Tales from the Boilermaker Country

Book excerpt: Sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and triumphant, often amazing, but always uniquely human. Thus describes the stories emanating from the proud athletic tradition of Purdue University -- nearly 200 stories, as a matter of fact. Tales from Boilermaker Country includes stories about some of the most colorful characters in the school's past, such as Mike Alstott, Lin Dunn, Gene Keady, George King, Ward "Piggy" Lambert, Jack Mollenkopf, Michael "Scooby" Scearce, and Moose Skowron, to name a few. Tales from Boilermaker Country takes you back to the early days and the origins of Boilermaker sports, when the team traveled by train, and continues through the digital age, when Heisman Trophy hopeful Drew Brees was promoted for the award in cyberspace. The stories in this help to explain why fans of this Big Ten school are as loyal as they come -- and why the history of Boilermaker sports makes it one of the most interesting stories in all of major collegiate athletics.