Soldier Athletes

Good Sports

by Glenn Stout

Stories of bravery and self-sacrifice from well known athletes who have served in the military. 

-Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox outfielder, whose career was interrupted by service as a pilot during both World War II and Korea, where he saw combat and survived a crash landing.

-Rocky Bleier, Pittsburgh Steelers running back: Drafted in 1968, nearly lost a foot on a land mine during Vietnam War.

-Carlos May, Chicago White Sox outfielder, an emerging star whose fought to remain in the major leagues after a training accident during National Guard service caused him to lose his thumb.

-Pat Tillman, Arizona Cardinals defensive back who turned down a multi-million dollar contract to join the military after 9/11and was later killed in Afghanistan.

Genres: Nonfiction, Childrens, Biography

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Author of the Jazz Age true crime yarn Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid: America's Original Gangster Couple (2021), NY Times bestseller The Pats: An Illustrated History of the New England Patriots (2018) The Selling of the Babe (2016), Fenway 1912 (2012) and Young Woman the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World (2009) currently set up and in development as a major motion picture for Disney +. (ETA 2021). Since becoming a full-time writer in 1993, Glenn Stout has written, ghostwritten or edited 100 books representing sales in excess of two million copies. Stout is also author of The Cubs, The Dodgers, Nine Months at Ground Zero, Yankees Century, Red Sox Century, and has served as Series Editor of The Best American Sports Writing since its inception. Glenn also consults on a variety of writing projects (books, proposals, Longform narratives). He has won both the Seymour Medal and Ritter Award (twice) by the Society for American Baseball Research, and Yes Se Can! made the 2012 Amelia Bloom list for feminist content. He lives in Vermont.

Reviews

[Jaydan C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good it describes a heart touching guys

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. I especially liked reading about Carlos May who had to relearn how to bat and field after losing most of his right thumb. It was interesting to read about Pat Tilney as well since I think I actually saw him play football in college. However, the author got the University of Arizona confused with Arizona State University. He wrote that Tilney went to the University of Arizona in Tempe, AZ and played for the Sun Devils. The U of A is in Tucson, AZ and their mascot is the Wildcat. Tilman went to Arizona State University.

[mason s. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about the lives a of athletes that decided to serve for their country too.

[Mallory Hargett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for those who like sports.

[Gabriel Vowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book Soldier Athletes by Glenn Stout. The book is about four amazing young athletes who put their professional sport on hold to join the military. The four athletes, Ted Williams (professional baseball player), Rocky Bleier (professional football player), Carlos May (professional baseball player), and Pat Tillman (professional football player) all sacrificed their sports to serve in the military. The major theme in this book is that protecting your country
is the greater than anything else that u can do.
Ted Williams was a Major League Baseball player and was the best hitter of all time but when he was drafted to train pilots in WWII and fight in Korea, where he almost died due to his plane being shot and him having to crash land, many thought that his prime years were over. They were all wrong. He came back just as good as he had ever been.
Rocky Bleier a professional football player was drafted to fight in Vietnam his rookie year of professional football. Rocky was a hard nosed football player. He wasn't the tallest or biggest, but he had the biggest heart. He would run straight through people he could not juke out. He had played in college for Notre Dame he tore his ligaments his senior year and was worried about not being picked for a team to play he worked hard to get back in shape. He was drafted. In the book it will then talk about what injury occurred in Vietnam that would have anyone else quit, but not Rocky he worked hard to get back and ready to play.
Carlos May a Major League Baseball player was a rookie when he had to join the reserves. He was an amazing baseball player. In the reserves an accident occurs and he nearly ends his career. Read the book to learn out what happens to him.
Pat Tillman a professional football player quit his football career to join the military after 9/11. He was a great football player possible one of the greatest. He ended up being killed during friendly fire.

[Max Albers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about people who were in professional sports but were also in the army. They gave up their lives just to serve in the military and serve our counrty. The part I don't like is the suspense. They tell you what happens and right when theyre about to get injured, it skips and goes to their early life. I may encourage people to read this but remember the suspense.

[Shauna Yusko · Rating 3 out of 5]

6-12. High interest stories! I had issues with the writing (which could be the editing and/or ebook), but would still recommend because I don't think it detracts too much from the overall tone.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy quick read. Full of interesting facts and stories but written for a young audience.