Chance for Glory is the kind of book from which great sports movies are made. It has everything a true sports fan or just a lover of a good story wants, from a compelling plot to interesting characters, a mix of history, lots of action and a good dose of humor. And it’s released just in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Rose Bowl game played by Washington State College against Brown University in 1916.
Since author Darin Watkins is an alumnus at what is now Washington State University, his focus, of course, is on the Washington team, and he begins the story by describing a young school struggling to survive against its biggest rival, the University of Washington, which wanted to limit what its sister school could teach.
The first chapter describes a fascinating vintage football game from 1912 played at West Point, a game that would feature Olympian Jim Thorpe and future United States General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower among its players. One of the coaches at that game was “Pop” Warner, the man who coached William Dietz and recommended him as a coach to Washington State College when he was in desperate need of a good coach.
Washington State had a long history of losing its football games, but Coach Dietz quickly turned it around. I’ll let readers explore his methods for themselves, but I will say that he was very innovative. Most notably, he was a Native American at a time when racism was rampant. In 1915, when he became coach of the Washington State Cougars, only twenty-five years had passed since the Wounded Knee massacre. But it wasn’t long before Dietz earned the trust of his players and made them believe that they could succeed not only as a team but as a powerful rival to other teams throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The events that follow are like a non-stop cinematic montage of successive victory after victory, and yet Watkins takes the time to describe each game and every big play, bringing these storied people to life, investing sentiments and emotions in them, making this book reads like good historical fiction, but it’s packed with facts. Each of the players becomes an individual to us, and we get to know them both on and off the football field, including, in some cases, which ladies they dated. The amount of research Watkins did to put all of these pieces together and gain insight into his characters is staggering, and documents it all, yet the book smoothly reads like a novel rather than a story.
As the Cougars rack up win after win, they begin to gain national attention, and before long, they are invited to participate in the first Rose Bowl Tournament. Of course, the Rose Bowl is a big deal today, but in 1915 no one was sure it would succeed. Watkins describes the committee’s struggles to gain attention and sell tickets, the first Tournament of Roses parade, the publicity, and the overall results that transformed the tournament into an American institution.
One fascinating aspect of the Rose Bowl was that the Cougars, since they were going to Pasadena anyway, were invited to be in a Hollywood movie, Tom Brown Goes to Harvard, as part of a popular silent movie series of the day, which included a soccer ball. play. Watkins’ presentation of this look at the early movies is fascinating and funny.
And then it’s on to the Rose Bowl. Watkins fills us in on every play, every cheer, every worry, and ultimately, the big win. Through the written word, Watkins provides a highly visual story of a history-making event.
Few American stories about overcoming adversity are as exciting and enjoyable to read as Chance for Glory. Watkins’ ability to bring history to life places this book alongside other great examples of storytelling like Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City about the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and its triumphant message is worthy of a movie. from Disney to feel good.
How wonderful that Watkins has scheduled this book to appear on the Rose Bowl Centennial. The efforts of the Washington State Cougars breathe new life and meaning into football by reminding us that anyone with a little courage and a dream can succeed, whether in sports or anything else.