St. Louis Sports Folks

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St. Louis, the heart of America, beats to its own particular pulse. It's a big small town and a small big town. A town that laughs easily but isn't afraid to cry. That's the spirit of St. Louis Sports Folks, captured by Tom Wheatley, award-winning sportswriter of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. From across the two-state area, Wheatley has assembled an unforgettable roster of characters with character. "Easy" Ed Macauley, the basketball Hall of Famer turned homily expert; Ken Holtzman and mentor Ed Mickelson, ex-big leaguers now coaching Little Leaguers at the "J;" The Challenger Baseball kids, teaching us all about winning; Mannie Jackson, and the tough-love coach who helped him rise from poverty to own the Harlem Globetrotters; Kristin Folkl, the Final Four queen in her first "real" job as a Ralston-Purina intern; Mickey Garagiola and the Hot Stove League on the Hill; Bob Paige, Satchel's son, inheriting a love of family and the open road; Wanda Taylor, a gentle influence on tough young boxers; Jack Graham, a boy in a World War II prison camp with Eric Liddell, the "Chariots of Fire" Olympion; Jan Wiggs, who gave a kidney to keep hubby Kevin alive and reffing; Fred Buchholz, the wide-eyed batboy when a midget batted for the Browns; Dan Francis, careening from speeding tickets to a world speedboat title; Becky Duffin, pitching the U.S. softball team to a world title while terminally ill.