First and Thirty

A Big Game, a Turbulent Time

The vista from Rock City, a popular tourist attraction at the top of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is stunning. The Tennessee River winds through the mountainous terrain below and it's said you can see seven states from its viewing points. But the mountain looks out on more than space; it also watches time roll along, and as the clock struck midnight on January 1, 1970, both a new year and a new decade were ushered in. The sixties were over. What would the next 10 years bring? The high-school kids in Hamilton County, Tennessee, would experience the changes, both personal and social, first-hand as they transitioned from teenagers to adults.

Nixon was president. The Vietnam War was raging and the civil rights movement was in full swing. Everything in America seemed to be changing and the kids were right in the middle of it.

High School only lasts a few years. Some people love it, some hate it, and some don't even think about it.

But in 1970, the City High Dynamo football team overcame adversity to defeat its oldest rival making it an unforgettable season. Surrounded by racial unrest in the city, the Dynamos worked together to give the school a spirited boost. First and Thirty follows the team through the year as they are led by their inspirational coach, Bobby Davis. As the football schedule progresses, teammates play their hardest week after week. The season climaxes with the final game against, the Central High Purple Pounders.

First and Thirty is a football book, but also a book about high school life. Romances bloom, friendships grow, and foolishness is plentiful. (Well, some things never change.)