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If you remember the Kardiac Kids ... the Dawgs ... the old Stadium ... Bernie and Marty and Ozzie ... this book is for you!
Like a Classic throwback jersey, it recalls favorite players and exciting moments from Cleveland Browns teams of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and more.
They played it old-school.
Doug Dieken set the NFL record for consecutive starts by a left tackle despite three knee surgeries, broken hands and thumbs, torn tendons, a broken arm and a concussion or two. Maybe four or six. Hard to know.
Ozzie Newsome never expected to play tight end when he was drafted, then practically reinvented the position on his way to the Hall of Fame.
Bernie Kosar carried a massive weight on his young shoulders as a hometown hero leading the Browns during years when the team offered a ray of hope to a downtrodden city.
Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack together formed one powerhouse backfield and separately dealt admirably with adversity.
Phil Dawson discovered that despite popularity and longevity, Every kick could be your last.
Also includes Gregg Pruitt, Brian Sipe, Marty Schottenheimer, Reggie Langhorne, Brian Brennan, Bill Belichick, Tim Couch, Phil Dawson, and others.
These insightful short profiles will entertain Browns fans of any vintage!
The Arena and the Coliseum are long gone ... but they left behind some great Cavs stories
The Cleveland Arena is long gone. It was dark and decrepit, yet it generated some special memories--as the birthplace of the Cavaliers.
The Richfield Coliseum, once a palace on the prairie, is now just a field of grass. Yet fans can vividly recall how it shook to a deafening roar during so many thrilling moments--from the Miracle to the Shot.
The Cavs teams that played there from 1970 to the 1990s weren't great--although some were very, very good. Yet they featured players and coaches still cherished by fans for their talent, character or style ...
Austin Carr, the team's first star--Mr. Cavalier. World B. Free, who arrived via helicopter to save a boring, failing franchise with his sense of humor and 3-point shot. Hot Rod Williams overcame scandal to play nine seasons and used his huge heart to change lives. Mark Price, one of the best outside shooters in NBA history, inspired postgame crowds with his message of faith. Bill Fitch planned the Cavs' first draft using bubblegum cards. Lenny Wilkens coached his teams to the brink of greatness, only to run into Michael Jordan again and again.
The Cleveland Cavaliers of that era come to life in this book. It's a warm, personal history by a veteran sportswriter who was there--first as a young fan and later as an NBA beat reporter.
If you were there, too, these stories will take you back to vintage Cavs moments--and also share details you haven't heard before. If you weren't, this is an entertaining introduction to a bygone era.
Terry Pluto's Faith and You columns remind me that no matter the struggle we face, we are never alone. -- Neil O.
From Terry Pluto ...
Faith writing is not a part of my job description. I do it because I believe God opened an amazing door in a major media outlet for stories such as the ones in this book. These are some of my favorite Faith and You columns from The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com, stories many readers responded to.
This is not a religion column. I don't write about hot-button issues.
I write about everyday faith, like dealing with family mess such as troubled adult children or an addict in the family. Coping with cancer. Coping with strokes. Loneliness. The death of a loved one. Dealing with life in a nursing home. These are my topics, events that impact a lot more people than the culture war issues that dominate the news.
My column has more questions than answers sometimes, and often the answers come from someone other than me. Just like in real life.
From Readers ...
Terry is a wonderful sportswriter, but his faith columns are truly inspired. They always make me think about how I can be a better person. -- Elliot T.
I love how Terry connects 'lived' faith with everyday life using real life stories. -- Mary D.
Terry connects with readers and uses real examples about how to live our faith instead of just preaching about it. -- Jason M.
From their return in 1999 through the winless 2017 season, the Cleveland Browns had the worst record in the NFL. And their fans had ulcers.
Now, veteran sports columnist Terry Pluto explains why everything kept going wrong. This detailed report on two decades of disappointment takes a behind-the-scenes look at upheaval in the front office, frustration on the field, and headaches and heartache in the stands.
His earlier book False Start: How the New Browns Were Set Up to Fail told how the NFL hamstrung the new franchise. Who could have predicted the limping would last 19 years? This book picks up the story.
Season after season began with hope in spring for the NFL draft (the Browns' version of the Super Bowl, a fan called it) ... often a new coach or GM or quarterback (or all three) ... then the losses ... and back to rebuilding.
Pluto reviews all the major moves--draft choices and deals, hiring and firing and reshuffling--and the results. If you're a Browns fan who wants to understand what went wrong with your team, this is the place to start.
Includes heartfelt and humorous opinions contributed by fans.
Relive the most thrilling seasons of Cleveland Indians baseball in recent memory!
Remember the excitement of those first years at Jacobs Field? When it seemed the Indians could find a way to win almost any game? When screaming fans rocked the jam-packed stands every night? When a brash young team snapped a forty-year slump and electrified the city?
Those weren't baseball seasons, they were year-long celebrations.
Step back into the glory days with sportswriter Terry Pluto and broadcaster Tom Hamilton as they share behind-the-scenes stories about a team with all-stars at nearly every position ... a sparkling new ballpark ... wild comeback victories ... a record sellout streak ... two trips to the World Series ... and a city crazed with Indians fever.
Revisit baseball's most fearsome lineup: Albert Belle's mighty swing and ferocious glare ... Jim Thome's moon-shot home runs ... Omar Vizquel's poetry-in-motion play at shortstop ... Kenny Lofton's exhilarating baserunning and over-the-wall catches ...
These two Cleveland baseball veterans were there for it all. Now, they combine firsthand experience and in-depth player interviews to tell a rich, detailed story that Tribe fans will love.
Sometimes I wish my minister would read his column instead of the sermon
That's the kind of response Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto draws from devoted readers of his faith column. Although best known as an award-winning sportswriter, Pluto has also earned a reputation--and a growing audience--for his down-to-earth musings on more spiritual subjects.
This followup to his first collection, Everyday Faith, offers 28 all-new thoughtful essays on faith in everyday life--practical topics such as choosing a church, lending money to friends, dealing with jerks, sharing your faith, visiting the sick, even planning a funeral.
Perhaps it's because Pluto doesn't claim to have the answers that so many readers are drawn to his writing.
Real faith writing should be about real life, Pluto says. I write as much about my failures as my triumphs, because that is what a life of faith is about. It's often as much suffering as celebration, with lots of mundane, everyday stuff in between. I write for people who may have been hurt by someone in church, people who have been discouraged by one who claimed to speak for God ... I write for people who have found contentment in their faith but want a deeper relationship with God.
A book] NFL fans in general and Browns' fans in particular will definitely want to read ... a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at how the new Browns were created and what's kept them from making the progress everyone expected. -- Houston Chronicle
Your team never had a chance.
Terry Pluto, one of Cleveland's top sportswriters, takes a hard look at the unhappy beginnings of the new Cleveland Browns franchise. This book chronicles the backroom deals, big-money power plays, poor decisions, and plain bad luck that have dogged the venerable team since Art Modell skipped town in 1995.
When the new Cleveland Browns took the field in 1999, it was supposed to be the dawn of a grand new era of football in Cleveland. Instead, it was a rude wakeup call.
Legions of loyal fans--once heartsick, abandoned, and disgusted at the loss of their team in 1995--were ready to forgive the past and embrace the future ... a new owner, a new team, a new stadium. They just wanted their Browns back. But it soon became clear: Browns fans got a bum deal. The NFL had traded one of the most storied teams in football history for a franchise mired in mediocrity.
These fans, after owner Art Modell skipped town with their beloved Browns, became the only fans ever to take on the NFL, demand their team back--and win. Yet while they were celebrating the supposed victory that kept our name, our colors, our team in Cleveland, fans should have been looking over their shoulders and keeping a close watch on the NFL. There would be few reasons to celebrate in the years to come.
How much longer would they have to wait for a return to glory? Pluto sifts through the clues and looks for answers. This is a book the NFL does not want you to read.
Here's a question for any Browns fan: Why?
Why, more than four long decades after your team's last championship . . . despite a relentless pattern of heartbreak, teasing, and more heartbreak . . . capped with a decade of utter futility . . . do you still stick with the Cleveland Browns?
Veteran sportswriter Terry Pluto gets a daily barrage of email from fans letting their hearts bleed out orange and brown. So he decided to ask his readers: Just what is it about this team that makes you love them, hate them, and still keep coming back for more?
A thousand fans responded--in detail. Their stories--along with interviews with former players and Pluto's own expert analysis--deliver the answer. Answers, actually. Because like any intense relationship, it's a little complicated . . .
Covering the Browns from 1964 through present day, this book does for Cleveland football what Pluto's classic about the Indians, The Curse of Rocky Colavito, did for Cleveland baseball: It won't make the pain go away, but it might help you remember why it's worth enduring.
This epic homecoming tale recounts one of the greatest Cleveland sports stories ever--how LeBron James and the Cavaliers took fans on a roller coaster ride from despair to hope and, finally, to glory as the 2016 NBA champions.
Fans felt gut-punched in 2010 when local hero and MVP LeBron James announced he was leaving the Cavaliers and Northeast Ohio for Miami. The Cavs nose-dived in the standings and struggled to recover.
Then, in June 2014, LeBron announced he was coming home. And he had a mission: Lead the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals and give Cleveland its first championship in 52 years.
But would LeBron's return be enough to restore his reputation, revive the franchise, and reward the long-suffering fans?
Veteran Cleveland sportswriter Terry Pluto tells how it all happened.
How LeBron won back fans with a heartfelt message--and savvy PR ...
How the Cavs' front office crafted a championship-caliber team with a big three of James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love and a bench stocked not only with talent but character and chemistry ...
How LeBron's added experience from four seasons and two titles in Miami prepared him for this second chance in Cleveland ...
How the Cavaliers reached the 2016 NBA Finals to face a Golden State Warriors team, led by MVP Stephen Curry, that had just set the NBA record for wins and had vanquished the Cavs in the Finals the previous season ...
How LeBron and the Cavs, down a historically hopeless three games to one, sparked an unprecedented come-from-behind surge (symbolized by LeBron's superhuman block in Game 7) to stun Golden State and bring home the NBA Championship ...
And how the ecstatic fans joined the team in a joyful celebration that brought more than a million people together in downtown Cleveland.
Pluto tells it all with insightful analysis, extensive front-office details, and a deep empathy for the fans.
The inspiring story of Cleveland's champions: The 1964 Cleveland Browns.
A nostalgic look back at the remarkable story of the upstart AFC Cleveland Browns' surprise championship victory over the hugely favored Baltimore Colts in 1964. Sportswriter Terry Pluto profiles the colorful players who made that season so memorable. He takes us through the entire 1964 season from training camp at Hiram College to the championship game in Municipal Stadium. Along the way he recreates an era and a team for which pride was not just a slogan.
They were a team of men in the truest sense of the words, men who didn't expect to be coddled, men who didn't believe the world should genuflect at the mere mention of their names. They had the greatest running back in the history of football, and a coach who wore a hearing aid. Their quarterback had a Ph.D. in math. They had a defensive end who was a preacher, and a halfback who became a millionaire. Together, they won it all.
Back before Free Agency, before shoe contracts and end zone dances, football was a tough game played by men who loved it. They had real jobs in the off season, as insurance salesmen or manufacturers' representatives, and they lived in the community where they played. They were grateful to the fans for their support and believed that nothing they accomplished was important unless the team won.
A beautiful, absolutely unforgettable memoir. -- Booklist
A son, a father, a baseball team ... This remarkable baseball memoir will touch the heart of any baseball fan who has ever shared a love for the game with a parent or child.
Award-winning sportswriter Terry Pluto (The Curse of Rocky Colavito) tells the story of a son and a father and the relationship they shared through their resilient devotion to one particularly frustrating baseball team, the Cleveland Indians (who always seemed to need just one more run to win).
The story includes the joys and struggles of growing older together, of coping with a sick parent, and, finally, of burying the man who indelibly shaped his son's life. It also includes a lively history of the Cleveland Indians franchise, full of personal recollections about remarkable players and memorable moments from seasons past.
For so many people, baseball remains an important bridge across generations, sometimes the only topic of conversation when all other topics seem threatening. Absorbing his father's love for the game, and their team, Pluto grew to understand and respect the often distant man who allowed himself few pleasures besides baseball in a life built around laboring to provide for his family. This book celebrates our ability to make that connection through baseball.
It is a heartfelt, memorable tale.
More from the sportswriter who writes about faith ...
Here's a second helping of Terry Pluto's plain and personal musings on topics we all face in everyday life: insults and what they really mean, prayers that don't seem to get answered, endless sibling rivalry, figuring out how to relate to our fathers ...
My goal is not to convert anyone reading the paper, Terry writes. It is to make them think, and to bring some comfort. I write for people who are struggling with faith, or people in pain--physical or emotional. My job is to give them a voice, and to talk about the kind of faith we need to get through what life throws at us each day.
Terry writes for people who aren't always confident in their beliefs but know faith is still important to them ... For people who sometimes get mad at their church or disagree with their pastor yet don't want to lose the spiritual side of their lives ... For people of different faiths or backgrounds or who aren't even sure they're religious. These essays don't claim to have all the answers. But the questions they raise give readers something to think about all week.
An in-depth look at how a team and a city were rebuilt around LeBron James ...
When the Cleveland Cavaliers drew the top pick in the 2003 NBA draft, the entire city buzzed with excitement. How often does a superstar come along? Especially for Cleveland, a midmarket Rust Belt city without a sports championship in forty years. Especially for the Cavaliers, a long-struggling team that had never reached the NBA finals.
Soon, everyone had something riding on LeBron: a billionaire team owner wanting a return on his investment ... teammates eager for a championship ring ... the league looking for the next Michael Jordan to promote ... the shoe company with its record-breaking endorsement deal ... even popcorn vendors in the stands of Quicken Loans Arena and servers waiting tables at downtown restaurants.
Award-winning sports journalists Terry Pluto and Brian Windhorst tell the converging stories of a struggling franchise and a hometown teenage phenom. This book will fascinate any basketball fan who wants the inside story of how LeBron James became the young superstar shouldering the weight of an entire NBA franchise.
The year's funniest and most insightful baseball book. -- Chicago Tribune
A classic look at those years of baseball futility and frustration that make the rare taste of success so much sweeter.
Any team can have an off-decade. But three in a row? Only in Cleveland. No sports fans suffered more miserable teams for more seasons than Indians fans of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. Terry Pluto takes a fond and often humorous look at the bad old days of the Tribe and finds plenty of great stories for fans to commiserate with.
Other teams lose players to injuries; the Indians lost them to alcoholism (Sam McDowell), a nervous breakdown (Tony Horton), and the pro golf tour (Ken Harrelson). They even had to trade young Dennis Eckersley (a future Hall-of-Famer) because his wife fell in love with his best friend and teammate.
Pluto profiles the men who made the Indians what they were, for better or worse, including Gabe Paul, the underfunded and overmatched general manager; Herb Score, the much-loved master of malaprops in the broadcast booth; Andre Thornton, who weathered personal tragedies and stood as one of the few hitting stalwarts on some terrible teams; and Super Joe Charboneau, who blazed across the American League as a rookie but flamed out the following season.
Long-suffering Indians fans finally got an exciting, star-studded, winning team in the second half of the 1990s. But this book still stands as the definitive story of that generation of Tribe fans--and a great piece of sports history writing.
An easy, fun book to read and will surely bring back good memories for Cleveland sports fans who listened to Tait's trademark calls since 1970. -- 20SecondTimeout.com
Joe Tait became like a family friend to three generations of Cleveland sports fans. This book celebrates his Hall-of-Fame broadcasting career with stories from Joe and dozens of fans, media colleagues, and players.
He was the Voice of the Cleveland Cavaliers. But to fans, Joe was also one of us. Cavs basketball, Indians baseball, or Mount Union football, he made the game come alive, and wasn't afraid to speak his mind--even when it might get him in trouble with the coach or the owner.
In high school, Joe loved sports but wasn't always good enough to make the team. Then he discovered play-by-play announcing. Combining two passions, he began to carefully build a broadcasting career that would eventually touch the lives of countless other sports fans.
Pluto weaves a roughly chronological narrative that hits the highlights of a long career. It also uncovers some touching personal details. For example, one chapter describes how Joe's father, a stern man with a deep-rooted distrust of black people, came to become good friends with Cavaliers center Nate Thurmond, to Joe's surprise and delight.
With fans, Joe was often more popular than the players on the court--especially during the Cavs' dimmer days. When notoriously incompetent team owner Ted Stepien fired Joe in the 1980s, fans protested and staged a rally in his honor. When new owner Gordon Gund took over the team, the first thing did was hire Joe back. He is the franchise, Gund said. To have a basketball team in Cleveland, you have to have Joe Tait.
His work inspired a generation of young broadcasters. Language he invented became part of the common broadcast language in Northeast Ohio. Left to right on your radio dial ... Wham, with the right hand ... It's a beautiful day for baseball! ... To the line, to the lane ...
The stories in this book will make fans feel like they're sitting alongside Joe enjoying a play-by-play recap of the remarkable career they shared together.
