Johnny Wilson

Entrepreneur, impresario, engineer: Johnny Wilson was all of these, in addition to being one of Hawai'i's most formidable politicians. This is the first biography of John Henry Wilson, whose career spanned the first half of the twentieth century and the wide gulf between Hawaiian monarchy and Hawai'i statehood. Born in 1871, the son of Queen Liliuokalani's marshal, the part-Hawaiian, part-Tahitian, part-Scot, part-Irish road contractor cum music promoter ran for his first political office at age forty-seven, as a reluctant senatorial candidate for the Democratic party - at the time known as "the party of the unwashed." Wilson lost the race but went on to win many others, serving as Democratic national committeeman for three decades and as mayor of Honolulu for fourteen years between 1920 and 1954." "Many facets of Wilson's life dramatize that colorful transition period in Hawai'i's history. As the son of a royal official, Wilson harbored his own ideas about the revolt that overthrew the monarchy. His diaries provide important historical information about early Hawaiian music and dance. The dreams and accomplishments of this early union sympathizer and founder of Hawai'i's Democratic party constitute a unique political history of the territory almost in its entirety. In his familiar, engaging style, veteran newspaper reporter Bob Krauss has recorded the legend of Johnny Wilson.

This review of the greatest basketball players the Hoosier State has ever produced includes profiles of Rick Mount, the first high school athlete in a team sport to make the cover of Sports Illustrated, and other notable players and coaches. Photo insert.

Founded in 1920, the Negro National League originally comprised teams throughout the Midwest, but the league's groundwork was laid in one city--Chicago. Two of the season's eight inaugural teams were based in the South Side, which was also the adopted home of Rube Foster, the "Father of the Negro Leagues." A former stand-out pitcher in the Windy City, Foster founded the dominant Chicago American Giants. As the first president of the Negro National League, Foster controlled all major aspects of the game, from personnel to equipment and ticket sales, and his influence left black baseball indelibly associated with Chicago. This essay collection presents notable papers delivered at the 2005 Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference in Chicago. With contributions from many Negro Leagues experts, the work offers a cohesive history of Chicago's long relationship with black baseball. After an introduction and an overview, sections cover early Chicago baseball from the nineteenth century to the founding of the Negro Leagues; teams in the Negro Leagues after 1920; players, both well-known and obscure, who spent significant time with Chicago clubs; owners and managers; the East-West All Star Game; ballparks; the Great Lakes Naval Team; and the integration of the Cubs and White Sox. Appendices provide a timeline of major black-baseball events in Chicago and player rosters for Chicago-area teams.

100 Years: Maori Rugby League 1908-2008 tells the story of the New Zealand Maori Rugby League Team from its origins in 1908 to the present day. The book covers major matches, along with biographies of prominent players and administrators. A rich collection of stories and interviews with former players tells the reader what really happened off and on the field. The book has been thoroughly researched with information coming from England, France, Australia and throughout New Zealand, and it is illustrated with over 200 images. There have been no books specifically written on Maori involvement with rugby league, until now. 100 Years: Maori Rugby League 1908-2008 is about players, administrators and whanau. It's about the fabulous moments, the glories of victory and the agonies of defeat, and it gives a comprehensive story of Maori participation in rugby league.

The legendary Harry Greb stepped into the ring more than 300 times from 1913 to 1926, defeated opponents who outweighed him by more than 30 pounds, held the middleweight and light heavyweight titles and beat every Hall of Fame boxer he ever fought. Dubbed "the Pittsburgh Windmill" because of his manic, freewheeling style in the ring, Greb also crossed racial lines, taking on all comers regardless of color. An injury in the ring led to Greb's gradually going blind in one eye and should have ended his career, but he kept his condition secret and fought on. Tragically, the indomitable fighter would be dead by the age of 32, felled by complications during minor surgery. This biography of one of the toughest boxers of all time includes interviews, family recollections, modern doctors' analyses of Greb's eye injury and more than 120 rare photographs, as well as a complete fight record and round-by-round descriptions of his most famous fights.