• The Amazing Appleknockers: Illinois' Cinderella Basketball Team of 1964

  • By: Teri Campbell, Anne Ryman
  • Narrated by: Virtual Voice
  • Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Amazing Appleknockers: Illinois' Cinderella Basketball Team of 1964  By  cover art

The Amazing Appleknockers: Illinois' Cinderella Basketball Team of 1964

By: Teri Campbell, Anne Ryman
Narrated by: Virtual Voice
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $9.99

Buy for $9.99

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Background images

This title uses virtual voice narration

Virtual voice is computer-generated narration for audiobooks

Publisher's summary

In 1964, Cobden was a quiet village of 900 residents tucked in the Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois. The high school's basketball team changed that, grabbing the attention of sports fans throughout Illinois as it made a dramatic run to the finals of the Illinois state high school basketball tournament. An unusually tall and talented team with a catchy mascot, the Appleknockers, Cobden played at a time before schools were divided into classes based on enrollment. The school had just 147 students, and the Appleknockers defeated schools that were many times their size as they moved along the tournament trail. This true account traces the background of the Appleknockers' coach, Dick Ruggles, and how a young man from Boston wound up coaching in the hillside farming community. The story covers the two years that Ruggles served as Cobden's coach, the two most successful basketball seasons in the school's history. It also reveals the obstacles, tragedies, and triumphs the players faced, both on and off the basketball court. The achievements of the Appleknockers were widely covered in newspapers from Evansville, Indiana, to St. Louis, Missouri, to Chicago. Their readers were drawn to the underdog team, and the Appleknockers moved from the sports pages into Illinois folklore. People from Illinois and the surrounding states are still talking about the Appleknockers nearly half a century later, which speaks to the enduring and far-reaching appeal of this team and its story.

More from the same

What listeners say about The Amazing Appleknockers: Illinois' Cinderella Basketball Team of 1964

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.