Twelve Mighty Orphans, Jim Dent
Twelve Mighty Orphans, Jim Dent
2 Rating(s)
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Twelve Mighty Orphans
The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football

Author: Jim Dent

Narrator: Barry Abrams

Unabridged: 10 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/16/2019


Synopsis

More than a century ago, a school was constructed in Fort Worth, Texas, for the purpose of housing and educating the orphans of Texas Freemasons. It was a humble project that for years existed quietly on a hillside east of town. Life at the Masonic Home was about to change, though, with the arrival of a lean, bespectacled coach by the name of Rusty Russell. Here was a man who could bring rain in the midst of a drought. Here was a man who, in virtually no time at all, brought the orphans' story into the homes of millions of Americans.

In the 1930s and 1940s, there was nothing bigger in Texas high school football than the Masonic Home Mighty Mites—a group of orphans bound together by hardship and death. These youngsters, in spite of being outweighed by at least thirty pounds per man, were the toughest football team around. They began with nothing—not even a football—yet in a few years were playing for the state championship on the highest level of Texas football. This is a winning tribute to a courageous band of underdogs from a time when America desperately needed fresh hope and big dreams.

The Mighty Mites remain a notable moment in the long history of American sports. Just as significant is the depth of the inspirational message. This is a profound lesson in fighting back and clinging to faith.

About Jim Dent

Jim Dent, a longtime award-winning journalist who covered the Dallas Cowboys for eleven years in Fort Worth and Dallas, including a stint at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has written several books, including The Junction Boys, the New York Times bestseller that was the basis for an ESPN movie and remains a fan favorite.


Reviews

Goodreads review by David

This book is very special to me because one of those kids, Abner McCall, eventually became president of Baylor University and he signed my college diploma. Also, I have a fraternity brother whose parents are good friends with the couple who twice married.......more

Goodreads review by Patrick

When my uncle first recomended this book to me, I never really thought that I was going to be able to get into it. I figured that I already hear enough about Texas high school football attending CHHS and definetly don't need to read a book about it. With that being said, 'Twelve Mighty Orphans' turn......more

Goodreads review by Julie

Repetitive and too long. Most of the material in the book could have been covered by a thorough, well written article, including the personalities of the coach and the boys. I appreciated the way the author set us in the 1930s mindset and how important this was for the boys and people of the time. H......more