are like a motion picture trailer that whets your appetite to learn more. Only a few in the book fail to survive the passing of time . . . Overall, the book is one Cleveland area sports buffs will want for casual reading or to give to friends to prove that past Cleveland sports stars were as colorful, funny, and moving as even the most extreme among our current heroes.-- (07/02/2003)

Dolgan, who has been with Plain Dealer since 1957, avoids fancy prose and instead fills his articles with facts and quotes . . . But for a respite from current Cleveland sports follies, readers can't beat Heroes, Scamps and Good Guys. -- Book Reviewer The Plain Dealer

If you are a red-hot Cleveland sports fan, this book will entertain you and probably should have a place in that part of your book shelf devoted to works on the Indians, Browns, Barons and Cavaliers . . . Like all good desserts, you can take this one or two pages at a time. No hurry . . . Let it be a guilty pleasure. -- Book Reviewer Akron Beacon Journal [This] book is one Cleveland area sports buffs will want for casual reading or to give to friends to prove that past Cleveland sports stars were as colorful, funny, and moving as even the most extreme among our current heroes. -- Book Reviewer Free Times A more objective look at the best and the bastards in Cleveland's pro sports history . . . Most of all, Heroes, Scamps, and Good Guys is nostalgic for a time when sports were played solely for the love of the game. -- Book Reviewer Cleveland Scene Dolgan is no commonplace writer. His love for sports, and the people who make their living by playing the game, is evident because his words make their greatest achievements vividly come to life. -- Book Reviewer American Home Dolgan, who has been with Plain Dealer since 1957, avoids fancy prose and instead fills his articles with facts and quotes . . . But for a respite from current Cleveland sports follies, readers can't beat Heroes, Scamps and Good Guys. -- Book Reviewer The Plain Dealer If you are a red-hot Cleveland sports fan, this book will entertain you and probably should have a place in that part of your book shelf devoted to works on the Indians, Browns, Barons and Cavaliers . . . Like all good desserts, you can take this one or two pages at a time. No hurry . . . Let it be a guilty pleasure.--Ron Simon Akron Beacon Journal (07/22/2003) Dolgan's stories can make a satisfying read even years after the events they discuss. Some stand alone. Some are like a motion picture trailer that whets your appetite to learn more. Only a few in the book fail to survive the passing of time . . . Overall, the book is one Cleveland area sports buffs will want for casual reading or to give to friends to prove that past Cleveland sports stars were as colorful, funny, and moving as even the most extreme among our current heroes.--Ted Schwarz Free Times (07/02/2003) Dolgan takes a more objective look at the best and the bastards in Cleveland's pro sports history . . . Most of all, 'Heroes, Scamps, and Good Guys' is nostalgic for a time when sports were played solely for the love of the game.--Michael Gallucci Cleveland Scene (07/16/2003) Cleveland native Dolgan re-creates those economical box seats for the readers, introducing--or reintroducing--such athletes as Satchel Paige, Ken Keltner, Lou Groza, Albert Belle, Mel Harder and even the idol of Saturday afternoon TV wrestling, Lord Layton. Dolgan's aim is to entertain bread-and-butter sports followers, but it also contains people stories that will hopefully please even readers who are not particularly interested in sports.--Joseph F. McKenna Northern Ohio Live (08/01/2003)

Author Information

Bob Dolgan wrote thousands of columns, articles, and feature stories about sports for The Plain Dealer over six decades. His writing has also appeared in the Sporting News, Baseball Digest, and Golf Digest. He was named one of the top 10 sports columnists in America by the Associated Press Sports Editors in 1985, and has won many other national, state, and local sportswriting awards. He wrote frequently about sports history for The Plain Dealer, including contributions to a nationally recognized 1997 series on black baseball players and a 2001 series on the 100th anniversary of the Cleveland Indians. In 1999 he was inducted into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame. He is also author of The Polka King, with Frank Yankovic

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