What do you think?
Rate this book
Matt Christopher Sports Classics
Football Fugitive
Matt Christopher is the writer young readers turn to when they are looking for fast-paced, action-packed sports novels. This book is no exception. He is the author of a number of titles, including Tackle Without A Team, Face-Off, and many more.
119 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1976
22 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Matt Christopher
437 books141 followersMatt Christopher is the writer young readers turn to when they're looking for fast-paced, action-packed sports novels. He is the best-selling author of more than one hundred sports books for young readers.
Matt Christopher is America's bestselling sports writer for children, with more than 100 books and sales approaching six million copies. In 1992, Matt Christopher talked about being a children's book author.
"I became interested in writing when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was selling magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and Liberty, and I would read the stories, particularly the adventure and mystery stories, and think how wonderful it would be to be able to write stories and make a living at it. I also read detective, horror, aviation, and sports stories and decided I would try writing them myself.
Determined to sell, I wrote a detective story a week for 40 weeks, finding the time to marry, work, and play baseball and basketball before I sold my first story in 1941, "The Missing Finger Points," for $50 to Detective Story magazine.
After writing and selling children's sports stories to magazines, I decided to write a baseball book for children. I was living in Syracuse, New York at the time, working at General Electric. I spoke about my idea to the branch librarian. She was immediately interested and told me that they needed sports stories badly. So I came up with my first children's book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. I submitted it to Little, Brown, and the book was published in 1954.
I'm sure that playing sandlot baseball and then semiprofessional baseball with a Class C club in the Canadian-American League influenced my writing. I had my own personal experiences, and I saw how other players reacted to plays, to teammates' and fans' remarks and innuendoes, to managers' orders, etc. All these had a great influence on my writing. My love of the game helped a lot, too, of course.
Out of all the books I've written, my favorite is The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. It's a fantasy, but the main character in it could be real. There are a lot of boys who would love to play baseball but, for some reason, cannot. The only difference between a real-life boy and Sylvester Coddmyer III is the appearance of a character named George Baruth, whom only Sylvester can see and who helps Sylvester become a good ballplayer.
I've written many short stories and books for both children and adults, and find that writing for children is really my niche. Being the eldest of nine children (seven boys and two girls), I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.
Sports have made it possible for me to meet many people with all sorts of life stories, on and off the field, and these are grist for this writer's mill. I'm far beyond playing age now, but I manage to go to both kids' and adult games just to keep up with them, and keep them fresh in my mind.Very few things make me happier than receiving fan letters from boys and girls who write that they had never cared for reading until they started to read my books. That is just about the ultimate in writing for children. I would never trade it for another profession."
Matt Christopher died on September 27, 1997. His legacy is now being carried on by his sons, Duane and Dale Christopher.
Matt Christopher is America's bestselling sports writer for children, with more than 100 books and sales approaching six million copies. In 1992, Matt Christopher talked about being a children's book author.
"I became interested in writing when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was selling magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and Liberty, and I would read the stories, particularly the adventure and mystery stories, and think how wonderful it would be to be able to write stories and make a living at it. I also read detective, horror, aviation, and sports stories and decided I would try writing them myself.
Determined to sell, I wrote a detective story a week for 40 weeks, finding the time to marry, work, and play baseball and basketball before I sold my first story in 1941, "The Missing Finger Points," for $50 to Detective Story magazine.
After writing and selling children's sports stories to magazines, I decided to write a baseball book for children. I was living in Syracuse, New York at the time, working at General Electric. I spoke about my idea to the branch librarian. She was immediately interested and told me that they needed sports stories badly. So I came up with my first children's book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. I submitted it to Little, Brown, and the book was published in 1954.
I'm sure that playing sandlot baseball and then semiprofessional baseball with a Class C club in the Canadian-American League influenced my writing. I had my own personal experiences, and I saw how other players reacted to plays, to teammates' and fans' remarks and innuendoes, to managers' orders, etc. All these had a great influence on my writing. My love of the game helped a lot, too, of course.
Out of all the books I've written, my favorite is The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. It's a fantasy, but the main character in it could be real. There are a lot of boys who would love to play baseball but, for some reason, cannot. The only difference between a real-life boy and Sylvester Coddmyer III is the appearance of a character named George Baruth, whom only Sylvester can see and who helps Sylvester become a good ballplayer.
I've written many short stories and books for both children and adults, and find that writing for children is really my niche. Being the eldest of nine children (seven boys and two girls), I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.
Sports have made it possible for me to meet many people with all sorts of life stories, on and off the field, and these are grist for this writer's mill. I'm far beyond playing age now, but I manage to go to both kids' and adult games just to keep up with them, and keep them fresh in my mind.Very few things make me happier than receiving fan letters from boys and girls who write that they had never cared for reading until they started to read my books. That is just about the ultimate in writing for children. I would never trade it for another profession."
Matt Christopher died on September 27, 1997. His legacy is now being carried on by his sons, Duane and Dale Christopher.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 15, 2018
Personal Response:
I liked this book because it was about the sport of football. I loved it because playing football is my favorite thing to do and also my favorite game. It also dealt with a mystery and mysteries are always fun to figure out or solve.
Plot Summary:
It starts off with a kid named Larry Shope. Larry loves the game of football and goes out for the team. After a few practices, they have their first game. They lost that game pretty bad because they don't have their act together. After their game and on their way home there is this big man and he stands out to the crowd. Larry goes and follows the man and the man gets too far ahead, and Larry loses him. That night Larry writes to his model Yancey Foote. Larry has already written a few letters to him about how his life is going. After Larry sends his message, he waits for a response. When the note gets sent back, he is very suspicious. On his way home after football practice he hits a sports store containing an article about Yancey so he buys it. While he reads it, it is not good news for Yancey because he got into a fight at a bar. His next football game Yancey was there and after the game Larry's follows him. When Larry follows Yancey he disappears around a corner but once Larry turns the corner he's right there. They talk for a bit and larry goes to his crib to talk. At Yancey's crib, Yancey talks to larry about his dad being a lawyer and helping him with his situation. Larry's goes home and asks his dad and he says yes. Yancey also gave Larry plays to use in his last football game. Larry's final football game is the day of the trial. During the game larry whips out the plays and they run them. They worked, and they won the game, and after the game, Yancey and Larry's dad are there, and they come with good news that they one the case.
Recommendation:
I would recommend this book to any male who likes football or mysteries. This book is a very enjoyable book because it's about football. Also, anybody the age of 7 and up would be a great read.
I liked this book because it was about the sport of football. I loved it because playing football is my favorite thing to do and also my favorite game. It also dealt with a mystery and mysteries are always fun to figure out or solve.
Plot Summary:
It starts off with a kid named Larry Shope. Larry loves the game of football and goes out for the team. After a few practices, they have their first game. They lost that game pretty bad because they don't have their act together. After their game and on their way home there is this big man and he stands out to the crowd. Larry goes and follows the man and the man gets too far ahead, and Larry loses him. That night Larry writes to his model Yancey Foote. Larry has already written a few letters to him about how his life is going. After Larry sends his message, he waits for a response. When the note gets sent back, he is very suspicious. On his way home after football practice he hits a sports store containing an article about Yancey so he buys it. While he reads it, it is not good news for Yancey because he got into a fight at a bar. His next football game Yancey was there and after the game Larry's follows him. When Larry follows Yancey he disappears around a corner but once Larry turns the corner he's right there. They talk for a bit and larry goes to his crib to talk. At Yancey's crib, Yancey talks to larry about his dad being a lawyer and helping him with his situation. Larry's goes home and asks his dad and he says yes. Yancey also gave Larry plays to use in his last football game. Larry's final football game is the day of the trial. During the game larry whips out the plays and they run them. They worked, and they won the game, and after the game, Yancey and Larry's dad are there, and they come with good news that they one the case.
Recommendation:
I would recommend this book to any male who likes football or mysteries. This book is a very enjoyable book because it's about football. Also, anybody the age of 7 and up would be a great read.
October 20, 2014
I liked the book "Football Fugitive" by Matt Christopher, because it was about football witch a lot of boys my age can relate to. It also dealt with a mystery which was very cool to figure out in the end of the book.
In the book, Larry Shope loved Yancey Foote, a packer guard from University of southern California. Yancey was Larry’s idol, he wanted to be just like him he liked him so much that he wrote him letters. Larry also played football, but he was a center on offence and a middle linebacker on defense. One day after Larry’s football game he was talking to his buddies and saw a big man in a suit and glasses staring at him, he was kind of nervous so he wanted to check it out. After a few games later Larry decided to follow this man who he has seen at his past games, so he and his friends did. In the end of the book the man who was watching them was Yancey. Yancey had gotten into some trouble one night and needed a lawyer. Larry’s dad was a lawyer so that is why Yancey came to find him. Larry, Larry’s Dad, and Yancey all won in the end, Larry won his football game, and Larry’s Dad and Yancey won the case.
"Football Fugitive" takes place three places Larry’s house, Yancey’s apartment, and the football field. Larry plays five games in this book, that is why the football field is such a big place in this book. Larry’s house is such a big place in this book because that is where he spends most of his down time. Yancey’s apartment is also such a big place because that is where Yancey’s identity is revealed.
I would recommend this book to boys who like football and like a little mystery. I liked this book a lot and hope more kids will read it. I also think if a girl really likes football she could find some joy in reading this book.
In the book, Larry Shope loved Yancey Foote, a packer guard from University of southern California. Yancey was Larry’s idol, he wanted to be just like him he liked him so much that he wrote him letters. Larry also played football, but he was a center on offence and a middle linebacker on defense. One day after Larry’s football game he was talking to his buddies and saw a big man in a suit and glasses staring at him, he was kind of nervous so he wanted to check it out. After a few games later Larry decided to follow this man who he has seen at his past games, so he and his friends did. In the end of the book the man who was watching them was Yancey. Yancey had gotten into some trouble one night and needed a lawyer. Larry’s dad was a lawyer so that is why Yancey came to find him. Larry, Larry’s Dad, and Yancey all won in the end, Larry won his football game, and Larry’s Dad and Yancey won the case.
"Football Fugitive" takes place three places Larry’s house, Yancey’s apartment, and the football field. Larry plays five games in this book, that is why the football field is such a big place in this book. Larry’s house is such a big place in this book because that is where he spends most of his down time. Yancey’s apartment is also such a big place because that is where Yancey’s identity is revealed.
I would recommend this book to boys who like football and like a little mystery. I liked this book a lot and hope more kids will read it. I also think if a girl really likes football she could find some joy in reading this book.
November 25, 2021
Genre: Contemporary Realistic
Grade: 4-6
This is a great book for students interested in sports. There is problem solving involved and wishful thinking coming from the main character who is a young football player. He wishes his dad would be at more of his football games but he is always busy with his work. This could help other students dealing with similar situations feel like they aren't alone. Eventually the boy looks to his father for help and the story goes on from there. This is a simple read, good for middle/upper elementary students.
Grade: 4-6
This is a great book for students interested in sports. There is problem solving involved and wishful thinking coming from the main character who is a young football player. He wishes his dad would be at more of his football games but he is always busy with his work. This could help other students dealing with similar situations feel like they aren't alone. Eventually the boy looks to his father for help and the story goes on from there. This is a simple read, good for middle/upper elementary students.
Read
August 23, 2021k
Currently reading
March 20, 2015Football Fugitive is about a boy named Larry on his home football team. His favorite team, The Green Bay Packers has a player named Yancy Foote. Larry really likes Yancy, he is Larry’s favorite player. Yancy Foote is in a bit of trouble because Yancy and some other guy get in a bar fight and Yancy got caught for being the first to throw a punch. So Yancy asks Larry to ask his dad to be his lawyer.
Larry and Yancy Foote meet one day after a game when the team thinks Yancy is stalking them because he follows them for a few miles. Then they go home and he is at the next few games. Then Larry asks him why he is watching them, and he finally realizes that is is Yancy Foote. They start to talk and they end up being friends. Yancy Foote is end a bit of trouble cause Yancy and some other guy get in a bar fight and Yancy get caught for being the first to throw a punch. So Yancy asks larry to ask his dad to be his lawyer.Yancy wants Larry to have his dad be his lawyer but does Larry have second thoughts. Yancy doesn't think that Larry is having second thoughts.
Does Yancy think that if larry has second thoughts his dad won't be his lawyer. Larry doesn't want YAncy to lose his case so he doesn't do anything to affect his chances to change because of Larry. What do you think will happen next ?
Larry and Yancy Foote meet one day after a game when the team thinks Yancy is stalking them because he follows them for a few miles. Then they go home and he is at the next few games. Then Larry asks him why he is watching them, and he finally realizes that is is Yancy Foote. They start to talk and they end up being friends. Yancy Foote is end a bit of trouble cause Yancy and some other guy get in a bar fight and Yancy get caught for being the first to throw a punch. So Yancy asks larry to ask his dad to be his lawyer.Yancy wants Larry to have his dad be his lawyer but does Larry have second thoughts. Yancy doesn't think that Larry is having second thoughts.
Does Yancy think that if larry has second thoughts his dad won't be his lawyer. Larry doesn't want YAncy to lose his case so he doesn't do anything to affect his chances to change because of Larry. What do you think will happen next ?
November 2, 2015
Personal Response:
I liked this book “Football Fugitive” because it was about football. Football is one of my favorite things to do and that is why i liked this book. It also delt with a mystery and that was very interesting to figure out.
Plot:
In the plot the main character Larry Shope is a kid who loves the game of football. His biggest role model is professional football player Yancey Foote, a guard for the Green Bay Packers. Larry would always write to Yancey and for a long time Yancey would write back. Until, Yancey got in trouble. Then after one of Larry's games Yancey was there. Yancey invited Larry to his house and told him what happened, he was being set up. Larry's dad is a lawyer, and Yancey wanted him to defend him at court. He did and Yancey was proven innocent.
Main Character:
Larry Shope is a nice boy who loves football. Throughout the book Larry learned a lot from Yancey, his coaches, and his Dad. Yancey Foote is a great football player who is a good guy. He was good in high school but he really shined in college.
Recommendation:
I would recommend this book to any male who likes to play or watch football. It would be very enjoyable because the book is about a kid who plays football.
I liked this book “Football Fugitive” because it was about football. Football is one of my favorite things to do and that is why i liked this book. It also delt with a mystery and that was very interesting to figure out.
Plot:
In the plot the main character Larry Shope is a kid who loves the game of football. His biggest role model is professional football player Yancey Foote, a guard for the Green Bay Packers. Larry would always write to Yancey and for a long time Yancey would write back. Until, Yancey got in trouble. Then after one of Larry's games Yancey was there. Yancey invited Larry to his house and told him what happened, he was being set up. Larry's dad is a lawyer, and Yancey wanted him to defend him at court. He did and Yancey was proven innocent.
Main Character:
Larry Shope is a nice boy who loves football. Throughout the book Larry learned a lot from Yancey, his coaches, and his Dad. Yancey Foote is a great football player who is a good guy. He was good in high school but he really shined in college.
Recommendation:
I would recommend this book to any male who likes to play or watch football. It would be very enjoyable because the book is about a kid who plays football.
May 28, 2015
Football Fugitive is about a boy named Larry who writes letters to his football hero Yancey Foote of the Green Bay Packers. One day, Larry notices an article in the paper about Yancey Foote. The article questions whether he is a good guy or a bad guy. Larry's father, who is an attorney, agrees to represent him in court if Yancey will develop some football plays for his son's team. The plays work well and Larry's team begins to win. Yancey is also released of all his charges in court. Larry's dad attends the biggest game of the year and they win leaving the reader with a feel good ending.
This book is a fast paced, action packed sports novel that any reader will enjoy. The reason I chose this book is because I enjoy playing and watching football. Also, many boys my age can relate to this book and to the game of football. In the end, Larry and his father develop a strong bond and even a friendship as his dad attempts to make more time for his son. As the plot unfolds, Larry begins to see his dad as a role model instead of the professional athlete.
This book is a fast paced, action packed sports novel that any reader will enjoy. The reason I chose this book is because I enjoy playing and watching football. Also, many boys my age can relate to this book and to the game of football. In the end, Larry and his father develop a strong bond and even a friendship as his dad attempts to make more time for his son. As the plot unfolds, Larry begins to see his dad as a role model instead of the professional athlete.
Read
April 1, 2014Larry is a boy that loves sports,especially football. He would love for his dad to just spend a little bit of his time to play one game of football. He goes home spends some time reading his letters from his Football hero , Yancey Foote. But then days pass and then he realizes the letters stopped coming and he would love to find out why they stop , so then he asks his dad for help. So then his dad helps.
My opinion of this book is a four star because you have no idea what happens next. Also I liked this book because of its story line. I didn't really pick this book and I am not a really big fan of reading but right when I was reading I couldn't get my eyes off this book. I am kinda sad that I finished and theres no more pages left of this book so I am going to search more about this author and his books that look amazing. I am hoping this author will either right back to me or I can meet him in person so I can share some of my ideas with him.
My opinion of this book is a four star because you have no idea what happens next. Also I liked this book because of its story line. I didn't really pick this book and I am not a really big fan of reading but right when I was reading I couldn't get my eyes off this book. I am kinda sad that I finished and theres no more pages left of this book so I am going to search more about this author and his books that look amazing. I am hoping this author will either right back to me or I can meet him in person so I can share some of my ideas with him.
Read
September 14, 2008The book The Football Fugitive is a book where kid football player has a dad who is a lawyer and a friend, who is a pro football player in law trouble and needs his dads help. Will his busy dad help Yancey? The main characters are Larry, Yancey Foote, Larry's dad, Larry's mom, and his football team.
The Football Fugitive does not really have a moral but is a good sports book. this book is not really a good book but i read it and kind of like it. It is kind of mystery book and sports book. I would recomend it to future lawyers and football players.
The Football Fugitive does not really have a moral but is a good sports book. this book is not really a good book but i read it and kind of like it. It is kind of mystery book and sports book. I would recomend it to future lawyers and football players.
April 13, 2011
I also gave this book 5 stars because I liked this book very much. I like these book because they're the only ones I can read. I could also like this book because I could relate to everying thing in it. I play football to and I would also like to meet a professional football player too. That's why I gave this book a big 5 stars.
December 1, 2010
I liked this book so I gave it 3 stars. I didn’t like the book a lot but I liked it a little bit. I couldn’t relate to it because I have never met a pro athlete. I would recommend this to someone who likes to play football or likes pro athletes. I think you will like it.
July 26, 2025
I grew up next to a bookshelf full of Matt Christopher, so while the story—and each revolutionary new play—is a simple one, it’s fun to be back in a world where the kids call the plays, the hero makes us popcorn, and the biggest game in the world is the Digits against the Crickets.
May 25, 2013
This book was very good. I finished it in 3 days!
August 20, 2015
I really enjoyed reading this book. I don't understand the football plays but it is a very good book.
May 6, 2016
I like the play football ball and the I like my friendChange edition Your review of
Football Fugitive
Football Fugitive
Currently reading
January 8, 20131/7/13
120 minutes
12/2-12/8
90 minutes
12/16-12/29
90 minutes
12/30-1/5
9 hours in total
120 minutes
12/2-12/8
90 minutes
12/16-12/29
90 minutes
12/30-1/5
9 hours in total
March 28, 2017
I read this twice so that's why i have 24 stickers up on the board not 23.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews