My new book, ‘Scrolls of a Sports Scribe,’ will be available soon
For much of the past year, I have been putting together a collection of my stories through a half-century of sportswriting into a book.
Actually, it will be two books in one.
Volumes I and II of “Scrolls of a Sports Scribe” are scheduled to be released in early October by Dementi Milestone Publishing, Inc., in Manakin-Sabot, Va. They will feature 120 articles published in the Oregon Journal, The Oregonian and Portland Tribune, plus in Northwest and Courtside magazines and on kerryeggers.com, from 1975-2025.
How did I choose the stories to be included in the book? With difficulty. After retirement from the Tribune in 2020, I spent three months going through every story I had written (at least most of them) in my career. I picked out about 250 from which to select. Less than half made the cut.
I picked stories on a cross-section of subjects that I thought would hold the most interest for readers. There is a regional emphasis, but many of the subjects are major names not just in the U.S. but in the world. There are stories about major events I covered, such as Super Bowls, the World Series and NBA Finals, and also unusual endeavors such as pit-bull fighting and a blind golf tournament.
Stories on a variety of sports are included. Football and basketball get the most attention, but there are pieces about major subjects in baseball, golf, tennis, boxing, soccer, wrestling, pro wrestling and track and field. In virtually every story, I did the interview and got my own quotes.
You’ll read the first-ever interview with the NBA’s first-ever female referees, Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner. With pro wrestling legend Vince McMahon on the XFL. With Wilt Chamberlain on the 35th anniversary of his 100-point game. Former Trail Blazer executive Kevin Pritchard allows a behind-the-scenes look at the team’s scouting processes. A visit with Muhammad Ali during a stop-over at the Portland International Airport.
A lunch chat with the eccentric Dennis Rodman. A Q&A with the nearly as zany Frank “The Flake” Peters. A look at Arvydas Sabonis in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. A peek at LeBron James during his rookie NBA season. The unusual story of barefoot cross-country champion Dale Story. A ride on “Blazer One,” the initial BAC-111 private jet owned by Paul Allen and used to transport the Trail Blazers on road trips. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban blows his stack on me during a pre-game interview. Danny Langsdorf donates a kidney to the wife of a coaching comrade at Oregon State. The night the “Chancellor’s Trophy” got dented by a frustrated Dick Harter. Wrestler Larry Owings’ stunning upset of the unbeatable Dan Gable.
There are four stories with Clyde Drexler, three on Bill Walton and Danny Ainge, two apiece on Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal, Paul Allen and Chip Kelly. You’ll get an inside look at “Rowdy Roddy” Piper, Sidney Wicks, Pat Casey, Carl Lewis, Florence Griffith-Joyner, Sabrina Ionescu, Tonya Harding, Mike Tyson and Pat Casey.
I was there for the Blazer playoff game in Los Angeles when riots broke out the night of the Rodney King verdict. At Candlestick Park when Dwight Clark made “The Catch” for the 49ers. In San Francisco for the first Giants game ever at Oracle (then Pac-Bell) Park. At University of Phoenix Stadium when the Patriots pulled off the ultimate Super Bowl steal from the Seahawks. At Market Square Arena for Michael Jordan’s return to the NBA after an 18-month hiatus to play minor-league baseball. At the 2000 Subway Series, the Yankees vs. the Mets, when Roger Clemens famously tossed a piece of broken bat at Mike Piazza.
The Dean of Portland Sports is now on BlueSky.
There are the sad stories of Fred Quillan, Stu Gaussoin and Ned Hastings. The uplifting ones of Craig Hanneman, Alexis Serna and Jonathan Yim. The scary one of Randy “I-Five Killer” Woodfield, the one-time Portland State receiver. The touching one of soon-to-be centenarians Bud Ossey and Andy Landforce.
And a lot more — I promise. There are nearly 750 pages of stories.
Among subjects in Volume I:
Muhammad Ali
Terry Baker
Charles Barkley
Travis Bazzana
Kobe Bryant
Mitch Canham
Jade Carey
Pat Casey
Wilt Chamberlain
Chicago Bulls 1995-96
Chad Doing
Clyde Drexler
Dick Fosbury
Florence Griffith-Joyner
Tonya Harding
Sabrina Ionescu
LeBron James
Jerome Kersey
Steven Kwan
Danny Langsdorf
Carl Lewis
Jess Lewis
Karl Malone
Fred Milton/Dee Andros
Kim Mulkey
Portland Trail Blazers 1989-90 and 1991-92
“Rowdy Roddy” Piper
Mikayla Pivec
Mike Riley
Dennis Rodman
Adley Rutschman
Arvydas Sabonis
Bill Schonely
Jackie Stiles
Dale Story
Super Bowls 1998, 2000 and 2015
Bill Walton
Sidney Wicks
Volume II
Hank Aaron
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
Danny Ainge
Paul Allen
Carmelo Anthony
Jim Barnett
Brent Barry
Rick Carlisle
Clive Charles
Bob Costas
Mark Cuban
Lloyd Daniels
Mondo Duplantis
Stuart Gaussoin
A.C. Green
Craig Hanneman
Tinker Hatfield
Harry Hutt
Michael Jordan
George Karl
Chip Kelly
Steve Kerr
Phil Knight
John McEnroe
Bud Ossey/Andy Landforce
Shaquille O’Neal
Larry Owings
Ruben Patterson
Frank Peters
Kevin Pritchard
Fred Quillan
Henry Rono
Alexis Serna
Damon Stoudamire
Mike Tyson
Rasheed Wallace
Jerry West
Randy Woodfield
Tiger Woods
Jonathan Yim
The two-volume set will be available for purchase at $50 plus shipping only through orders on kerryeggers.com soon. Single volumes will also be available at $30 apiece. Get a book for yourself or for a holiday gift.
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