Fall 2010 - University of Illinois Press

Sports / Biography
NEW IN PAPER
Sweet William
The Life of Billy Conn
Andrew O’Toole
A tribute to Billy Conn, one of the greatest light heavyweight
boxing champions of all time
“Before Roberto Clemente, Terry Bradshaw, or Mario Lemieux became
household names, Billy Conn was Pittsburgh’s most famous athlete.
In Andrew O’Toole’s Sweet William: The Life of Billy Conn, the East
Liberty-born boxer’s career is examined, and there’s much to enjoy. . . .
The best parts of the book are the colorful backroom stories that seem to
be intrinsic to boxing lore.”
—Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“An affectionate yet evenhanded biography of the fighter known as ‘The
Pittsburgh Kid.’ O’Toole makes a relatively normal life sing with his obvious
passion for his subject [and] his meticulous research. . . . A welcome
addition to the boxing-literature canon.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“The rough-and-tumble sports world of the late 1930s and early 1940s
emerges vividly. . . . O’Toole masterfully re-creates both the life and the times.
For all fans of boxing history.”
—Booklist
An Irish working-class hero of Pittsburgh, Billy Conn captured hearts
through his ebullient personality, stellar boxing record, and good looks.
A light heavyweight boxing champion best remembered for his sensational
near-defeat of heavyweight champion Joe Louis in 1941, Conn is
still regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Andrew O’Toole
chronicles the boxing, Hollywood, and army careers of “the Pittsburgh
Kid” by drawing from newspaper accounts, Billy’s personal scrapbooks,
and fascinating interviews with family. Presenting an intimate look at the
champion’s relationships with his girlfriend, manager, and rivals, O’Toole
compellingly captures the personal life of a public icon and the pageantry
of sports during the 1930s and ’40s.
Also of Interest
Rocky Marciano
The Rock of His Times
RUSSELL SULLIVAN
Paper, 978-0-252-07262-8, $19.95 £13.99
Golf in America
GEORGE B. KIRSCH
Cloth, 978-0-252-03292-9, $29.95 £20.99
Andrew O’Toole is a freelance writer who is the author of several books
on sports, including Paul Brown: The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of
Football’s Most Innovative Coach, Smiling Irish Eyes: Art Rooney and the
Pittsburgh Steelers, and other works.
A volume in the series Sport and Society, edited by Benjamin G. Rader and
Randy Roberts
AUGUST
376 PAGES. 6 x 9 INCHES.
15 BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS
PAPER, 978-0-252-07745-6. $19.95 £13.99
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