Fifteen-year-old runaway Hank Cobb hops a freight and discovers Chief Sunrise, "the greatest Indian to ever step on a baseball diamond." At least that's what he says. Chief is determined to try out for John McGraw, famed manager of the 1919 New York Giants, and baseball-crazy Hank decides to tag along. The pair's adventures take them from a dusty baseball lot in Gainesville, Florida, to New York City's famed Polo Grounds, where they track down the great John McGraw, and Chief gets his chance to play in the big leagues. Hank becomes team mascot and ball boy. Most days Hank can't stop smiling, but he still has nightmares about his abusive old man, and Chief seems to be hiding something. A startling climax during an exhibition game at Sing Sing Prison changes everything for Hank and Chief. Rich in period detail, Chief Sunrise, John McGraw, and Me captures all the personalities and excitement that defined baseball in the era of Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson.
A resident of New York's Hudson Valley, Timothy Tocher is the author of 4 novels and 1 nonfiction book for middle grade and YA readers. His poetry and short stories appear in many magazines and anthologies. A former teacher, Timothy enjoys visiting schools, libraries and conferences.
ODD BALL: HILARIOUS, UNUSUAL, AND BIZARRE BASEBALL MOMENTS (Marshall Cavendish, 2011) presents some of the oddest and most amusing incidents in baseball's long history using black and white comic strips drawn by the talented Stacy Curtis.
CHIEF SUNRISE, JOHN MCGRAW, AND ME (Cricket Books, 2004) was named a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association. The sequel, BILL PENNANT, BABE RUTH, AND ME (Cricket Books, 2009) received a starred Kirkus review. Newbery Award winning author Richard Peck called it, "Heart speeding history at its finest," in his cover blurb.
LONG SHOT and PLAYING FOR PRIDE (Meadowbrook Press, 2001 and 2002)feature Laurie Bird Preston, a middle school girl who loves to compete in sports. Living in a single parent household, Laurie struggles to match her success in athletics in the other facets of her life.
