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Heroes, Scamps, and Good Guys

101 Colorful Characters from Cleveland Sports History

by Bob Dolgan

• Format: Hardcover, 320 pages, 5.8 x 8.8 inches
• Illustrations: 92 black-and-white photographs
• ISBN: 978-1-886228-67-2
• Price: $24.95

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Description

Colorful characters crowd the world of sports, and we've certainly had our share in Cleveland.

Sportswriter Bob Dolgan has written about them all while covering the sports beat for The Plain Dealer during the past six decades.

This book collects for the first time Dolgan's best short profiles of the most interesting athletes—stars, bench-jockeys, and everyone in between—ever to grace the fields, courts, and rinks of Cleveland.

These stories will rekindle memories in any Cleveland sports fan and introduce some remarkable characters from the past who are worth getting to know.

It takes all kinds to fill out the sports pages.

Look back on any era, and dozens of wonderfully memorable people stand out, sparkling like diamonds in the grass.

There have been heroes, like Rocky Colavito and Jesse Owens. Scamps, from Joe Jackson to Albert Belle. Good guys, like Lou Groza and Mark Price. And a few special cases—legendary greaseballer Gaylord Perry, for one—who were a little bit of each.

Dolgan recalls the onfield glory but looks beyond it, too, for the telling details that reveal the person behind the athlete.

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.

Reviews

There are sports books that would qualify as the main course in a good meal. And then there's dessert. That's what veteran Cleveland Plain Dealer writer and columnist Bob Dolgan has offered up with this column-style look at 101 sports personalities who came through Cleveland . . . 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. — Akron Beacon Journal

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. — Free Times

This book helps you learn the story behind the story in Cleveland sports. You really get to know the players as people. — WERE AM Radio

With titles such as “A Sickening Thud” for the Herb Score injury or “He was the Best” for Otto Graham, you will find yourself reading about your favorites first but then returning so as not to miss any of the profiles. — Amazon.com

Anyone who is a Cleveland sports fan, or even a casual one, will find this book very fulfilling . . . 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. The people he talks about or interviews become so down to earth; we can relate to their joy in recalled highlights, or feel consternation when the fates went against them. — American Home

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. — Scene Magazine

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. — Northern Ohio Live

Even if you don't like sports, these are great stories. Dolgan doesn't just tell tales about the players' accomplishments or stats--he talks about their antics off the field. — WQAL FM Radio

Real stories about real people. A fun book! — WTAM AM Radio

The book provides an escape from the sad exploits seen on the professional sports fields of Cleveland's teams this calendar year . . . 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. — The Plain Dealer

Takes you back to all the things you remember as a kid. For any Clevelander who loves sports, it's a great book. — WGAR FM Radio

About Bob Dolgan

Bob Dolgan has written thousands of columns, articles, and feature stories about sports for the Plain Dealer during the past 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. Since 1995, he has written 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 co-author of The Polka King, with Frank Yankovic. A Cleveland native and a graduate of John Carroll University, he lives in Willoughby Hills, Ohio. More About Bob Dolgan

Contains References to:

Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Gaylord Perry, Jesse Owens, Jim Brown, Jim Thome, Joe Charboneau, Kevin Mack, Larry Doby, Lenny Wilkins, Lou Groza, Mark Price, Mike Hargrove, Paul Brown, Rocky Colavito, Satchel Paige, Shoeless Joe Jackson,

Other books by Bob Dolgan:

• America's Polka King