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

By Bob Dolgan

Book Overview

A veteran sportswriter profiles the most interesting Cleveland athletes ever.

It takes all kinds to fill out the sports pages. Heroes, like Jim Brown and Rocky Colavito. Scamps, from "Shoeless" Joe Jackson to Albert Belle. Good guys, like Bernie Kosar and Mark Price. And a few special cases like Gaylord Perry, who were a little bit of each.

Sportswriter Bob Dolgan coverd them all during six decades on the sports beat for The Plain Dealer. This book collects his best short profiles of the most interesting athletes ever to grace the fields, courts, and rinks of Cleveland.

Most of the big names are here. But Dolgan also shares the tales of some special people who deserve to be remembered as more than just a few statistics in a record book. Kevin Rhomberg, for instance, the Indians outfielder best known for his extraordinary superstition about being touched. And Eddie Klep, the only white player in the Negroe Leagues. And jovial Honest Yockim, diminutive denizen of Cleveland's notorious Short Vincent sports gambling scene.

These stories will rekindle memories in any Cleveland sports fan and introduce some remarkable characters from the past who are worth getting to know. Look back on any era, and dozens of wonderfully memorable people stand out, sparkling like diamonds in the grass.

"This book tells the story behind the story in Cleveland sports. You really get to know the players as people." -- WERE AM Radio

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1886228671
• ISBN13: 9781886228672
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Gray & Company Publishers
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Jog Through The Dusty Archives

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.

A grandslam

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

Sports Trip Down Memory Lane

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

A Sports Trip Down Memory Lane

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 o

Heroes,Scamps, and Good Guys

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