Lawrence P. Gooley

North Country / Adirondack Author

Book Tag: Sports

> Books > Sports

Adirondack & North Country Gold: 50+ New & True Stories You’re Sure to Love

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Adirondack & North Country Gold-Front Cover

There is no other book out there like Adirondack & North Country Gold. Within these pages are 51 original stories about remarkable people, places, and events from the Adirondacks and foothills. Included are four anchor chapters that together are large enough to fill a volume: the life stories of Garrett Cashman, Michael Donovan, Harry Elkes, and Eben Rexford.

Though they may be unfamiliar names, their accomplishments are legend. Cashman was history’s second cluster balloonist who, in the 1950s, captured the imagination of the entire nation. Donovan was a world-champion athlete whose achievements rank among the rarest in sports. Elkes was a beloved world-champion cyclist with a brilliant and tragic career. And the modest and unassuming Rexford wrote one of the most enduring songs in American history, a best-seller for more than half a century.

There’s so much more among the other 47 stories. You’ll find humor (The Great Canine Court Caper); inspiration (the Dean Van Clute story); romance (Love So Strong, It’s Criminal); mystery (New York’s Legendary Vanishing Judge); and the offbeat (Alligators in the Adirondacks, and Rock Eaters? No Way … But Anything Else Will Do!). » More Details

Brendler’s Boys: The House That George Built

, , , ,

Brendler's Boys: The House That George Built-Front Cover

When they started league play in 1953, the Eagles finished with no wins. In 1955, only their third year of league competition, they won their first sectional championship. Other titles followed through 1964, but in 1965, Chazy soccer entered a new era with the arrival of Coach George Brendler.

Brendler took a good team, taught them to play his style of soccer, and took the North Country by storm. No matter who the opponent was, no matter how big the school might be; more often than not, the Chazy Eagles cut them down to size. Brendler’s career at the helm lasted for twenty-four years. When he retired from coaching after the 1988 season, he left a tremendous legacy. » More Details

Lyon Mountain: The Tragedy of a Mining Town

, , , , ,

Lyon Mountain: The Tragedy of a Mining Town-Front Cover

The story of Lyon Mountain’s mining days, especially the pre-1920 era, was nearly lost to the ravages of time and attrition. This book ensures the story is preserved for generations to come.

Extensive research, combined with personal interviews conducted by the author a quarter-century ago, have kept the story alive. It is an important story: important to the people, important to county history, and important to New York State history.

The town’s early mining history is detailed from the 1870s through 1919. Subsequent chapters deal with Lyon Mountain’s years as a company town under the thumb (fist?) of J.R. Linney; the town’s immigrant population and its roots; firsthand accounts of mining jobs from long-deceased miners; the riveting story of death in the mines; the remarkable true story of the town’s Mafia-connected years; and finally the story of the North American Champion Bobsled Team and the legendary Lyon Mountain Miners Baseball Team. » More Details