{"product_id":"eckie-chris-serb-9781496242808","title":"Eckie: Walter Eckersall and the Rise of Chicago Sports","description":"Walter \"Eckie\" Eckersall was one of the most famous people in Chicago for three decades: He was the city's first high school athlete superstar when the competitive prep athletics scene was maturing in Illinois, then quarterback of the University of Chicago Maroons, and finally a prominent sports journalist for the \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e. As the greatest player in the University of Chicago's history, Eckersall led the Maroons to a national title in 1905 and earned a place as an All-American three times. Head coach Amos Alonzo Stagg and Eckersall helped set the Maroons on a two-decade path of excellence that made football the biggest and best game in town. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As American sports entered a golden age and journalism was revolutionized by advancements in printing technology, Eckersall entered the growing field of sports journalism. He became the lead sportswriter for the \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e, and the lens through which many Chicagoans understood sports. During his twenty-three-year career, he covered and promoted many of Chicago's greatest athletes and sporting events, including the inaugural Indianapolis 500, the Dempsey-Tunney Long Count fight, eleven Rose Bowls, and strange gambling patterns that eventually exposed the 1919 Black Sox scandal. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e While Eckersall was a great player and well-known writer, he had many flaws, some unknown to the public for decades. He was expelled after his last game with the Maroons, was caught committing theft, secretly eloped in a shotgun wedding and then soon abandoned his wife and young daughter, and struggled with a drinking problem. But he was also notably generous and a vocal and consistent supporter of equal opportunity for Black athletes. Chris Serb's biography sheds new light on Eckersall's long-forgotten career in the context of Chicago's burgeoning sports scene. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Chris Serb\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1496242807\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781496242808\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Nebraska Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/01\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Chris Serb","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46838235300095,"sku":"9781496242808","price":36.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_75a918e2-75ff-44ba-a06d-5147a40d3258.jpg?v=1746589222","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/eckie-chris-serb-9781496242808","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}