Joe Niese

Zack Wheat was long considered the greatest player in Dodgers history. The Missouri native parlayed his tenacious work ethic and raw skills into a major league career. For almost two decades, the mild-mannered outfielder was a mainstay for the Dodgers, bringing stability to a team that was at times unhinged. To this day, Wheat is the franchise leader in several batting categories. Greatly respected by his peers and adored by fans, Wheat served as Brooklyn's captain for several years, leading the club to two pennants (1916 and 1920). After his playing days, Wheat found difficulty working his way back into the game and was nearly killed in an automobile accident as a member of the Kansas City police force before finding redemption in election to the Hall of Fame in 1959.

Charles "Gus" Dorais (1891-1954) was the quarterback of Notre Dame's "Dorais to Rockne" tandem that revolutionized football's forward pass. A triple threat prep star from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Dorais was a captain and undefeated four-year starter at Notre Dame, and the school's first consensus All-American in 1913. Over the next four decades, Dorais was a professional player in the pre-NFL days and a college football coach--notably at the University of Detroit--and then head coach of the Detroit Lions. During his career, he tallied more than 150 wins. A pioneer of offensive strategies, Dorais played with and coached against most of the prominent football legends of his time.

Burleigh Grimes--forever to be remembered as the ill-tempered spitballer with the perpetual five o'clock shadow. For nearly two decades, he brought his surly disposition to the pitcher's mound. His life-or-death mentality resulted in a reputation as one of the game's great competitors and a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Along the way he suited up for eight different ball clubs and played alongside a record 36 Hall of Famers. Grimes spent more than half a century in professional baseball as a player, manager, coach and scout. This biography covers all aspects of his life, from his childhood in Clear Lake, Wisconsin, to his twilight years in that same town. In between are World Series highs and lows, brawls, five marriages, a near-death experience and 270 major league victories.