Overview

The incredible story of an all-deaf high school football team’s triumphant climb from underdog to undefeated, their inspirational brotherhood, a fascinating portrait of deafness in America, and the indefatigable head coach who spearheaded the team, by New York Times reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief, Thomas Fuller. ""The Boys of Riverside is another example of how anyone can achieve their dreams, making what appears impossible, possible.” —Marlee Matlin, Academy Award winner In November 2021, an obscure email from the California Department of Education landed in New York Times reporter, Thomas Fuller’s, inbox. The football team at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside, a state-run school with only 168 high school students, was having an undefeated season. After years of covering wildfires, war, pandemic, and mass shootings, Fuller was captivated by the story about this deaf football team. It was uplifting. During the pandemic’s gloom, it was a happy story. It was a sports story but not an ordinary one, built on the chemistry between a group of underestimated boys and their superhero advocate coach, Keith Adams, a deaf former athlete himself. The team, and Adams, tackled the many stereotypes and seemed to be succeeding. Fuller packed his bags and drove seven hours to the Riverside campus just in time to see them trounce their opponent in the second game of the playoffs.   The Boys of Riverside looks back at the historic 2021 and 2022 seasons in which the California School for the Deaf chased history, following the personal journeys of Keith Adams (their dynamic deaf head coach), a student who spent the majority of the season sleeping in his father’s car parked in the Target lot, a fiercely committed player who literally played through a broken leg in order not to miss a crucial game, and myriad heart-wrenching and uplifting stories of the players who had found common purpose. Through their eyes, Fuller reveals a portrait of high school athletics, and deafness in America.

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Reviews

"""In these dark and uncertain times, Thomas Fuller's The Boys of Riverside is a necessary reminder that strength comes via unity, and what people often deem to be disadvantages can serve as unflinching bonds that lead to tremendous achievement. This is a wonderful story and a dazzling book."" —Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Folk Hero"

"“This is a story that deserved to be told. Not only for how a school of 168 Deaf students and their football team overcame the odds and pulled off a historic football season, but how the stories of their personal journeys inspire and resonate with everyone. The Boys of Riverside is another example of how anyone can achieve their dreams, making what appears impossible, possible.”  —Marlee Matlin, Academy Award winner “An extraordinary story, told with intimate and remarkable detail. Thomas Fuller’s riveting narrative uses football to put readers inside a silent, unfamiliar world and instantly makes you want to cheer for the strangers you encounter along the way. Gritty and inspiring, The Boys of Riverside is so much more than a sports book. I didn’t want it to end.” —Jeff Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of The Dynasty and Lebron ""Everyone loves a good underdog story: disadvantaged kids prevailing against the odds. What makes Thomas Fuller's book a standout is that through the diligence of his reporting he comes to see the members of Riverside's football team as being much more than underdogs, and ultimately to portray deafness as something much richer than an impediment."" —Leah Hager Cohen, author of Train Go Sorry and To & Fro ""In these dark and uncertain times, Thomas Fuller's The Boys of Riverside is a necessary reminder that strength comes via unity, and what people often deem to be disadvantages can serve as unflinching bonds that lead to tremendous achievement. This is a wonderful story and a dazzling book."" —Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Folk Hero “In The Boys of Riverside, Thomas Fuller has given us a moving portrait of an oasis of positivity in a divided America. But he does not oversimplify or romanticize; the feel-good aspects of this story are earned by the grit, honesty and complexity with which Fuller renders characters and issues. He also has much to teach us about Deaf Culture and its history, which is richer and more complex than I had ever imagined.” —Andy Martino, SNY Analyst and author of The Yankee Way “Thomas Fuller's story about one hell of a football team at the California School for the Deaf will make you rethink a lot of what you think you know about life and sports and football and hearing -- and really all of our senses -- and the importance of playing games. In the case of this special team and this special story, you will also learn plenty about how to win.” —Matthew Futterman, author of Players and Running to the Edge ""An uplifting book about triumphing over adversity... What makes Fuller’s book such a page-turner—and very much a story for a wide audience beyond sports enthusiasts—is its deep involvement with the Cubs as people. From the first chapter, the author makes it clear that his story is not just about a winning team, but about human resilience and the players who exemplified it."" —Kirkus Reviews"

Author Information

THOMAS FULLER is a Page One Correspondent for The New York Times based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Before moving to California he reported from more than 40 countries for The Times and International Herald Tribune, mainly in Europe and Southeast Asia.

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