Title: Crazy legs McBain
Description: Sports for kids age 10 to 63 (my age) A real plane crash in 1960  + a Walter Mitty fantasy where a young man imagines he is a great college football player spawns this story, which from start to finish is an intense and exciting experience with numerous life lessons this author always included in his sports books. Joe Archibald was a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1960 when the Cal Poly football team was involved in a plane crash in Ohio following a game against Bowling Green. At least one character in the book, which was written in 1962 was an Irish running back name Roger Kelly, who went on to be a very successful high school coach in Central California. The plot, description of the football action, and character development is outstanding and the surprise ending would satisfy even the most hardened critic. Best of my collection of over a hundred juvenile sports books, with the great Claire Bee’s touchdown pass coming in a close second. Heroic Hal McBain gets it done in a story that makes obvious the writer understood all aspects of football strategy, coaching, and reporting, and somehow managed to tie this tragedy to a great work of football fiction.
Subjects: football, college football, juvenile sports fiction
Time periods: 1960’s Midwest America