The Athlete. Jon Finkel.
Greatness, Grace and the Unprecedented Life of Charlie Ward.
Every so often we come across an athlete that transcends their skills from one sport to another very skillfully and at the highest of levels. That was the case with Charlie Ward. Ward was a standout football and basketball player in high school and college while ultimately settling on one sport in the professional ranks.
Jon Finkel goes to great lengths to convey the story in his book, The Athlete. According to his father, Charlie Ward, Sr., his son could have likely played and excelled at just about any sport he attempted. He was just that kind of athlete and had unlimited hand-eye coordination to easily pick up any kinetic activity he tried. As one of the book chapters suggests, Ward “just had it”. His many exploits are detailed in the early chapters including his natural ability to dribble a ball at the age of two and his willingness to play and excel in any sport including golf, tennis and even swimming.
Growing up in southwestern Georgia in the 1980’s, Ward became a star quarterback on the football team and point guard on the basketball team at Central High School in Thomasville. He led the football team to the state playoffs along the way of developing a rivalry with the other Thomasville area high school who also happened to have a quality quarterback in their ranks, too.
What makes this story compelling is that Charlie Ward, jr. was good enough to play either or both sports at the next level. However, as the Ward’s discovered during the recruiting process, not every school is open to letting their recruits play multiple sports while on campus. Finkel reports through Ward’s parents that ultimately both major in-state schools were eliminated from contention of his services when they told Ward jr. that he could not play both sports there.
The in-state schools decision made it easier for Ward to select Florida State in Tallahassee about forty miles away from his hometown. Through fantastic research and chronicling skills, Finkel shares that Ward would actually have to enroll at a nearby community college to preserve eligibility with the Seminoles rather than lose a year as a proposition 48 enrollee. Ward had a tough time getting on the field early in his career because the depth chart was well stocked at his desired position. Despite the early college struggles, Ward still managed to see time as the team punter in his formative days. He also helped the basketball team out as well since the football team did not require full services from him yet.
Ward eventually becomes the starting quarterback at FSU and guides the team to much success including a national championship in 1993 along with a Heisman trophy, given to the best player in the nation. Even through all of this success and the grind of a long football season, Ward still managed to contribute prominently on some pretty solid Seminole hoop seasons. Despite his football success, he was not strongly sought after by the NFL teams. Finkel reports that because Ward jr. would not publicly declare one sport over the other it cost him a chance to be drafted.
The former prep phenom turned to basketball. He was remarkably skilled enough to be taken in the first round by the New York Knicks where he played for several years.
Finkel, the author of no fewer than seven books, informs the reader that this highly skilled athlete also happens to be amazingly and remarkably humble. The author leans on many characters to unfold the Charlie Ward jr. account including his parents, Charlie Sr. and mother, Willard. Ward was also a natural leader as his positions on the gridiron and court respectively would suggest. Nevertheless, there were a few set-backs to his career particularly in the area of academics.
One wonders if Finkel could have expanded more on this topic. He reports how his mother would help her son with homework and prod him from time to time in stepping up his efforts. But even despite his father being a teacher at Central High School, Ward struggled with the entrance exams. The family seemed to assert that” taking tests was not Charlie’s thing”. As a result, Ward was not academically qualified to play his first season at the division one level under the proposition 48 guidelines. He opted to enroll at nearby Tallahassee community college in order to preserve his freshman year of eligibility.
One small detail that was surprisingly reported in the latter stages of the book was Ward’s size. He was listed at a pedestrian 6’ and 185 lbs. While Ward’s indecision in committing to football may have discouraged NFL teams from drafting him, it is possible that his diminutive stature was another factor. Smaller quarterbacks have become more common place in the NFL these days. However, this was not the trend yet in the 1990’s.
Ever so unflappable and unfazed by any perceived NFL slights, Ward goes on to a successful career in the NBA playing with some of the biggest names of that era and on some powerful teams. All of his raw and natural talents made him an attractive figure to franchises because he could lead both on and off the court, was not a problem child off the court, but most importantly, could also play at a high level, too.
Finkel’s writing and research is impeccable and the 275 pages are fairly easy to navigate. This an ideal topic and one that is skillfully expressed in this novel.
- You might like to read this book if you are fan of Charlie Ward, junior.
- You might like this book if you are a fan of Georgia high school football players.
- You might like this book if you are a Florida State football or basketball fan.
- You might like to read this story if you are a New York Knicks or NBA fan.
- You might like to read this book if you are a college football or college basketball fan.
- You might like to read this book if you enjoy reading about successful athletes that play more than one sport.
Read more about the author on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jon_Finkel
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