Overview

Freddie Steinmark was an under-sized but scrappy young man when he arrived in Austin as a freshman at the University of Texas in 1967. Despite the pronouncement by many coaches that he was too small to play college football, Freddie was a tenacious competitor who vowed to start every game as a varsity Longhorn.

By the start of the 1969 season, Freddie was making his mark on the college gridiron, but he'd also developed a crippling pain in his thigh that worried his high school sweetheart, Linda. But despite the increasingly debilitating pain, Freddie continued to play throughout the season, helping the Longhorns to rip through opponents like pulpwood. His last game came when the Longhorns rallied to beat Arkansas in a legendary game that has become known as the Game of the Century. Tragically, bone cancer took Freddie off the field when nothing else could. But nothing could extinguish his irrepressible spirit or keep him away from the game--he shocked his doctors and teammates by appearing on crutches on the sidelines of the Cotton Bowl just a month after his leg was amputated at the hip to cheer the Longhorns on to victory over Notre Dame. Although his struggle with cancer would be short-lived, Freddie's fight would inspire the nation as well as thousands of cancer victims, earning him a special citation from President Nixon. Today, a picture of Freddie hangs in the Longhorn stadium, where players touch it on their way into every game. With this moving story, reminiscent of the cult favorite Rudy and Brian's Song, Jim Dent once again brings readers to cheers and tears with a truly American tale of resolution and bravery in the face of the worst odds.

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<p>Praise for Courage Beyond the Game <p> Jim Dent, dadgum him, keeps writing books I wish I'd written. Like The Junction Boys and Twelve Mighty Orphans, to name two. Now here he comes with another terrific effort, Courage Beyond the Game, the story of the most courageous kid to ever pull on a football suit. If you pick it up, it's guaranteed to pick you up.'' --Dan Jenkins, author of Semi-Tough and Dead Solid Perfect <p> Jim Dent is a world class story teller, and in Freddie Steinmark's courageous and triumphant fight to be a man of substance, he's found a tale worthy of his ample talents. Dent will bring tears to your eyes, and Steinmark's example will make you want to be a better person.'' --Joe Drape, New York Times bestselling author of Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen <p> You will cheer and you will weep as you read Jim Dent's irresistible rendering of one of the great real-life dramas in college football history. Dent h

<p>Praise for Courage Beyond the Game <p>*Named one of Kirkus Reviews' Best Nonfiction titles of 2011<p> Dent (The Junction Boys, 2001) brings Steinmark to life through interviews with friends, teammates, and coaches, who confirm that he was every bit the All-American boy... Dent doesn't oversell this inspirational story in the Brian's Song mold. In the end, readers may feel they've met an extraordinary young man and, though it's been 40 years since he died, mourn his passing. -- Booklist <p> Jim Dent, dadgum him, keeps writing books I wish I'd written. Like The Junction Boys and Twelve Mighty Orphans, to name two. Now here he comes with another terrific effort, Courage Beyond the Game, the story of the most courageous kid to ever pull on a football suit. If you pick it up, it's guaranteed to pick you up.'' --Dan Jenkins, author of Semi-Tough and Dead Solid Perfect <p> Jim Dent is a world class story teller, and in Freddie Steinmark's courageous and triumphant fight t

Author Information

<p>JIM DENT, a long-time award-winning journalist who covered the Dallas Cowboys for eleven years at the Dallas Times Herald and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has written eight books, including Twelve Mighty Orphans, and The Junction Boys, the New York Times bestseller and ESPN movie that remains a fan favorite to this day. Dent lives in Texas.

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