Chris Simpson tells the story of growing up in a gritty industrial upstate New York town in the 1960s, hanging out with a bunch of friends whose favorite pastimes are playing high school football, chasing girls, dreaming up nicknames, inventing imaginary organizations, and trying to get served in bars.
Their football team, the Ganaway Rivermen, has historically won more than its fair share of games against archrival Bell Island. The Bell Island - Ganaway game, the BI-G game, is famous throughout the region. But that winning streak has come to an end....
Frank Helwig is the team's legendary coach. He's won more games than any coach in the league, maybe in the state. For all those years, Helwig has relied on the single wing offense, which by the '60s has been abandoned by all but a few schools. Is it time for a change? The team's losing streak against Bell Island has the town talking. People are saying that Helwig needs to modernize the Ganaway game, but that talk seems to be falling on deaf ears.
Chris and his teammates come up through the ranks: freshman ball, then the JV team, and finally varsity. Over those years, their families confront a series of issues: alcoholism, gambling, loan sharking, mob connections, a nasty injury at a chemical plant, and the possible loss of a family business. But always, football and friendship form the glue that holds the boys together. And in their senior year, it's up to them to save the reputation of the Ganaway Rivermen and their own sense of pride.
Show moreChris Simpson tells the story of growing up in a gritty industrial upstate New York town in the 1960s, hanging out with a bunch of friends whose favorite pastimes are playing high school football, chasing girls, dreaming up nicknames, inventing imaginary organizations, and trying to get served in bars.
Their football team, the Ganaway Rivermen, has historically won more than its fair share of games against archrival Bell Island. The Bell Island - Ganaway game, the BI-G game, is famous throughout the region. But that winning streak has come to an end....
Frank Helwig is the team's legendary coach. He's won more games than any coach in the league, maybe in the state. For all those years, Helwig has relied on the single wing offense, which by the '60s has been abandoned by all but a few schools. Is it time for a change? The team's losing streak against Bell Island has the town talking. People are saying that Helwig needs to modernize the Ganaway game, but that talk seems to be falling on deaf ears.
Chris and his teammates come up through the ranks: freshman ball, then the JV team, and finally varsity. Over those years, their families confront a series of issues: alcoholism, gambling, loan sharking, mob connections, a nasty injury at a chemical plant, and the possible loss of a family business. But always, football and friendship form the glue that holds the boys together. And in their senior year, it's up to them to save the reputation of the Ganaway Rivermen and their own sense of pride.
Show moreJ.R. Krull played football in high school and college during the 1960s. He had a long career as a librarian and library administrator in New York, Ohio, and Indiana. Now he spends his time volunteering for several nonprofits, reading, writing, and walking on the beach in Florida. This is his first book.
J.R. Krull's debut novel offers readers a refreshing escape from
today's flood of serial-killer noir. In this rollicking
coming-of-age tale about a gang of buddies growing up in a gritty
industrial city, Krull takes us on a nostalgic journey back to a
time when a wild night depended on scoring an illegal six-pack,
when true love blossomed in the balcony of the local theater, and
when life's greatest challenges were making the JV football team
and learning the proper steps to the Watusi. His characters move
through a setting so evocative that the reader smells the pizza
parlor and papermill, and hears the hum of the factory night shift
and the darkening whispers of Vietnam. It is a delightful story
that might begin with Daisy BB guns and end on Ganaway clashing
with Bell Island, but it is larger than that. It has the power to
transport readers back to that magical time of their own youth,
back to that place where friendship was precious and life seemed
like a perfect spring day that would never end.Ronald Salomone, PhD
/ Professor Emeritus of English / Ohio University-Chillicothe
J.R. Krull's first novel is a poignant coming-of-age tale about a
group of high school friends who live for football in a blue-collar
upstate New York town. Set in the 1960s, it is a tale remarkably
told in a voice that has the honesty and directness of J.D.
Salinger.Dana Wichern / Retired newspaper columnist, university
writing instructor, and editor
The stresses of blue-collar family life, the formation of
friendships in an ethnically diverse city, and other adolescent
challenges are presented in colorful and humorous detail. The story
is so expertly crafted and lively that the reader almost
unavoidably becomes a football team member on this coming-of-age
journey.Michael N. Ryan, PhD / Professor Emeritus / State
University of New York
Krull's novel allows readers beyond a certain age a humorous yet
poignant opportunity to recapture what was lost years ago, their
youth, and its many adventures. If your younger days involved
sports, the opposite sex, crazy friends, and beer, you will enjoy
reliving it all in these pages.Lee Owen / Retired investment
professional
J.R. Krull captures what life was like for young people on the cusp
of adulthood in 20th-century blue collar America. Krull has a
voice. His narrator, Chris Simpson, speaks the language of
friendship and football in this engaging debut novel.Craig Klugman
/ Retired newspaper editor
There is something special about the quality time that we spend
together as kids in our growing up years. This book is an
adventuresome story and a portrayal of those happy, carefree days
filled with trials, tribulations, laughter, fun, and good friends.
Krull gives us an opportunity to reminisce about a time when life
was less complicated.Jack Maitland, former NFL player with the
Baltimore Colts and New England Patriots, and winner of a Super
Bowl ring
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