The Boys of Riverside. A Deaf Football Team and A Quest for Glory. Thomas Fuller.
Occasionally we unexpectedly happen upon a book that seems more interesting than the one initially targeted in the first place. The Boys of Riverside would typify that occurrence. First time author, Thomas Fuller, put together an interesting 235-page manuscript that features an intriguing story that does not get a lot of publicity in the national spotlight. Of course, this story revolves around football but like many others of this ilk there is much more to it than sport. The Boys of Riverside is a prime example to support this claim. The book not only discusses elements of high school football but deaf high school football players that play 8-man football. Furthermore, Fuller introduces the reader to so many nuances to the deaf culture and how it copes with the challenges that may go largely unknown among their hearing counterparts.
Fuller follows and reports on the travails of this team for two seasons in 2021 and 2022. He writes that while he was living in the San Franciso area that he would commute the seven hours south to get to the home games of Riverside high School and following them all in the “southlands” from one week to the next. Riverside High School is located about an hour east of Los Angeles. Because this was not a particularly large school enrollment wise or team with ample members, they qualified for eight-man football. This brand of football is common in areas around the country where the schools simply do not have enough players in their program to consistently field a traditional eleven-man team. Even in a densely populated state such as California we can find one hundred schools that field eight-man teams.
Riverside California School for the Deaf started fielding football teams in the late 1950’s but with limited success. As the book sub-title suggests, however, this is a “quest for glory”, and suddenly, through some good coaching and the right kind of player combinations, this team of profoundly deaf players became a sensation making the championship in 2021 and ultimately winning it in 2022 season with mostly but not entirely the same players. Several players are discussed in-depth throughout the story as well as the head coach, also deaf, and at least two other assistants. Fuller, better known for his correspondence reporting through the New York Times, is skilled at bringing every character to life by providing interesting details of their background and even comingled their families into the story especially those enduring a non-hearing household.
There was also quite a bit of interesting football-related tidbits worked into this opus. The deaf culture uses sign language to communicate with one another (American Sign Language ASL). The players and coaches can easily and quickly communicate with one another on the grid-iron. In fact, Fuller discloses that this ability may work to the deaf team’s advantage, much to the surprise and chagrin to the many hearing teams that they often played and defeated. The book also includes how the signals of the referees came about nearly one hundred years ago. In the early days of the game, the game officials would simply yell to the sidelines that a penalty had been called. This invariably caused confusion among the media reporting the game and the fans seated far away from the action. Thus, the referees came up with hand/body signals for thirty-five penalties that could be universally recognized without having to hear them announced. Even earlier than that the author reports the origin of the huddle for offensive players. Deaf players would simply gather in a circle well before where the ball was placed and use their signs or signals to call or clarify the next play. This happened in 1894 at the Gallaudet School for the Deaf in Washington D.C.
Fuller also did a fair amount of research on the history of the deaf culture and how they learned to communicate with others, hearing and otherwise, the way they were trained, treated and governed in many societies throughout the millennia. The author reports that sign language was accepted as a viable way to teach the deaf how to learn and communicate among their peers and with the hearing as well. However, in the late 19th century, a world-wide movement occurred banning the use of sign language and encouraging the profoundly deaf to learn to communicate through other methods. According to the author this strict edict lasted several decades well into the twentieth century. Slowly the use of sign language became an accepted use and most effective form of teaching deaf people how to communicate and more importantly how to learn.
The book contained more than thirty-five short chapters covering a wide variety of intriguing topics and captivating characters. However, one such topic that appears to be missing and could have easily been inserted pertains to the concept of eight-man football. For as interesting and edifying as this book is it likely could have been even better had it discussed the advent of this brand of football along with a rudimentary explanation of how it works. Nevertheless, this unexpected find metamorphized into an engrossing publication. The sports fan may be drawn initially to the inspiring football that is unpacked throughout the story. However, the reader gets an education about a culture and community that is more than capable of holding their own in this perpetually evolving world of humanity.
· You might like to read this book if you enjoy reading high school football stories.
· You might like to read this book if you are interested in reading about how deaf people play football.
· You might like to read this book if you are intrigued with the deaf community and want to learn more about the history of this topic.
· You might like to read this book if you are interested in California culture, history and sports.
Read more about the author on X: https://x.com/thomasfullerNYT
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