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Heroes, Scamps, and Good Guys: 101 Colorful Characters from Cleveland Sports History

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Bob Dolgan's Heroes, Scamps and Good Guys is as much a history of Cleveland over the past six decades as it is a cornucopia of the city's sports memories. The award-winning Plain Dealer sportswriter draws on his long association with the Cleveland sports scene to treat readers to a broad assortment of the best, brightest and most bizarre athletes who have both thrilled and thwarted Forest City sports fans in his lifetime. Dolgan's biographical glimpses into the athletic feats and later lives of some 101 participants in Cleveland's rich sports history range from Dutch Levsen, the last major league pitcher to hurl two complete-game wins in a doubleheader, to Jim Thome, Albert Belle and Mike Hargrove. Along the way Dolgan also introduces such collegiate legends from the Greater Cleveland area as Harrison Dillard and a sprinkling of high school wunderkinds including St. Ignatius's Dave Demko and Benedictine center Mike Medich, a giant in his time at 6'5" who tallied 59 points against West High School one night at the tail end of 1945 to set a new Ohio state scoring record. A deft interviewer, Dolgan is equally at home talking with former Indians infielder Kevin Rhomberg, owner of a raft of weird superstitions that have no doubt daunted many another sportswriter over the years, Boxing Hall of Famer Joey Maxim, "one of only two Clevelanders to win world ring titles," and Barbara Turcotte, the queenly wife of Cleveland harness racing king, Mel Turcotte. Heroes, Scamps and Good Guys, though steeped in the triumphant moments enjoyed by the Browns, Indians, Barons and Cavaliers, is likewise a trove of the heartaches and last-second disappointments that have left Clevelanders without a championship in any major league sport for nearly forty years.

David Nemec

Anyway who has read the Plain Dealer in the last five or six decades is aware of Bob Dolgan, who has written thousands of articles for this daily and continues to enlighten us with stories of our famous and infamous Cleveland area sports heroes.
Although Bob has covered everything from the Indians to horse racing, his most cherished works are his nostalgic looks at the many sports figures who graced our city from all walks of life and in all sports afields.
Capturing articles from 1971-2001 we are brought back to a time where money was not God and most athletes played for the love of the game.
From Jessie Owens to long forgotten baseball characters, Bob's articles got into the heart and soul of the men and women who spent their time showing us their skills in an often frustrating town, with few too many champions.
Anyway who loves sports and enjoys classic black and white photos will relish this fine hardcovered book, which makes us remember once again how many colorful and also very skilled athletes the city of Cleveland has been blessed with. From greats like Tris Speaker, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Lou Boudreau in baseball to characters even from the world of gambling he has hit the mark over the years.
I personally enjoyed stories about my boyhood heroes like Rocky Colavito and Jim Brown, but also enjoyed the likes of the great teams of the late 40's and early 50's.
I highly recomment this publication to anyone who loves Cleveland sports. You will see why Bob Dolgan is a member of the Writers Hall of Fame and has won many other local and national awards for his writing.

Jerry Fitch

Bob Dolgan was a proverbial utility infielder for the sports pages of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer - feature writer, columnist, beat reporter and the editor of several fan-orientated sections - and even had an infamous tiff back-in-the-day with legendary radio sports-talker Pete Franklin.

But it was his last assignments with the struggling daily newspaper - pieces on the rich history of Cleveland sports - that became solid highlights in Dolgan's five-decade-plus career. And this May 2003 release is a jog down memory lane through profiles on 101 athletes.

There are the famous - Jesse Owens, Mark Price - one's whose cup of coffee got cold before their uniforms got dirty and the outright surly, like slugger Albert Belle.

Not just for fans of northeast Ohio sports, Dolgan's biographical sketches can be appreciated by any individual who enjoys excellent sports writing, with a historical twist.

BOB DOLGAN DOES A GREAT JOB GIVING CLEVELAND SPORTS FANS A LOT OF MEMORIES IN THIS BOOK. HE SPENDS ANY WHERE FROM 2-6 PAGES GIVING US AN UPDATE ON MANY ATHLETES IN CLEVELAND HISTORY BOTH PRO AND NO PRO. FROM INDIANS, BROWNS, CAVS AND BARONS PLAYERS FROM 1940'S TO THE 1990'S. HE ALSO COVERS SOME LOCAL BOXERS, COACHES AND TRACK AND FIELD LEGENDS. ALL IN ALL THIS IS A GREAT READ FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FOLLOWED CLEVELAND SPORTS OVER MANY YEARS. MR DOLGAN HAS GIVEN THE READER A PLEATHURA OF GREAT STORIES, MEMORIES, INSIGHTS AND OPINIONS. MR DOLGAN RECENTLY RETIRED FROM BEING A SPORTS WRITER FROM THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER AFTER MANY YEARS OF SOME GREAT COLUMNS. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ALL CLEVELAND SPORTS FANS AND FOR ALL NOSTALGIC READERS.

This lively, pithy account of Indians, Browns, Cavs and other local athletes ALMOST makes the heartache of being a Cleveland sports fan worthwhile. Author and Plain Dealer scribe Bob Dolgan has been a staple of the local sports diet for almost as long as the Tribe has gone without World Series rings. It takes a wise soul and a strong heart to give us new perspective on The Fumble, Red Right 88, 20-Cent Beer Night and what, 83 years later, thankfully remains the only death from an injury sustained in a Major League Baseball game. May Dolgan perservere long enough to pen a second edition about dozens of future Cleveland championships!

A large part of what makes baseball so attractive is that it imitates life. Ear-splitting roars are reserved for stupendous comebacks and tide-turning home runs. Most games proceed, fans like to observe, like Sunday school outings.
Author Bob Dolgan adds another dimension to the game's popularity, as well as well-honed peeks at luster figures of other sports. What he endearingly captures in its quick-reading pages is the person behind the celebrity.
HSGG is a potpourri of 101 short stories on often fascinating, at least talented or simply memorable athletes, mainly ball-and-glovers who wore the wool and spandex of the Cleveland Indians from 1971 to 2001. Some of the headliners reflect the nearly invincible Cleveland Browns of the Paul Brown coaching days while a few found stature clinging to the edges of the sports world covering many venues and situational endeavors.
Warts and all, there is the first big-time Indians free agent, hurler Wayne Garland who, after pocketing a guaranteed ten year, $2.3 million contract, saw his arm go the rotator cuff surgical route even before pitching his first game for his new team. Garland and his wife unwisely spent a large portion of their cash take on a toney mansion in glittery Pepper Pike. So rapidly did they spend their bounty that Wayne eventually had to pump gas to make ends meet.
Sam Rutigliano, who alternately soared and stumbled as coach of the Browns, had as a favorite descriptive of a loss that "eight hundred million Chinese couldn't care less."
Jimmy Piersall, named as among the 100 best Indians of all time, ran backwards around the basepaths once after belting a homer just to bring laughs to the game and wake up the crowd.
Pat Seerey, roly-poly outfielder who played several decades ago when Tribe fortunes dipped near their lowest, seemed to smack a home run or strike out every other time at bat. An atrocious fielder, fans were galvanized by his all-or-nothing swings at any pitch that cut the heart of the plate.
Chief groundskeeper Emil Bossard often did as much from the sidelines to encourage a Cleveland wind as its players on the field. For example, he was a past master at flashing signals from the scoreboard that tipped off home batters as to the kind of pitch coming up next...and seldom was Emil reluctant to slant the third-base line toward foul territory when the opposition boasted astute bunting skills.
Reporter Dolgan, covering all sports for the Cleveland Plain Dealer over the past half century , winning awards along the way, now specializes in writing features soaked in nostalgia. It is seldom enough for him to hang his stories on startling statistics. He pokes about for the argument with the wife that may have preceded and influenced the big game upcoming or be-bops about for the funny happenstance that perhaps triggered a vital play.
With Dolgan, scamps and good guys rank right up there with heroes just as they do for fans in real life sitting on the edge of their seats in a crucial game or leaning back contentedly munching their second hotdog in a "Sunday school" affair and this perhaps is the beauty of the book.
Dolgan's machinations make for a delightful trip down memory lane, a chapter revisited of sports memorabilia a la the Cleveland scene bustling with the gusto and flavor of a bygone past. If you'd like a healthy taste of this time, dig into Dolgan's slice of it.

A large part of what makes baseball so attractive is that it imitates life. Ear-splitting roars are reserved for stupendous comebacks and tide-turning home runs. Most games proceed, fans like to observe, like Sunday school outings.
Author Bob Dolgan adds another dimension to the game's popularity, as well as well-honed peeks at luster figures of other sports. What he endearingly captures in its quick-reading pages is the person behind the celebrity.
HSGG is a potpourri of 101 short stories on often fascinating, at least talented or simply memorable athletes, mainly ball-and-glovers who wore the wool and spandex of the Cleveland Indians from 1971 to 2001. Some of the headliners reflect the nearly invincible Cleveland Browns of the Paul Brown coaching days while a few found stature clinging to the edges of the sports world covering many venues and situational endeavors.
Warts and all, there is the first big-time Indians free agent, hurler Wayne Garland who, after pocketing a guaranteed ten year, $2.3 million contract, saw his arm go the rotator cuff surgical route even before pitching his first game for his new team. Garland and his wife unwisely spent a large portion of their cash take on a toney mansion in glittery Pepper Pike. So rapidly did they spend their bounty that Wayne eventually had to pump gas to make ends meet.
Sam Rutigliano, who alternately soared and stumbled as coach of the Browns, had as a favorite descriptive of a loss that "eight hundred million Chinese couldn't care less."
Jimmy Piersall, named as among the 100 best Indians of all time, ran backwards around the basepaths once after belting a homer just to bring laughs to the game and wake up the crowd.
Pat Seerey, roly-poly outfielder who played several decades ago when Tribe fortunes dipped near their lowest, seemed to smack a home run or strike out every other time at bat. An atrocious fielder, fans were galvanized by his all-or-nothing swings at any pitch that cut the heart of the plate.
Chief groundskeeper Emil Bossard often did as much from the sidelines to encourage a Cleveland win as its players on the field. For example, he was a past master at flashing signals from the scoreboard that tipped off home batters as to the kind of pitch coming up next...and seldom was Emil reluctant to slant the third-base line toward foul territory when the opposition boasted astute bunting skills.
Reporter Dolgan, covering all sports for the Cleveland Plain Dealer over the past half century, winning awards along the way, now specializes in writing features soaked in nostalgia. It is seldom enough for him to hang his stories on startling statistics. He pokes about for the argument with the wife that may have preceded and influenced the big game upcoming or be-bops about for the funny happenstance that perhaps triggered a vital play.
With Dolgan, scamps and good guys rank right up there with heroes just as they do for fans in real life sitting on the edge of their seats in a crucial game or leaning back contentedly munching their second hotdog in a "Sunday school" affair and this perhaps is the beauty of the book.
Dolgan's machinations make for a delightful trip down memory lane, a chapter revisited of sports memorabilia a la the Cleveland scene bustling with the gusto and flavor of a bygone past. If you'd like a healthy taste of this time, dig into Dolgan's slice of it.