C. C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America

by Geoff Williams Narrated by Robertson Dean

Overview

Among the runners of C. C. Pyle's First Annual International
Transcontinental Foot Race were an assortment of underdogs, including
twenty-year-old Oklahoman and part Cherokee Andy Payne, who wanted to
win over the girl of his dreams and pay off the mortgage on his family's
farm; Paul "Hardrock" Simpson, who was in over his head but couldn't
let down his North Carolina hometown; Mike Kelly, a luckless boxer from
Indiana; Seattle's Ed Gardner, one of four black runners who encountered
bigotry; Charles Hart, a sixty-three-year-old Englishman hoping his
best days weren't behind him; and Frank Johnson, a middle-aged husband,
father, and steelworker from St. Louis who broke away from his humdrum
life and dared to do something different.



Newspaper and magazine journalist Geoff Williams details this historic
event and the colorful cast of characters involved, based on firsthand
accounts of those who were there and interviews from many living
descendants. C. C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race is a classic American story so astonishing and surreal that you have to hear it to believe it.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A breezy, entertaining read that properly balances the runners' integrity with the comedy of errors that was Pyle's grand experiment and his life." ---Publishers Weekly

Library Journal - Audio

01/01/2014
Endurance contests were all the rage in 1920s America. There were dance marathons, flagpole sitting, long-distance swimming, and eating contests. Glory was hard to gain, and fame was fleeting; only a few contestants parlayed their experience into any fortune. In 1927, sports promoter C.C. Pyle proposed a foot race from Los Angeles to New York City with a grand prize of $25,000. Runners would pay an entry fee, but the real income, in Pyle's business plan, would come from the towns and cities that would gladly pay for the privilege of being a featured stop along the route. Almost 200 men from the United States and a dozen other countries were at the starting line on March 4, 1928, for what sportswriters promptly dubbed the Bunion Derby. Contestants included a young man from Oklahoma who wanted the prize money to save the family farm; a college athlete and hometown hero from North Carolina; Italians, Finns, Britons, and a single African American. Some had trainers (and good shoes and socks); others did not. Eight-four days and 3,422 miles later, 55 runners reached Madison Square Garden. Pyle accompanied the runners in a custom trailer, but he failed to raise the sums he forecast and went into partnership with a rival promoter to get the prize money. VERDICT This engaging and poignant snapshot of American sports and social history is highly recommended for popular collections.—Nann Blaine Hilyard, Zion-Benton P.L., IL

JULY 2013 - AudioFile

In the 1920s, Americans embraced endurance contests— from marathon dances to flagpole sitting and more. In 1928, publicist C.C. Pyle, armed with big dreams as well as a big mouth, organized an ambitious race: a California-to-New York run, with runners averaging more than a marathon a day. Dozens of runners—with limited training knowledge—entered. Robertson Dean recounts the experiences of many of the runners in a deep and folksy tone. As for Pyle, it’s as if you can hear the showman pitching his ideas while talking out of the side of his mouth. It’s a style that is totally appropriate for the man whose financial troubles shadowed him every step of the way. Dean carries the story of the race well, his bass voice clearly bringing this slice of Americana to life. M.B. 2014 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171238155
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	05/30/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged

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