New Releases by Lonnie Wheeler

The first full biography of the star Negro Leaguer and Hall of Famer James “Cool Papa” Bell (1903–1991) was a legend in black baseball, a lightning fast switch hitter elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. Bell’s speed was extraordinary; as Satchel Paige famously quipped, he was so fast he could flip a light switch and be in bed before the room got dark. In The Bona Fide Legend of Cool Papa Bell, experienced baseball writer and historian Lonnie Wheeler recounts the life of this extraordinary player, a key member of some of the greatest Negro League teams in history. Born to sharecroppers in Mississippi, Bell was part of the Great Migration, and in St. Louis, baseball saved Bell from a life working in slaughterhouses. Wheeler charts Bell’s ups and downs in life and in baseball, in the United States, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico, where he went to escape American racism and MLB’s color line. Rich in context and suffused in myth, this is a treat for fans of baseball history.

A memoir that "gets inside Bob Gibson''s head on the evening of October 2, 1968, when he took the mound in Game One of the World Series against the Detroit Tigers and struck out a record seventeen batters ... Gibson shares his insights into every player that stepped into the batter''s box against him that day--recounting in ... detail the pitches he threw, his control over the ball, and his moments of synchronicity with catcher and friend Tim McCarver. This iconic game and all its players come to life on the page as Gibson gives a behind-the-scenes look at the way he played the game, his relationships with teammates, coaches, and opponents, and their lives on and off the field"--

"Longtime baseball writer and observer Lonnie Wheeler explains that there are unquantifiable elements in the game of baseball -- intangibles -- and shows how these immeasurable elements can bring success both to individual players and to teams"--

I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story is an intimate memoir by a baseball legend—and a fascinating social history of twentieth-century America. The Classic New York Times Bestseller The man who shattered Babe Ruth''s lifetime home run record, Henry "Hammering Hank" Aaron left his indelible mark on professional baseball and the world. But the world also left its mark on him. With courage and candor, Aaron’s revelatory life story recalls his struggles and triumphs in an atmosphere of virulent racism. He relives the breathtaking moment when, in the heat of hatred and controversy, he hit his 715th home run to break Ruth''s cherished record—an accomplishment for which Aaron received more than 900,000 letters, many of them vicious and racially charged. And his story continues through the remainder of his milestone-setting, barrier-smashing career as a player and, later, Atlanta Braves executive—offering an eye-opening and unforgettable portrait of an incomparable athlete, his sport, his epoch, and his world. “Elegant, uncomplaining, and inspiring, I Had a Hammer is a true American treasure about a true sustainable hero.” —New York Times–bestselling author Douglas Brinkley “Beautifully written. This book covers so many bases, it is virtually impossible to consider it just another sports biography.” —New York Times Book Review “[Hank Aaron’s] book is written with the same authority with which he wielded his bat.” —San Francisco Chronicle

Draws on the insider perspectives of the Cy Young Award-winning all star and the World Series home-run champion to evaluate "America''s pastime" while describing their visions for its future, sharing behind-the-scenes stories of such athletes as Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Joe Torre.

See them at their best! Moments of leadership, pulling the ball out of the sky, charging through a tenacious d-line, eluding a tackle, appreciating the fans, or simply clowning around. This is not the Bengals of old, this is the new Bengals, a team of great players who posses even greater character, and here is the photo book to prove it. Lots of photos, some text and captions. $22.00 Photos by Thomas Witte who has photographed games for Sports Illustrated. Text by Lonnie Wheeler, Cincinnati Post sports writer.

Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson has always been one of baseball''s most uncompromising stars. Gibson''s no-holds-barred autobiography recounts the story of his life, from barnstorming around the segregated South with Willie Mays'' black all stars to his astonishing later career as a three-time World Series winner and one of the game''s all-time greatest players.

As a public school teacher, Joe Marshall grew sick and tired of watching his most promising students fall prey to the lure of gangs, drugs, and crime, and end up either dead or in prison. Finding that neither the justice nor school system seemed willing even to try to address the underlying problems--to give the kids the kind of information and assistance they really needed--he leapfrogged right over the system and co-founded the Omega Boys Club, based upon the belief that young people of the inner city want a way out of the life they''re in, but just don''t know how to get out. Since the club''s inception in 1987, with a handful of kids in a community center basement, he and his small army of street soldiers have already helped 600 kids out of gang-banging and drug-dealing, and pushed, tutored, driven and even funded 140 inner-city kids into colleges around the country. Four years ago, to direct kids at risk to the Boys Club, he started a weekly radio call-in program called "Street Soldiers" that is now broadcast throughout California to an audience of over 200,000. His callers ask tough questions about gangs, drugs, teen pregnancy, and the multiple pressures of life in the inner city today. "Street Soldiers" not only provides callers with a lifeline and listeners with a practical resource for hope, but has repeatedly averted gang warfare and stopped "payback" violence before they occurred. "Street Soldier is the story of Joe Marshall''s success and, as virtually the only good news coming out of the inner city today, it is incumbent upon all of us--citizens, parents, legislators, and teachers--to listen. From Marshall''s own college days in the turbulent sixties and his early yearsas an idealistic young teacher, the book moves to the heartbreaking lessons that compelled him to do something. "Street Soldier then takes readers through the day-by-day trials and tribulations of his efforts in the hood, searching for effective ways to convince gun-toting crack dealers and gang members to take pride in their race, take responsibility for their actions, and take charge of their lives. Along the way the book goes inside the minds and lives of a handful of the kids who transform themselves in the mast dramatic way possible--and a few who sadly cannot. In the end, "Street Soldier is a call to each of us to help shape the future of this generation at risk, to help our children grow strong--to be street soldiers in our own communities. Filled with tense confrontations and joyous celebrations, "Street Soldier is an uplifting story by and about one man who makes a difference--and the cure his story may well provide for the cancer eating at our nation today.

His life abounds in colorful anecdote and abrasive repartee. When he was harassed by the House Un-American Activities Committee, his response was: "I consider the activities of this Committee as un-American.

A biography of the New York Yankee famed for his legendary hitting ability.