Kentucky Wildcats

Forget what people might say at Duke or North Carolina, UCLA or Kansas. Nobody loves their college basketball program like Kentucky fans -- nobody. Where else but Kentucky would a charity auction see a book signed by former President Jimmy Carter go for $70 ... and a basketball signed by Joe B. Hall go for $300? That happened in 2003, a good twenty years after both men had done their best work. You'll find Hall in this book, by the way. Kentucky fans sell out Rupp Arena for home games and invade opposing gyms for road games, earning the nickname The Blue Mist. Kentucky fans loved their basketball players, and that love doesn't fade over time. Years and even decades after their playing careers are finished, Kentucky basketball players routinely win whatever political office they seek in their home state. The 2003 election for state agriculture commissioner came down to one former Kentucky guard (Richie Farmer) against the wife of another former Kentucky guard (Scotty) Baesler). You'll find Farmer and Baesler in this book, by the way. This book is for you, Wildcat Nation. Catch up with more than 50 of your former heroes, guys who went on to become politicians and pastors, artists and dentists, convicts and coaches. Catch up with two former victims of Duke villain Christian Laettner -- Aminu Timberlake (The Stomp) and Deron Feldhaus (The Shot). Learn the heart-warming tale of Dirk Minniefield, who overcame his drug addiction to become a drug cunselor for the NBA. Learn the heartbreak of Tom Payne, who broke Kentucky's color barrier in 1970 in his only season with the Wildcats but has spent most of his adult life in prison. Whatever happened to perhaps the greatest Wildcat of all time, Bill Spivey? It's in this book. How about Tubby Smith's son and point guard, Saul Smith? He's in here, too. Mike Casey? Gimel Martinez? Lou Tsioropoulos? In here, in here, in here. You don't have to be Bob Wiggins, who once saw 615 consecutive UK game and remains the most intense Kentucky fan alive, to enjoy this book. Whatever happened to Wiggins? We checked--he's still attending games. This book is for Wiggins and the rest of the Blue Mist, and for anyone else who has ever wondered, Where have you gone, Linville Puckett?

After the Civil War, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad took the lead among southern railroads in developing rail systems and organizing transcontinental travel. Through two world wars, federal government control, internal crises, external dissension, the Depression, and the great Ohio River flood of 1937, the L&N Railroad remained one of the country's most efficient lines. It is a southern institution and a railroad buff's dream. When eminent railroad historian Maury Klein's definitive History of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was first published in 1972, it quickly became one of the most sought after books on railroad history. This new edition both restores a hard-to-find classic to print and provides a new introduction by Klein detailing the L&N's history in the thirty years since the book was first published.

Throughout book are pockets containing facsimilies of newspaper clippings, tickets, postcards, photographs, and other Univ. of KY basketball memorabilia.

Wildcat Wisdom for the Big Blue Nation! For more than a century, the University of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team has built a winning tradition that feeds the Big Blue Nation. The history of the winningest program in college basketball is peppered with unforgettable moments and personalities. In Kentucky Passion, Del Duduit and John Huang help fans reexperience some of the most memorable seasons and shots and meet key players and coaches. Readers will learn how they too can rise to challenges and find success through the inspiring stories from Wildcat history. Weekly stories showcasing legendary coaches including Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, and John Calipari, standout players including John Wall, Kyle Macy, DeAndre Liggins, Goose Givens, and Aaron Harrison, and indelible highs and lows (yes, the BBN still hates Laettner) illustrate the value of persistence, hard work, resiliency, teamwork, and more. Kentucky Passion is for every citizen of the Big Blue Nation and for every sports fan who relishes well-deserved victories, moans at surprise defeats, or wants to learn more about one of the most storied teams in college sports.

Kentucky Wildcats is a beginner's history of the University of Kentucky men's basketball team. Beginning with program's early years, readers will experience the team's highest and lowest moments and meet the key players and legendary coaches who made it happen. Short biographies, fun facts, informative sidebars, and revealing quotes and anecdotes combine with action-packed photographs to enhance the Wildcats' story, allowing your readers Inside College Basketball! Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Few college basketball programs can match the history, the tradition, the success, and the passion of its fans than the University of Kentucky boasts. As the University of Kentucky prepares to mark its 100th season of play, "The Sporting News celebrates that history, that tradition, and that success in "Big Blue."Big Blue pays homage to the great Kentucky players--Ralph Beard, Cliff Hagen, Dan Issel, Kyle Macy, Goose Givens, Rick Robey, Sam Bowie, Kenny Walker, Jamal Mashburn, and Ron Mercer. Celebrating the national championships and legendary teams, it also remembers the tradition of Adolph Rupp and captures the electricity of a game in Rupp Arena.

In Chasing the Cats, veteran sportswriter Jamie H. Vaught shares some of his earliest Wildcat memories and along with many remarkable stories about the UK men's basketball program over the past 70 years. Written through the eyes of student managers, broadcasters, players, and coaches, featured characters include Chip Rupp (and his grandfather, Adolph), Russell Rice, Cliff Hagan, Jim Duff, Kevin Grevey, Dale Brown, Steve Lochmueller, Jack Givens, Kenny Walker, Dick Vitale, Ralph Hacker, Jeff Sheppard, Chris Briggs, Scott Stricklin, Dan McHale, Darius Miller, Dillon Pulliam, and John Calipari. Wildcat fans of all ages will relish reading about the Big Blue memories found in Chasing the Cats: A Kentucky Basketball Journey. Go Big Blue!

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports--books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

What Hoosiers did for Indiana basketball, this perceptive title does for the fantastic culture of basketball in Kentucky. Never before has a book looked so closely into the soul of Kentucky basketball.