One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season

by Chris Ballard

"One Shot at Forever is powerful, inspirational. . . . This isn't merely a book about baseball. It's a book about heart."
--Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Boys Will Be Boys and The Bad Guys Won

In 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinois, playing with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hats, defied convention and the odds. Led by an English teacher with no coaching experience, the Macon Ironmen emerged from a field of 370 teams to represent the smallest school in Illinois history to make the state final, a distinction that still stands. There the Ironmen would play against a Chicago powerhouse in a dramatic game that would change their lives forever.

In this gripping, cinematic narrative, Chris Ballard tells the story of the team and its coach, Lynn Sweet: a hippie, dreamer, and intellectual who arrived in Macon in 1966, bringing progressive ideas to a town stuck in the Eisenhower era. Beloved by students but not administration, Sweet reluctantly took over the ragtag team, intent on teaching the boys as much about life as baseball. Together they embarked on an improbable postseason run that buoyed a small town in desperate need of something to celebrate.

Engaging and poignant, One Shot at Forever is a testament to the power of high school sports to shape the lives of those who play them, and it reminds us that there are few bonds more sacred than that among a coach, a team, and a town.

"Macon's run at the title reminds us why sports matter and why sportswriting has such great power to inspire. . . . [It's] one hell of a good story, and Ballard has written one hell of a good book." --Jonathan Eig, Chicago Tribune

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction, History, Biography, Audiobook, Adult

269 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been so fortunate in my non fiction choices so far the year. I chose this one because of the location, Macon in Southern, Illinois, and I know exactly where that is in my home state. Plus, baseball season has started again, and this is about that wonderful sport. Also, as I've said before I have a soft spot for underdogs, and this team was certainly that.

So much heart, so much friendship. Baseball yes, but a much more. A small school, during the seventies there were no divisions, so little schools would end up playing large, powerhouses. They couldn't even afford a bus driver, let alone matching uniforms, baseballs without rips, nor a regular coach. These boys though, they had will, magic and I just adored each and every one of them. Their coach, also there English teacher, an orthodox teacher and coach. He believed in having fun, in class and at practice. The kind of teacher I had that made me fall in love with literate and history.

In this small town he stood out like a sore thumb. Long hair, beard, some of the parents rolled their eyes, the school board censored him , but his student, players loved him. So many amusing parts in this book, and a team i rooted for the whole way. Teary eyed in places too, it is just that kind of book. Human interest, underdogs that refused to stay under, and a man, a coach who had the wisdom to hang on loosely. At books end we find out where these boys, where Coach Sweet ended up today. Loved every minute of this one.

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the weather starts to warm up and baseball season is finally in full swing, I could be a commercial for Major League Baseball's AtBat app as a person who is either watching, listening to, reading about, or pondering the game of baseball. From the first pitch of the season to its last, America's pastime dominates how I formulate my day as I base it on when my team plays. Recently, a GoodReads friend alerted me to a baseball book that was not yet on my radar, one that takes readers back nearly fifty years to small town Illinois and shows kids who play the game simply because it is fun. Taking place before teenagers specializing in one sport year round and mentioning both my home town and high school, I knew that One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard was a book that I had to read early in this 2019 baseball season.

It is 1971 and the United States is fractured from race riots and the Vietnam war. Yet in tiny Macon, Illinois, a small town closer to St. Louis than Chicago, the residents appear stuck in the past. The Greatest Generation who fought in World War II still dominates the fabric of the town, and the majority of residents work as farmers, at longtime companies like Caterpillar, or at the small businesses or community services dotting the town. With a population of under 1000 comprised of large families who have lived in Macon or neighboring Elwin for generations, everyone either is related to or knows everyone else. Macon High School consisted of 250 students and could barely field teams in any sport, and when they did, the school rarely gave coaches any economic support. No matter how high school athletes did on the field, the boys were considered role models for the younger kids in town, as Macon High athletics were a bigger deal than minor league or professional sports. To play as a Macon High Ironman was an honor, and townspeople talked about key games on the schedule for years to come.

As the town remained rooted in the past, residents were in for the ride of their lives when English teacher named Lynn Sweet came to town in 1968. An army brat turned hippie who did things to the beat of a different drummer, Sweet was hired by principal Roger Britton on the spot for a job with no other candidates. Assigned sophomore and senior English, Sweet immediately threw away the curriculum, asked students to write their own obituaries, had farm kids never interested in opening a book reading MacBeth and enjoying it, and irking the members of the Greatest Generation who still controlled the town. In 1970 Macon High needed a new baseball coach. Principal Britton knew that Sweet had played semipro ball, organized staff trips to Cubs versus Cardinals games, and that the students loved his idiosyncratic style of teaching. Inheriting a team of nine with no bench, Sweet saw potential and agreed to coach the team in the only way he knew how: by throwing the rules of coaching out the window and letting kids who had grown up together coach themselves.

Today the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) divides schools into classifications based on size. Depending on the sport, there are four to eight divisions of schools, allowing schools the size of Macon High School to only face other small schools on the way to the state playoffs. These divisions did not exist in 1971 as schools like Macon had to face juggernauts from Chicago and its suburbs in route to a state title, making the season about to occur even more improbable. Lynn Sweet knew that his 1971 team was good. The players, consisting of mainly juniors and seniors knew that this was their last hurrah as kids before going off to college or being drafted to fight in Vietnam. Lead by alternate pitchers and third basemen John Hanneberry and Steve Shartzer, the Macon High team knew that they had the entire town following their every move, and the boys knew that they were good. Buying into Sweet's coaching philosophy, the team wore mismatched jerseys, had peace signs ironed onto their caps, warmed up to Jesus Christ, Superstar, and chilled by going on fishing trips or playing cards with their coach. And then the impossible happened: Macon made it to the mythical state playoffs in Peoria, and all small towns in central Illinois jumped on the Ironmen bandwagon.

Part Hoosiers and part One Championship Season, Ballard tells of a simpler time in a small town stuck in the past. In a feel good story, even someone like myself who grew up in one of these suburban juggernauts that has won multiple state titles in a myriad of sports can not help but root for small town Macon High School. The story has that feel good element to it, and Ballard follows up by interviewing the players and coach to see where they are in life forty years later. One member of the team, Brian Snitker is today the manager of the Atlanta Braves and even he is Macon through and through, playing the team's theme song on his way to spring training each year. The rest of the guys live near or around Macon, and the 1971 baseball team is still talked about as though it was yesterday although some of the team has grandchildren competing for Macon, now known as Meridian High School. Chris Ballard has exposed his readers to a slice of Americana that is becoming a relic of the past and a joy to read about.

*4+ stars*


Review can also be seen at http://www.sportsbookguy.com as I am now undergoing a new venture and will part time be known as the Sports Book Lady.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a real gem. I just read as part of my ongoing project to read the “best” 75 books on baseball.

Very reminiscent of Hoosiers. What struck me most about reading One Shot at Forever is that Chris Ballard, the author, has a unique talent for pacing. I don’t think there was a moment in this book where there was too much detail or a single page that felt out of place. Great real life story as well. The impact might be lessened a bit if you know the outcome — if you pick this one up try not to read ahead.

5 stars. Highly recommended. Instantly relatable and nostalgic to anyone who ever grew up in a small town in the midwest.

[Felts · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Shot at Forever is the story of the 1971 Macon Ironmen baseball team coached by Lynn Sweet and their unlikely run to the State baseball tournament. Before I go any further, I will let you know that I cannot write an unbiased review for this book. The reasons being threefold. I grew up in the town of Macon and went to Macon High School, L.C. Sweet was one of my teachers, and I was fortunate enough to marry into one of the families featured in this book. That being said, I thought this was a fantastic book!

Chris Ballard does a magnificent job of describing the small town of Macon, Il. The amount of research and interviews he conducted paid off because he is spot on with his descriptions and stories. It was great to get the inside story on "Coach" Sweet and the difficulties he had to weather through just to do a job that, really, no one else was willing to do. Not only was he an unconventional coach, but his teaching style was a bit off as well. Some personal memories include: Candyland tournaments, practicing our golf swing while watching golf instructional videos, watching the mini-series "Roots" and then following that up with "Night of the Living Dead" (Zombies shouldn't be discriminated against either), and after MTV came to Macon, he enjoyed bringing in video tapes he had made of the videos (I remember discussing some of the concepts behind INXS' 'What You Need' in particular). But things did get serious in his class as well, and I can blame Mr. Sweet for introducing me to a certain genre of literature that I still enjoy to this day. Like other teachers out there, you can say "you either love him or you hate him", but with Mr. Sweet I think it's more fitting to say "you either love him, or you don't understand him".

I would also like to thank Chris Ballard for bringing this story to life. As I mentioned earlier, I married into one of the families mentioned in the book, that being the Otta family. It was a long running inside joke that when Dale Otta took his family on a trip south down Route 48, they would eventually pass through Stonington, IL. They would pass the old ball field where Macon had an early victory during that run to State, and every time they went by, Dale would point out the old backstop that still stood there and retell the tale of his glory days with the '71 Ironmen. His family may have grown tired of him telling it, but thanks to Chris Ballard for coming to Macon, and giving Dale, his brother Dean, and all of their teammates a chance to share this wonderful story with everyone else.

[Christopher Febles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who doesn’t love a good underdog story? David vs Goliath, Douglas vs Tyson , Me vs United Health Care. (Too soon?)



Macon, Illinois is and was hardly a tiny black dot on your map, so tiny that near-ish Decatur seems like a metropolis. Only 200 or so kids in the high school. They have sports, but no illusions of glory. Yet in 1971, with a wacky, long-haired hippie of a coach named Lynn Sweet, that little baseball team took themselves all the way to the state champs.

Gotta love that coach! Optional practice, lovey pep talks, hair flowing onto scrawny shoulders. Told them the game was supposed to be FUN. Can you imagine? The conservatives in town hate it, but the boys loved him. And that joy of sport really resonated.

The text often reads like a box score. I was warned not to make my novel too baseball-y, but with a ball on the cover here, you know what to expect. Not too jargony, but a little knowledge might help. Then again, if you don’t love the game, you probably don’t bother with this at all. Really very “show, don’t tell”: I felt like I was on the field. There’s a fantastic, 500-word description of a throw home from an opposing outfielder that ended up a pivotal, unforgettable moment in the championship game.

There were a lot of players / boys to describe, and Ballard does his best. No small task, but I got to know most pretty well. Shartzer is the grumpy, competitive star, and while the games aren’t from his POV, the action revolves around him. It’s what you think: he works hard, wants it real bad, takes the losses hard. I liked seeing him again at the end.

I forget sometimes what sports mean to a little town. I liked seeing them travel to the championship games, shutting down school, delaying graduation. Ballard again does well to transport us to the gym, to take us to the prom.

Maybe sometimes the novelty of the event was lost. That is, often I expected some bigger reason for the mention, like a sick kid or a big rivalry. But it really is just a small town getting to the champs unexpectedly. No big, dramatic theme. I think it’s the personalities that make this colorful. Also, the time in history was interesting: the waning years of the Vietnam war, the clash of culture and counterculture.

Also, it’s hard to share my feelings on the championship game without giving away a spoiler. It does, however, make the reader question why this story was more important than other “little guy” missives. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a cool circumstance and there are some heartwarming moments. But running through my head was a phrase: “What makes this story unique among all those underdog tales?” Not a definitive statement, just a feeling. Read the championship chapter, and you might see what I mean.

Note: I read this entirely as an audiobook. The narrator does sound like a small-city MLB announcer!

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great high school baseball story (circa 1970), but much more ... a very unusual coach and players who responded to his unorthodox methods to reach way above their expected level ... the game action is exciting and the people parts are solid and reflective ...

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn’t really a baseball book in the sense of the baseball books on my shelf. This is a feel good story - a nonfiction tale that reads like a movie.

In fact, it’s one of the times that nonfiction probably writes a story better than any writer can.

It’s specific to small town Central Illinois in the early 1970s. A teacher is hired and he is the opposite of everything that small town 70s life was.

The tale could probably not be improved on. It’s a bit Dead Poets Society, a bit Footloose a bit Friday Night Lights. The author Ballard has interviewed everyone who was there and the characters are drawn completely.

Besides that, there is also a David vs Goliath sports story. It’s almost impossible to think of that- as these days- high school sports leagues are divided by enrollment size. Macon High School would never find themselves on the field with the teams they end up playing.

You generally know where the story is going though there are enough twists and turns to make it interesting and Ballard knows how to keep it light enough not to get bogged down. I don’t want to give away too much but it’s a memorable book that is generally well done.

Even if the “one shot at greatness” is a well used trope in movies and books, this is written in a way that it feels unique.

If you lived in a small town, this will resonate with you. For me personally, I was born about 90 miles away so I recognized most of the locations mentioned. That was a bit of fun for me.

This is a feel good book though of course it’s grounded in reality. That Ballard ends the book with a “where are they now” feel gives it a good closure. Baseball fans will recognize that one of the high school team members is Brian Snitker, who at the time of the book’s publication was 3rd Base coach for the Atlanta Braves (he has since become the Braves manager, won a World Series in 2021 and recently retired).

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of books about sports. This one is, by far, the absolute best. It takes place in south central Illinois in the 1970's. The story is about a small rural high school (so small that basically the same athletes play all sports) that gets that once-in-a-lifetime combination of six or seven exceptional athletes together at once, playing the same sport. It was about a last-minute inexpensive hire of a hippie teacher/baseball coach and his unorthodox methods of teaching, coaching and fighting the administration while leading his team to the baseball state tournament.

It is uplifting and inspirational while the author's take on the early 70's in rural Illinois is both quaint and desolate. If you're a baseball fan you should love it. Same goes for those who choose to root for the underdog. And those who like a period piece will love the way the decade plays its part while fans of clashes in culture will revel in the actual state tournament.

I've read it twice and plan on doing it again.

[victor harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good David v. Goliath baseball story. Also an excellent glimpse at the last vestiges of small town America before the technology age and total corruption of sports at all levels. Ending was a little on the melancholy side, nevertheless, a nice " Hoosiers" like baseball nugget.

[Carrie G · Rating 5 out of 5]

"One Shot at Forever" was another book that I begrudgingly began reading because I had (stupidly, I thought) put it on my students' summer reading list. And, as is my practice, if I assigned it to my students, I assigned it to myself as well. I made sure this book was at the top of my reading list, though, so that I could get it out of the way first - I dislike sports in general, and baseball in particular. The only things, in my mind, that this book had going for it were: 1) it was set in my state - Illinois; 2) it's about a small town, and I adore small-town living! So, with low expectations, I cracked the cover. ...and was hooked from chapter 1.

"One Shot at Forever" is a masterful mix of storytelling and sports reporting. It's funny, thoughtful, poignant, and exciting! I had to re-read the page near the end that detailed the outcome of the 1971 team's final game twice; it was so unbelievable! Only 30 or 40 pages into the book, I actually stopped to find out what other books Chris Ballard had written, hoping to find other sports biographies to add to my classroom collection. Unfortunately, all of his other books seem to be in a different vein and probably not something that would appeal to my students. But this book... WOW! I was blown away. What surprised me most was how funny it was and how reluctant I was to put it down. I was reading between doing loads of laundry and then cooking supper and became quite annoyed each time a timer would go off, signaling the need to put down the book and attend to some mundane chore. When I finished, I walked into the bedroom and promptly told my husband, "This is the best nonfiction book I've read in a LONG time!" And I meant it. Whether you're a huge fan of baseball or not, if you like heartwarming stories, you'll LOVE this book!

[Owen Good · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 2010, Chris Ballard, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated, got a phone call pitching what was, essentially, a "Hoosiers" of baseball: Tiny Illinois high school, in an open-classification state playoff, knocks off a big-city team. The feature Ballard wrote then was widely acclaimed; this is that story, told more expansively and with rich detail.

What gives "One Shot at Forever" its hold on the reader's mind are its strong characters and the indelible moments of their remarkable run as an unlikely baseball power. John Heneberry, the lanky junkballer who "ain't got s---" but confounded his opposition thanks to his father's scouting, was my favorite. There's the intense Steve Shartzer, laying in his hotel bed staring at the ceiling, suffused with a responsibility he will feel his entire life. And at the center of it is Lynn Sweet, the iconoclast coach helped by an understanding, pragmatic superintendent and thwarted by a hard-ass drill sergeant of a principal.

A lesser writer would have approached this story on rails, as its arc will feel familiar to most readers. But even as Ballard explores well known themes of coming of age, beloved mentors, and impossible triumphs, he writes anything but a typical story. This is a great, unknown tale of American sports, one infused with a strong sense of place that will be visceral to anyone who grew up in a very small town, or in the early 1970s, and especially both.

"One Shot at Forever" is an eminently recommendable book for any sports fan, and a perfect fit as a Father's Day gift--not so much for the sports angle, but for what Sweet represents, still after all these years, to the young men he helped raise.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book for so many reasons. I’m a sports mom and it was fun to reminisce about my own kids’ teams (and MY team too.) I’m from central Illinois, so the setting was so familiar. I smiled all through it, listening to the anecdotes, commiserating with the author about small town Midwest life.
I think there’s a lot to talk about here: how a great coach can impact your life, the importance of working as a team, being true to yourself. There’s also the cautionary tale of placing too much of your self-worth on your athletic successes.
It’s a good story, a little mix of Hoosiers and The Sandlot.
If you love baseball, give it a read.

[Dick · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wife - Shari - gave me this book at the recommendation of my brother Tom.

It is a terrific book!

For any of you who played baseball especially in your teen years ... this is for you.

It is especially true for me, who played in those years - and beyond - as much of my baseball was in the State of Illinois & not so much earlier than the early 70’s when the book takes place. The thing about baseball is that it is at the core of the American experience - most of us have played or attended games. As was said in the movie “ Field of Dreams”, it is one of the constants in American history. Even Civil War soldiers played baseball.

What makes this especially relevant to me is not only the setting in Illinois, but that one of the players on the Macon, Illinois team was Brian Snitker - the Atlanta Braves manager. Makes for a small world, doesn’t it? This takes place in the early 70's - yes Vietnam, Nixon and the "hippie movement" was going on. Indeed the coach of the team was a sort of hippie, who did things far from traditional, he was very successful.

A great story about amateur players in their teens. A reminder that the game of baseball is the “American Game” (though but there is some argument about where it was first played) in the U.S.

It is the game at the essential level and helps to forget about the well overpaid pros, who often make it a game about themselves. The lessons learned in baseball are many and most of them will last a lifetime. The memories will – for sure – last a lifetime, for me. I played a lot of baseball and spent a good period of time doing so coaching my brother Tom. Tom always had better instincts about where to play or move before the ball was hit. Far better than I did. But the game and many hours we spent together forged a bond that has lasted a lifetime.

I love baseball. It is a game whose dimensions have not changed & whose records are still set & broken - by mortals. Drugs, etc. aside - it is not an easy game & far more complicated than it looks.

Dare I say intellectual? Yes!

[Aaron Berkowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard is a non-fiction story about the 1971 Macon Baseball team and their run to the Illinois state championship. The hippiesh baseball coach and english teacher L.C Sweet is a caring, comedic person. Trying to make a living at a young age with full grown hair and beard. Showing his students and players that it is okay to be different and learn from different teaching styles. I am going to focus on the baseball team for my review today. In the small town of Macon, IL the high school sports were very popular and the only entertainment for the citizens of Macon. About 45 minutes away from Decatur they were stuck in a timezone like no other. Only a few bars, the high school, and a small town street where all the stores were. The boys of the Macon baseball team were coming off a great season but getting rid of their previous coach, Jack Burns. The boys followed in Sweet’s footsteps of being calm with their game and keeping composure. Throughout the story the boys get to the playoffs two times and make an incredible run in 1971. Beating schools 3 times their size, Macon High only had a couple hundred kids. I was intrigued by a amazing ending to a joyful journey with the whole team including the parents and teachers. I was able to connect with the Chicago Cubs rally of this year when they made the 2015 NLCS but lost the whole series. No one would think that the Cubs would go that far just like no one thought Macon would. They weren’t even a known town until the baseball tourney. I admire Ballard’s taste in baseball and state history, completing a book that will live on, especially in the hearts of all Illinois citizens. Finally, I found the book to start slow in the beginning, starting off with Sweet’s background, I know it is an essential part it just seemed to drag along into the main part of the story. Once you get kicked into the baseball season, you can finish this book in a day. I would recommend this book of course to anyone who loves baseball, or wants to see what it was like living in a town like Macon. Reading about how L.C Sweet changed many people’s lives forever. Especially the ones of the players and citizens of Macon in the year 1971.

[Karen & Gerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! "One Shot at Forever" by Chris Ballard is a really, really good people book! It is also a good baseball book. It is the true story of a small High School and a bunch of farm boys with a very cool coach. Against all odds, they have a chance to win the state championship. I loved the team--what a great bunch of boys! The games are very exciting to say the least. The best part of the book is years later when the coach talks to all the guys and they look back on the year they had. I got into this book right away. It's all good--you will be glad you read this one!
(Gerard's review)

One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballad is an enjoyable true story about a small rural town high school baseball team that no one wanted to coach until Sweet, the new hippie English teacher reluctantly volunteered. With his laid back attitude, unconventional methods and philosophy of keeping it fun he proved that his coaching style could produce a winning team. This is a baseball book that takes you inside the inner workings of a ball team and lets you know how the coach thinks and also the players. This was a coach that was there for his players and it wasn't about his ego.

My favorite player was John Heneberry, the pitcher who couldn't throw a fast ball. I thought the coach was a funny guy and really admired how he motivated his players and brought out the best in them. The accounts of the tournament games were well done and tugged at my heart. I couldn't help but feel the Macon Hawks was my team. It's a heartwarming story about the cohesiveness of a ball team and how the town rallied around them. I loved after Sweet retired, he made his land into a wildlife preserve! I recommend this book to anyone who likes baseball.
(Karen's review)

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treat people well,
Believe in them,
Entrust them with responsibility,
Lift them up.

The whole time I was reading this book I kept picturing Matthew McConaughey as Lynn Sweet, the unprepared and unlikely coach of a baseball team from nowhere that through guts and dumb luck, made their way in a field of 371 teams to become the smallest school in Illinois state history to make it to the state final, an achievement that stands to this day.

Happily-ever-after comes in all shapes and sizes and for the Ironmen from Macon, making it to the baseball state final was bigger than they ever dreamed possible. Small town farm kids from nowhere hick towns are supposed to stay home and tend the pigs and corn, not take on schools four times their size and leave them in the dust in their climb to the top.

This is not just about baseball, it is about people. Who they were then and who they are now and how one shot at forever changed the trajectory of their lives. A group of misfits with hand me down uniforms and peace signs on their hats. A group that blasted Jesus Christ Superstar from their boom boxes during practice and had to withstand insults and ridicule for what they loved.

This book started as a Sports Illustrated article by Chris Ballard and tells the story of remarkable boys and their unforgettable parents and that in the day of no class divisions in baseball, guided a team that on paper had no chance of winning even one game with the biggest deficits being their coach onto a berth at the state title.

For those parents that have sat on the bench cheering on their child, this is a compelling and moving story about hoping against the odds.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

If someone were to ask me about my favorite movie genre, it would be, hands down, motivational sports dramas (and yes, Netflix has a category for that). I am a sucker for any type of sports drama, whether I've actually played or followed the sport in my life. Add a dedicated and supportive team of really good kids (while a bit rambunctious at times) and a coach that really is a LEADER? Doubly hooked.

With that taken into account, I was happily suprised to find Ballard's gem of a book which recounts the 1970 and 1971 baseball season for Macon High School. It's been compared to Hoosiers, which I get.

Macon is a small town, made up of farmers and in comes this English Teacher who just doesn't fit the crew cut, "yes sir" type of norm, and insists on doing his own curriculum. As a reader, I cheered Lynn Sweet, because he got through to the kids and they flourished under his classroom guidance. (As a school principal, I would have had some words, but deep inside, would have been rooting him on as well, by the way.)

He finds himself in charge of the baseball team. I wouldn't say coaching, because he really turned it back to the boys, and guided them, more than anything. He was their biggest cheerleader, their confidant, their friend, and the boys did everything right. It truly was magical.

Ballard links the story with an assortment of facts that I found equally intriguing. He most definitely did his research on this team, and I loved hearing about what happened to the players after the 1971 series.

A truly wonderful, heartwarming read. Not long, but enough to keep you up late at night (or maybe that's just me)! Loved it!!!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful, splendid, nicely done reminiscence.... A different time (the early 1970's), a different place (a small, isolated farming community in Illinois), high school sports (with all of their pathologies and politics), and the game that has changed so little over time - baseball.

Sure, it's a baseball book, but that's like saying that Jackie Robinson was a baseball player. While baseball is the unifying theme, its role is relatively fortuitous.

This is a remarkable story about remarkable people - not great people, but interesting, vibrant, flawed but all-so-human beings, living their lives and playing the hands they were dealt.... And it's not just the players, and the families, and the community - but the story revolves around a unique coach - and not just a coach, but a teacher in the truest sense of the word. Frankly, the book is one of the most lyrical tributes I've ever read about a coach, mentor, teacher, leader, guide, path-breaker, compass, and, more importantly, a good and pure soul. It's a reminder how much of a difference an individual can make in the lives of others.

[Sure the author takes liberties, frequently holding back facts or under-selling characters for dramatic effect. But - given the whole - all is forgiven. It's a wonderful story, well told!]

Apparently, they're talking about making this into a movie, although it's unclear if they've made any progress on that score. If they do it, I expect I'll see it the weekend it comes out.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first glance, One Shot at Forever is obviously a book about baseball. Don’t let the title fool you, however, because it’s really about so much more. Set against the backdrop of the 1970 and 1971 baseball seasons, Ballard tells to stories of Lynn Sweet, the Macon High School baseball players, their families, and their town.

As a new English teacher, Sweet was already causing a stir in Macon, despite his popularity among his students. What with his long hair, bar patronage, and “dangerous reading assignments” many parents were concerned. When he reluctantly agreed to coach the baseball team, he further confounded the community. Like his teaching methods, his coaching was profoundly unconventional. Practice became optional, the players worked out their own positions, and they warmed up to the soundtrack from Jesus Christ Superstar.

Still, One Shot at Forever is hardly about Sweet exclusively. Ballard manages to weave the experiences of many people into one compelling story and illuminate the influence people can have on one another.

Fans of the underdog, (think of movies like Friday Night Lights, Miracle, and Mystery, Alaska) will be naturally drawn to the Macon Ironmen.

[Perri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a relief, after the dark stories I've been reading recently. Who doesn't like a feel good, root-for -the-underdog sports story? Unheralded small town High School baseball team have improbable successful seasons. David vs. Goliath after Goliath after... What elevated this story is Coach Sweet's uniquely laid- back approach to the game. He didn't use the paramilitary methods of his peers, but coached in the best sense of the word- showing choices and possibilities, encouraging autonomy and building self confidence. I was thinking four stars, but ended up enjoying this so much I want to be generous.

[Tom Gase · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really well-written, well-researched book by Chris Ballard on the 1970 and 1971 Macon High baseball team that was very small but accomplished big things. Kind of like Hoosiers, but for baseball. It has a lot of people you want to root for, including the head coach Lynn Sweet that brought many new ideals to the school as a teacher and coach in the early 1970's. You'll find yourself laughing, crying and rooting for all these kids on the team located in the middle of Illinois, or more like the middle of nowhere. A must-read for baseball fans, especially high school prep writers.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is a great book but the ending wasn't the greatest in my opinion. The ending was just boring it brought us to where he moved and stayed in Illinois. Ill give this book a five star because of how good it was and the inspiring story of a high school coach who only wanted to show his team how to become great people in the real world.

[Steve Mcdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Connected in so many ways with most of these kids and seeing my sister-in-law's photo when she was 15 made this an enjoyable, nostalgic read. Interested to see comments from others not connected.

[Adam Gropper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Reads like a sports movie

[Shannon Hussey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book began as a magazine article for Sports Illustrated, and it seems like a heavily dragged out version of it. There's little substance to the book, very little of interest that would justify its writing. Recollections of the actual games are brief and repetitive.

The writing itself is boring and often cliche. It often seems like the author doesn't exactly know what to talk about or ends up revisiting the same topics without additional insight. The author refers to coach Sweet four times with a physical description mentioning Frank Zappa, whom he does not resemble.

About 12% of the book's material are endnotes, many of which contain interesting anecdotes and information that could have been integrated into the main text. It's distracting to have to bounce back and forth so frequently, and much characterization would be lost without these notes.

Book contains an egregious example of misogyny that is played for laughs--an adult male football coach refers to female high school students as "buzzsaws", implying that they are so horny for the male high school athletes that their vaginal excitement/activity would cut through the wooden bleachers they were sitting on, and if the boys would get distracted by having sex with them, they'd get torn up too.

The author also portrays coach Sweet's marriage in his late twenties to a 19 year old former student of his as a positive, settling factor in his life, rather than seeing anything inappropriate in it.

Overall, it seems like the book has no direction or point. It brings up ideas about the value of community, the unique experiences of small town life, nostalgia, and adolescence/growing up, but doesn't go far with them.

There's not much concrete information about Sweet's teaching or coaching or the boys' playing. It's described and reacted to by others as unorthodox, but that's more the free-spirited philosophy behind it, not what was actually done or taking place. Other teams and towns saw Sweet and his team as a bunch of hicks and hippies, but most members were typical middle of the road, clean cut all-American boys.

After reading, it seems as though Sweet's was not very integral to the boys' success in their winning seasons--the boys on the team all come to the season with years of building their skills and cooperating with each other. Sweet just happened to be named coach on these years.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely get emotional while reading. People who know me know that it's never over romance or fantasy. It's always sports. And this, this is a damn good sports book. I did not expect to connect to this story of the people in it. After all, I have very little in common with teenage boys playing baseball in small-town Illinois in the 70s. However, it is told with such raw honesty and emotion that it became just a powerful human experience. It brought elation and heartbreak and countless emotions in between. It's a story that you can't believe is true but at the same time know nobody could just make it up.
In many ways, I got hit with it twice as hard, reading it as both an athlete and a coach. As a coach, there were moments in reading this where I was so happy and validated that I had to put the book down to process it. Sweet, as a man and as a coach represents and stands for the side of sports that I have fiercely believed in and defended. But just by his nature, it's the kind of story that rarely gets told. Luckily when it did, he had someone who did it justice.

I found that the ebook was great for convenient switching to and from the footnotes. While not the most crucial part of the book, they are witty, insightful and methodically sourced. In every aspect of his book, Ballard shows how much this project meant to him.

This is not the book for people who love baseball as the high level, shiny money making machine of today's professional sports. It's the book for people who love baseball, who love sports for the heart you gain and the character you learn.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its main story is...fine. An underdog team of athletes overcomes the odds and makes history, and we’ve all seen this movie before.

However, after the big baseball games, the author ponders the role of organized sports in American culture and presents us with the pathetic image of tired old men, long too old to play baseball, still persecuting themselves for games lost and championships missed.

Particularly interesting was Coach Sweet, ultimately disappointed not because of any scores or championships, but because that was always the focus of the parents. Baseball should be played for fun, and it is ruined by its participants’ losing that focus.

[Nick Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

“How can you not be romantic about Baseball?” - Moneyball (2011).

An odyssey that feels like it spans thousands of miles and hundreds of years. When in actuality the entire story unfolds over two years and stays entirely inside Illinois. Deeply rooted in 70s hippie ideology, a protagonist emerges from the pantheon of Chicago to bestow life affirming knowledge to a bunch of self proclaimed hick farmers.

🎶How ‘Sweet’ it is to be a coach named Lynn🎶

Evocative of the times, America was better off when the minnows were making their waves too. Brothers in the dugout, an entire town in the bleachers, and a never say die attitude—That’s Macon Ironmen baseball, baby.

[David Hallstrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid telling of the baseball team of a small Illinois town going to the 1971 state baseball championship game in the days before Illinois classified high school sports by population of the schools. Which makes Macon (population 1,200) facing Waukegan (population 80,000) all the more impressive.

I grew up in Illinois at this time, in a city large than Waukegan. However, my parents were both from small Illinois towns. I can therefore relate to the players on the team, the teachers and coaches, and the sense of what Macon is like.

Ballard is a bit dismissive early in the book of what people in such towns were like at the time. Fortunately, he lets that go pretty quickly.

He tells an engaging story.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love baseball. Even if you don't, you'll love this true story. Great read for tweens & teens, too.

"...forty years later, he continues to draw upon the lessons of his old coach back in Macon: Treat people well, believe in them, entrust them with responsibility. Life them up." p. 230