SKU: 74796656875

Bull in the Ring: Football and Faith, Refuge in a Troubled Time

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Bull in the Ring: Football and Faith, Refuge in a Troubled TimeThe thread of the book is an account of the 1970 Missouri large schools high school state football championship my St. Louis University High team won. We were unlikely champions: undersized, not very fast, no home field, high academic standards for admission, half our games against Top 10 teams in the state. We barely qualified for the four team state playoff, we faced the heavily favored title game opponent having won our previous four games by an

The thread of the book is an account of the 1970 Missouri large schools high school state football championship my St. Louis University High team won. We were unlikely champions: undersized, not very fast, no home field, high academic standards for admission, half our games against Top 10 teams in the state. We barely qualified for the four-team state playoff, we faced the heavily favored title game opponent having won our previous four games by an average of just 4.5 points, including a 14-13 victory over our archrival in front of 18,000 people at Busch Stadium. I was a center and linebacker, and one of the team captains.

The story of the book, though, is how football and that championship season became a refuge for my classmates and me, young Baby Boomers whose great but na ve ambition was tempered by the frightening, threatening social turmoil of the late 1960s. The Vietnam War was escalating, the Civil Rights Movement was exploding, college campuses were erupting in protest, and many of us were at war with our parents' generation.

Adding to our drama, our beloved Student Council vice president and classmate was wounded in a robbery attempt on August 1 of 1970, and died two weeks later, the day before our football season workouts began. We devoted our season to him.

I tell this true story from the first person, and through the reminiscences of a handful of the key characters who were central to it, including our legendary head coach Paul Martel, who died in January 2016 at age 91. I conclude the book with reflections of what that season and accomplishment meant to us, particularly as we now face the final quarter of our lives. Educated by Jesuit priests, who challenged us to question, to commit to something, and to act, we pulled together in common purpose, at least for that season. Most of us were buoyed by our belief in each other, and by our faith in God. And, at least for me, I experienced life lessons that proved invaluable for what I was to become: a daily newspaper sportswriter and columnist, then a business executive, husband and father.

  1. true sports stories such as Remember the Titans, Hoosiers, Friday Night Lights, and One Shot at Forever (the story of the small-school Macon, Illinois baseball team that finished second in the 1971 Illinois baseball tournament), offer drama beyond the tension of high school competition on the fields and courts. This story provides plenty for an avid sports fan. But it, too, offers much more. I suspect Baby Boomers around the country, and readers of all ages, can relate to the way dreams evolve, become compromised or rationalized, and come to rest. And how hard-earned accomplishments, especially those boosted by the kind hand of an unseen power, provide meaning and comfort as we reflect on the impact we have made on the world.

Among the characters: our best player, an earnest and unselfish athlete who had his best game in the state championship; our only African-American teammate, whose parents moved him to St. Louis to distance him from the racial turmoil in central Alabama in the mid-1960s; our biggest player, a character seemingly straight from Clair Bee's Chip Hilton stories; our quarterback, a free-spirited genius who exasperated the coaches but pulled off heroic plays; an under-sized defensive end seemingly possessed by the spirit of his cherished older brother killed in Vietnam; and our Student Council secretary, an African-American who challenged us to confront society's racial issues and later revealed he is gay.



Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Jala Publishing
Published: 08/15/2017
ISBN: 9780999247709
Pages: 288
Weight: 0.94lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.65d
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SKU: 74796656875

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coffeeandcode
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I chose this room divider to use in my son's room that also serves as my home office! It is 72" x 72" in size, so it truly blocks out the other side of the room for optimal privacy. Once it's assembled, it's mildly sturdy - as long as you can bet both ends with the "feet" in line with the ground. I wish that the framework poles had more of an interlocking system so that the divider was easier to erect. I assembled this on carpet, so I had some issues getting the divider to stop moving. It takes a lot of work to set up, as it is massive, so definitely have someone help you. I would suggest adding weights of some sort to the feet of this divider to keep it from shifting. I ended up leaning mine against a bookcase shelf so it wouldn't lean. All and all, this is a great product if you are looking to make a room multipurpose.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2025
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John Grey
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As described
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Light weight, easy to put together and you can disconnect the ends and just roll the whole thing nice and tight for quick out of the way storage. Pretty sturdy, doesn't fall over if you bump into it, you could use it outside but if there's a lot of light you can see through a tiny bit if you're really close but I only tested this indoors so not sure about patio types
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Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2025
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Amyth4
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Flimsy - choose something else
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Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2025
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I picked up this Siebwin 3-panel folding room divider mainly for privacy and room separation, and overall it works very well. Assembly is very straightforward, and the divider can be set up, taken apart, and stored without much effort. The fabric quality feels good, and the frame construction is stronger and more stable than expected. The support tubes especially feel well built and help keep the divider standing securely. One feature I really liked is the flexibility of the design. The panels can be used together as a complete divider or separated depending on the setup and available space. That makes it much more versatile for different room layouts or temporary privacy needs. The coverage is also very good, and the size matches the manufacturer’s description accurately. The fabric blocks light and background visibility well enough to provide solid privacy without feeling overly heavy. The wider feet also help improve stability compared to thinner folding dividers. Another positive detail is that everything arrived complete with no missing parts or damaged pieces, which made assembly much easier and faster. Compared to cheaper privacy screens, this one feels more durable and easier to customize depending on the situation. In terms of value for the money, it feels like a very practical and worthwhile purchase considering the size, flexibility, and build quality. Overall, a versatile and well-built room divider with easy assembly, strong privacy coverage, stable construction, complete included parts, flexible panel configuration, and excellent everyday functionality.
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