Featuring hundreds of gems that delight the eye as well as the heart, Drawing a Crowd brings together the best of the work of distinguished New York Daily News cartoonist Bill Gallo. Laugh, ponder, even shed a tear as Bill, Basement Bertha, Yuchie, and the rest of the Gallo cast of characters relive the most memorable sports moments of the past forty years and share some little-known things about some very well-known people. Here, youll experience the magnificence of a Michael Jordan and the reticence of a Sandy Koufax, the fury of a Vince Lombardi and the dignity of an Arthur Ashe, the grace of a Nancy Kerrigan and the majesty of a Sugar Ray Robinson. In Drawing a Crowd, youll also come to know the personal Gallo: the eleven-year-old who suddenly lost a father; the resilient young man who landed a job as a News copyboy; the Marine who saw comrades fall on the black sands of Iwo Jima; the gentlemans gentleman who has earned the respect and friendship of the greats of our time. A voice of calm in a world of hype, Bill knows that the game is not about winning but about competing; that competing is not about thrashing ones opponent but about doing ones absolute best; that being a star athlete is not about amassing megabucks but about setting an example for our kids. No wonder, then, that Pete Hamill, in the foreword to Drawing a Crowd, writes: Bill Gallo is Bill Gallo and there will never be another Bill Gallo.
Peppered with the artists unique perspective, good-natured wit, and reminiscences on everyone from Ali to Joe D, Sinatra to Stengel, Torre to Trump, Broadway Joe to Johnny U, Drawing a Crowd demonstrates why Bill Gallo, long a New York secret, is truly a national treasure.
