One Shot at Forever
One Shot at Forever

Author: Chris Ballard

Publisher: Hachette Books

Published: 2012-05-15

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 140130432X

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"One Shot at Forever is powerful, inspirational. . . This isn't merely a book about baseball. It's a book about heart." -- Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Boys Will Be Boys and The Bad Guys Won In 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinois, playing with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hats, defied convention and the odds. Led by an English teacher with no coaching experience, the Macon Ironmen emerged from a field of 370 teams to represent the smallest school in Illinois history to make the state final, a distinction that still stands. There the Ironmen would play against a Chicago powerhouse in a dramatic game that would change their lives forever. In this gripping, cinematic narrative, Chris Ballard tells the story of the team and its coach, Lynn Sweet: a hippie, dreamer, and intellectual who arrived in Macon in 1966, bringing progressive ideas to a town stuck in the Eisenhower era. Beloved by students but not administration, Sweet reluctantly took over the ragtag team, intent on teaching the boys as much about life as baseball. Together they embarked on an improbable postseason run that buoyed a small town in desperate need of something to celebrate. Engaging and poignant, One Shot at Forever is a testament to the power of high school sports to shape the lives of those who play them, and it reminds us that there are few bonds more sacred than that among a coach, a team, and a town. "Macon's run at the title reminds us why sports matter and why sportswriting has such great power to inspire. . . [It's] one hell of a good story, and Ballard has written one hell of a good book." -- Jonathan Eig, Chicago Tribune

The Sangamon
The Sangamon

Author: Edgar Lee Masters

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780252060380

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City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement;
City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement;

Author: William Edward Nelson

Publisher: Franklin Classics Trade Press

Published: 2018-11-10

Total Pages: 738

ISBN-13: 9780353202009

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Haunted Decatur
Haunted Decatur

Author: Troy Taylor

Publisher: Independently Published

Published: 2020-08-10

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13:

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HAUNTED DECATUR: 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITIONTWO CENTURIES OF DECATUR'S SPIRITS, SCANDALS AND SINSBY TROY TAYLOROn the 25th anniversary of the publication of his first book, author Troy Taylor returns once more to reveal two centuries of spirits, scandals, and sins in Decatur, Illinois - the most haunted town in the Midwest! He takes you behind the scenes of the most spirited places in the city and reveals a collection of favorite hauntings, new stories you've never heard before, and offers new secrets about old stories that everyone only thinks they know! Journey back in time to the days of the first settlers and discover how the city came to be so haunted. Then, hold on for a wild ride to the most ghost-infested spots in Decatur from Greenwood Cemetery to the Common Burial Grounds, the Lincoln and Avon Theaters, Hell Hollow, Millikin University, Wabash Train Station, and many more. If you dare, take a walk into haunted houses, eerie hotels, ghostly graveyards, and find out why the entire city of Decatur was sent into a panic over a phantom in 1903. You'll be terrified by historic tales of crime, murder, bootlegging, and corruption and learn how Decatur earned the nickname of the "second most corrupt city in Illinois." You'll find lurid stories of gangsters, graverobbers, killers, thieves, prostitutes, and cold-blooded murders and scandalous suicides that left lingering ghosts in their wake.This is not a book for the faint of heart, but it is a celebration of a city that has worked hard to earn its reputation for bloodshed, murder, death - and ghosts. Decatur is a place that is haunted by its past in more ways than one. So, turn off the lights, lock the doors, and let this book take you back to where the history and hauntings in Decatur began.