SKU: 74796656875

Bull in the Ring: Football and Faith, Refuge in a Troubled Time

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Bull in the Ring: Football and Faith, Refuge in a Troubled TimeThe thread of the book is an account of the 1970 Missouri large schools high school state football championship my St. Louis University High team won. We were unlikely champions: undersized, not very fast, no home field, high academic standards for admission, half our games against Top 10 teams in the state. We barely qualified for the four team state playoff, we faced the heavily favored title game opponent having won our previous four games by an

The thread of the book is an account of the 1970 Missouri large schools high school state football championship my St. Louis University High team won. We were unlikely champions: undersized, not very fast, no home field, high academic standards for admission, half our games against Top 10 teams in the state. We barely qualified for the four-team state playoff, we faced the heavily favored title game opponent having won our previous four games by an average of just 4.5 points, including a 14-13 victory over our archrival in front of 18,000 people at Busch Stadium. I was a center and linebacker, and one of the team captains.

The story of the book, though, is how football and that championship season became a refuge for my classmates and me, young Baby Boomers whose great but na ve ambition was tempered by the frightening, threatening social turmoil of the late 1960s. The Vietnam War was escalating, the Civil Rights Movement was exploding, college campuses were erupting in protest, and many of us were at war with our parents' generation.

Adding to our drama, our beloved Student Council vice president and classmate was wounded in a robbery attempt on August 1 of 1970, and died two weeks later, the day before our football season workouts began. We devoted our season to him.

I tell this true story from the first person, and through the reminiscences of a handful of the key characters who were central to it, including our legendary head coach Paul Martel, who died in January 2016 at age 91. I conclude the book with reflections of what that season and accomplishment meant to us, particularly as we now face the final quarter of our lives. Educated by Jesuit priests, who challenged us to question, to commit to something, and to act, we pulled together in common purpose, at least for that season. Most of us were buoyed by our belief in each other, and by our faith in God. And, at least for me, I experienced life lessons that proved invaluable for what I was to become: a daily newspaper sportswriter and columnist, then a business executive, husband and father.

  1. true sports stories such as Remember the Titans, Hoosiers, Friday Night Lights, and One Shot at Forever (the story of the small-school Macon, Illinois baseball team that finished second in the 1971 Illinois baseball tournament), offer drama beyond the tension of high school competition on the fields and courts. This story provides plenty for an avid sports fan. But it, too, offers much more. I suspect Baby Boomers around the country, and readers of all ages, can relate to the way dreams evolve, become compromised or rationalized, and come to rest. And how hard-earned accomplishments, especially those boosted by the kind hand of an unseen power, provide meaning and comfort as we reflect on the impact we have made on the world.

Among the characters: our best player, an earnest and unselfish athlete who had his best game in the state championship; our only African-American teammate, whose parents moved him to St. Louis to distance him from the racial turmoil in central Alabama in the mid-1960s; our biggest player, a character seemingly straight from Clair Bee's Chip Hilton stories; our quarterback, a free-spirited genius who exasperated the coaches but pulled off heroic plays; an under-sized defensive end seemingly possessed by the spirit of his cherished older brother killed in Vietnam; and our Student Council secretary, an African-American who challenged us to confront society's racial issues and later revealed he is gay.



Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Jala Publishing
Published: 08/15/2017
ISBN: 9780999247709
Pages: 288
Weight: 0.94lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.65d
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SKU: 74796656875

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Susan Cedar
Boise, US
★★★★★ 4
My dog loves glowing fetch at night!
Style: Glow Balls (Pack of 3), Size: 2.5 inch
Fantastic. Sturdy. My dog loves them Glow in the dark is great for fetch at night. I keep a flashlight with me because the glow doesn't last really long. But they charge very quickly and are really bright.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2026
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Maddox
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
Indestructible
Style: Fetch Balls (Pack of 2), Size: 3 inch
These balls are indestructible! We have a lab and a lab mix and they CANNOT damage these balls. They love them for fetch and to just chew on them (slightly squishy, but NO damage). Best toys we have bought for them.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2026
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Animal Lover
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 5
Great trial set. Just be careful throwing the orange one!
Style: Assorted Balls (Pack of 3), Size: 2.5 inch
Blue isn't that easy to see in the yard White charges with bright light/UV and is truly a game changer for night-time fetch. Both dogs clearly favor it. Orange is easy to see in the grass at day They're 3 different weights as well, so double trial. I prefer medium for my big dogs, though light performs well too The orange is HEAVY and unyielding. Do NOT throw it with a ball thrower. It could damage your house or knock your dog out. Seems tough though.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2026
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Spo509
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 3
Not as good as chuck it anymore
Style: Fetch Balls (Pack of 10), Size: 2.5 inch
I have bought these before and the where just like the chuck it balls. These are not those balls. The are lighter and my dog has already cause damage to one
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Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2026
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Shelley
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 5
Play fetch in the dark! My dog loves these balls!
Size: 2.5in Medium Treat
My dog loves these glow in the dark balls! The squeak is an added bonus! They get glowing very fast, in just seconds, and they bounce erratically making the dog go even more crazy chasing them! They are also indestructible. She is a strong chewer and none of these balls even has a scratch yet.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2026

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