Author Dave Fleming talks with the Coal Region Voice

Short Q and A with Dave Fleming author of "Breaker Boys: The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship".

1.) Since the book's release in October, what has been the biggest surprise since that time? The letter received from President Bush?

ANSWER

I was shocked and thrilled by the letter from the president but the biggest surprise has been the level of emotion and commitment the coal region has for the Maroons. I knew people were interested in the story and were connected to the team but I had no idea just how strong a symbol the team has become for the region. Not just the success of the team but, I think, the lack of recognition and respect for the Maroons is a metaphor for the entire region. I was shocked at how many people just broke down trying to explain what the Maroons meant to them. To be even a small part of this team, this region and this fight is a great honor.

2.) Before beginning your research on the book, what are some of the things that surprised you about Pottsville and the Anthracite Region.

ANSWER

I alluded to this a bit in No. 1 but, I confess, I didn't have the proper respect for coal mining, the important roll it played in the development of the world and the men who fueled the world one fistful of coal at a time. The best advice I got before sitting down to write the book was to go down into a mine to get perspective on these men and this region and I think the first 75 pages of the book truly shows how much I was moved by that experience. After that the town and the times really became characters in the book.

3.) Do you think the Anthracite Region had a bigger part in shaping the NFL than just the Maroon's contribution?

ANSWER

The last stat I read said that something like 23 NFL Hall of Famers were from Pennsylvania and that five players who have played in the Super Bowl have connections to Pottsville. It's not a coincidence that this proud, rugged region has always been a go-to spot for college football recruiters. Pennsylvania is the birthplace of pro football and I know western PA has gotten a lot of attention and credit but the Maroons were first--and probably best. You only need to attend a PAHS football game to understand how special football is in this region. (I've been to two and the Tide is 2-0 in those games, by the way.)

4.) You will be attending the Super Bowl between the Giants and Patriots. What was the first Super Bowl that you attended?

ANSWER

Actually, it was 12 years ago at the last Super Bowl in Phoenix. I watched a fan bury himself in horse manure to try and win Super Bowl tickets and I haven't found a better metaphor, yet, for the unbelievable hype of the game.

5.) Has there been any big changes from when you first attended?

ANSWER

It's funny, when I first started people were desperate for even a close game. I remember sitting in the Georgia Dome watching the final minutes of the Titans-Rams unfold and just watching with my mouth wide open at the great finish. There is so much hype leading up to the game (to which I certainly contribute) and there's no worse feeling after all that to sit through a boring blowout. The other really big change is that when I switched from Sports Illustrated to ESPN I started getting invited to the Playboy Super Bowl Party. Talk about a life changing event!

6.) Why have the last few Super Bowl's been the most competitive?

ANSWER

The contrasting economic forces of free agency and the salary cap have created a level of parity in the NFL that is reflected in the Super Bowl. (Wow, that answer sounded like the debate scene from Old School when Will Ferrell blacks out for a second. Sorry.)

7.) If you could be NFL Commissioner for one day, what would change?

ANSWER

After I delivered the 1925 NFL championship trophy to City Hall in Pottsville, had lunch with Jim Brown and convinced the Arizona Cardinals to hire Matt Millen as their lifetime GM, I would look into shrinking the schedule and expanding team rosters. Following the league up close I'm disturbed by the amount of injuries in the league--not just the crippling, long-term effect it has on players but the way it's watering down the product--you don't want a league where injuries (and a lack of talent depth) becomes more important than skill and preparation.

8.) Thank you very much for taking the time for the Q and A.

ANSWER

My pleasure. The fact that Breaker Boys has been out for four months and people are still talking about the book, the team and the cause is really a tribute to the grass roots efforts of so many Maroons fans and bloggers like yourself who have tirelessly spread the word. Every day I hear from someone who knows someone who knows someone from Schuylkill County--I swear. It's something I call Maroons Magic. Ya know, I really think we've turned a very, very important corner in the fight. I have had to fight for coverage of the team and the book for a long time and this past week, without any prompting, papers in Chicago, Allentown and Lebanon called wanting to do stories, the book will be in two straight issues of ESPN The Magazine, I just did a segment on Comcast Network and HBO is also putting something together. All of your efforts are paying off and I am deeply indebted to all Maroons fans.

HBO was in Pottsville to interview Kevin Keating and Jack Dolbin for an upcoming NFL special to air on January 30th.

The interview is crossposted at the Save the Maroons Blog.

All I Want for Christmas is Jim Roth!!!!

In a letter to the editor published in the Daily-Item on December 17th, the writer wants Shikellamy to return to the Braves pre-1984. Here is the letter:

Waiting patiently

Once a upon a time, great teams froms schools like Carlisle, Governor Mifflin, Hazleton, Berwick Pottsville and Mount Carmel would come into our area to play an SHS team with a bruising running game and slick quarterbacks who had the Wing-T offense down to a science. More often than not, the games were played before crowds that were packed 10 deep in the end zone. SHS was victorious or at least competitive against all of them. Believe it or not, the SHS was not Selinsgrove.
Suddenly in 1984, a curse descended upon the Shikellamy football program. For over two decades now, Friday nights during football season have become 48 minutes of anguish and dashed hopes for the players and fans alike. Every season begins with guarded optimism only to culminate on a November night with tears of frustration and longing for that breakout season, which never comes.
There are many talented and eager young men in the Shikellamy football program who do have the desire and dedication to win. Please, Jim Roth, return home to your alma mater and start these young men on that magic carpet ride that Southern Columbia has enjoyed for so many seasons. Shikellamy players and fans have been waiting patiently for a very long time.

Robert Sowers,
Sunbury

Joe Klebon

Look for Joe Klebon to get his 500th win as a basketball coach for an additional Christmas present during the annual Shamokin K of C tournament.

Villanova gets credit for Eagles' win

Philadelphia coach Andy Reid credited Michael Westbrook's stop at the goal line on Sunday as a credit to his "Villanova Education". My wife and Father Peter Donahue will like the reference.

Bush loves Breaker Boys

I know what your thinking but author Dave Fleming has received a hand-written note from the White House. Read the Republican's account below.

‘Breaker Boys’ author surprised by hand-written note from White House
BY STEPHEN J. PYTAKSTAFF WRITERspytak@republicanherald.com
12/19/2007

President Bush called David Fleming’s book on the 1925 Pottsville Maroons “illuminating” in a surprise hand-written letter to the author dated Dec. 12 and delivered Tuesday.

“I just finished ‘Breaker Boys.’ You were correct. I did enjoy the book. You are a fine writer. And your history of the Maroons was illuminating,” Bush said in the letter sent to Fleming’s Davidson, N.C., home.

After opening it Tuesday morning, the author said he found the “rather thoughtful” letter in blue pen on White House letterhead.“The way this book has gone so far, nothing surprises me anymore,” said Fleming, a writer for ESPN: The Magazine who was greeted by long lines and signed thousands of copies of “Breaker Boys: The NFL’s Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship,” while promoting the book in Pottsville in October and earlier this month.

Fleming started an online petition Oct. 16 to encourage the NFL owners to return the 1925 championship to the legendary team. It’s received a total of 10,275 signatures as of 11 p.m. Tuesday.

He said the president’s comments will become “more ammunition for supporters. If people run across a skeptic, or somebody who just wants to say ‘it’s 82 years ago, let’s let it go,’ it’s pretty nice to say to the commissioner of the NFL ‘the president of the United States begs to differ.”

The president’s letter impressed Mayor John D.W. Reiley.

“How about that. It shows that the book’s getting around, from the streets of little ol’ Pottsville all the way up to the White House. And I think the president’s comments are pretty consistent with what other people are saying about the book. All the comments are favorable,” Reiley said.

Alex Conant, a White House spokesman, said Bush is a “voracious reader.”“He reads a lot of books. And typically the White House doesn’t do book and movie reviews, but I will check out to see if I can find out anything more about this letter,” Conant said.

No further comment was made by late Tuesday.

“Somebody from the White House had contacted ESPN looking for my address. So I felt something was going on, but I was expecting like a stamped photo, not expecting a hand-written note that he had actually read it and enjoyed it,” Fleming said.

Fleming said he isn’t sure how the president received a copy of the book, but believes it was sent by someone who attended a book signing in Pottsville.“I remember the first time I was in Pottsville, somebody in one of the long lines had me sign a copy for him. And they explained that either they worked in D.C. or knew somebody who worked in D.C., I don’t remember exactly who it was. But my guess is that’s how it got to him,” Fleming said.

Reiley said he does not know who sent the book to the president, though City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar thought it could be U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III, a Pottsville native.

But when contacted in Harrisburg Tuesday, Jones said it wasn’t him.

The president ended his letter to Fleming stating: “I appreciate having an inscribed copy of the book. With best wishes, George Bush.”

Maroons Week Comes to an End

GREAT INTERVIEW

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of interviewing ESPN the Magazine's columnist and author Dave Fleming about his book titled Breaker Boys: The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship. The interview can be heard by clinking the link and putting the cursor to about 1 hour and 50 minutes into the broadcast. We would like to thank Fleming and Pottsville AD John Carestia for helping to organize the interview on game night.


Dave Fleming plans on returning to the area before the end of the year to have more book signings due to the overwhelming response of Breaker Boys Maroons Week.


Here is the petition to sign for the Maroons so they can take their case to the NFL again.

RUNNING IT UP?

It was interesting to watch the end of the Pottsville-Shamokin game on Friday. When Pottsville was whistled for delay of game with one second left, the Tide chose to stay in punt formation and scored on a 60-yard run by junior Josh Poda. Pottsville had the physical game in hand 39-28 at that point.

Pottsville's Kevin Keating indicated to one reporter that Poda's instructions were to take the snap, run out the clock and take a knee. The report never made it into print. There was some speculation going back to the 1992 game involving the same coaching staff from Shamokin. Due to not being there at the time and only knowing some specifics, I will not describe. However, the series came to halt for a few years and Shamokin opened up the head coaching job after the season.

Unfortunately, the long coal region rivalry ends this year with Shamokin entering the Heartland Conference next year.

DESPERATION BREEDS INNOVATION

With Shamokin down 20-0 and not going anywhere, the Indians came out with a five receiver set and no one in the backfield. Shamokin ran "diamond" quads to one side and were successful in the passing game. Pottsville took most of the second half trying to adjust to the formation.



Shamokins opponents are 29-13 on the season while the Indians are 6-20 since defeating Southern on opening night in 2005.

THE LOURDES STORY

There is speculation on whether Lourdes will enter District playoffs with a 6-1 record after week number 7. Lourdes is in a Catch-22 situation with 24 boys on the team and with soccer and golf as competing fall sports. The good news is that Red Raiders have started with 24 and still have 24 and that is in grades 9 through 12. The last I heard there are only seven boys in the junior class.


When Lourdes goes anything below 9-1 or 10-0 no one says a thing. The Red Raiders are on a 9-1 pace and could possibly take out a team that finishes 8-2 in District IV "A". As of last Friday, Lourdes were a few points behind Line Mountain, Southern, Bloomsburg and Canton. Line Mountain is still undefeated and the rest have one loss. If Lourdes declares Districts, everyone is on the bandstand that the Red Raider's schedule is bad. If the Red Raiders opt for Eastern Conference.......well they are ducking the competition.


The real story is that 24 students started the season playing for Lourdes and 24 students are still playing and hoping to win their conference and a playoff game whether it is in Districts or Eastern Conference. Since the print media did not cover the Lourdes declaration to the District committee on Monday, I will try to interview head coach Mike Klembara this week.

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA

Southern Columbia overcame a big hurdle this past weekend with a big win at home over undefeated Loyalsock. For all intent and purpose, this was a playoff game for the Tigers. The Tigers are in a dogfight with Line Mountain, Bloomsburg, and Canton for seeding. Line Mountain has a week 10 game left with Millersburg. Bloomsburg has three tough ones with Lewisburg, Loyalsock and Williams Valley. Canton plays Muncy and Troy which may be tough games for the Warriors. Southern should be favored against Clarion, Central and Danville. The Ironmen were a surprise early, but seem to be fading.

The Tigers look to be a strong candidate for the second seed and depending on what happens with Line Mountain a contender for the number one seed which should be the best field in District IV "A" ever. With tough games against Shamokin, Mount Carmel, Bloomsburg (though a loss) and Loyalsock, the 2007 version of the Tigers are battle tested going into the favorite time of the year, week 11.

SHAMOKIN 2008 SCHEDULE

Sat 08/30/2008 Away SOUTHERN COLUMBIA H. S. 7:00PM

Fri 09/05/2008 Home MOUNT CARMEL H.S. 7:00PM

Fri 09/12/2008 Away Central Columbia 7:00PM

Fri 09/19/2008 Away SHIKELLAMY HIGH SCHOOL 7:00PM

Fri 09/26/2008 Home DANVILLE AREA H.S. 7:00PM

Fri 10/03/2008 Home SELINSGROVE H. S. 7:00PM

Fri 10/10/2008 Away MONTOURSVILLE H.S. 7:00PM

Fri 10/17/2008 Home Warrior Run 7:00PM

Fri 10/24/2008 Away Mifflinburg Area 7:00PM

Fri 10/31/2008 Home Loyalsock Twp 7:00PM