Tigerland

1968-1969: A City Divided, a Nation Torn Apart, and a Magical Season of Healing

By: Wil Haygood

Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman

Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

Against the backdrop of one of the most tumultuous periods in recent American history, as riots and demonstrations spread across the nation, the Tigers of poor, segregated East High School in Columbus, Ohio, did something no team from one school had ever done before: They won the state basketball and baseball championships in the same year. They defeated bigger, richer, whiter teams across the state and along the way brought blacks and whites together, eased a painful racial divide throughout the state, and overcame extraordinary obstacles on their road to success. 

In Tigerland, Wil Haygood gives us a spirited and stirring account of this improbable triumph and takes us deep into the personal lives of these local heroes. At the same time, he places the Tigers’ story in the context of the racially charged '60s, bringing in such national figures as Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Richard Nixon, all of whom had a connection to the teams and a direct effect on their mythical season. 

©2018 Wil Haygood (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

“Journalist Haygood tells a story of perseverance, courage, and breathtaking talent as he recounts, in vibrant detail, the achievements of the Tigers, a basketball and baseball team at Columbus, Ohio’s inner-city East High School.... [The] author creates moving portraits of the teenagers and their undaunted coaches and supporters.... Haygood dramatically renders the heady excitement of each game, the tense moments of a close contest, and the exuberant - tear-jerking - wins. The inspiring story of East High’s championship becomes even more astonishing in the context of endemic racism, which the author closely examines, and 'the turmoil of a nation at war and in the midst of unrest', roiled by the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. An engrossing tale of one shining moment in dark times.” (Kirkus, starred review)

“As in all his avidly read books, Haygood sets the stories of fascinating individuals within the context of freshly reclaimed and vigorously recounted African American history as he masterfully brings a high school and its community to life. This laugh-and-cry tale of rollicking and wrenching drama set to the beat of thumping basketballs and the crack of baseball bats, fast breaks and cheerleaders’ chants, is electric with tension and conviction, and incandescent with unity and hope.” (Booklist, starred review) 

“Mr. Haygood executes a series of historical fadeaway jump shots, taking us back for extended interludes with the likes of Rev. King, Jackie Robinson, federal Judge Bobby Duncan, and other civil rights catalysts...the interludes illustrate the forward leaps, staggering setbacks, and relentlessly hard work toward equality in America.... And then we’re off on a classic sports story, as the school’s basketball and baseball players take form and the teams clamber to improbable heights. Naturally, Mr. Haygood explores the forces that shaped the young men, almost all of whom grew up in fatherless families with working mothers who struggled to feed and clothe them. Like J. Anthony Lukas’ Pulitzer Prize-winning 1985 book, Common Ground - also focused on school segregation - there’s complexity and ambiguity throughout.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Flashback to the Late 1960s

I graduated high school in 1969 so I lived through all the turmoil just like this team did. What a great flash back into the turbulent times of the late 60s. Some of it I had forgotten or never knew. I was just in high school so you're not paying that much attention. Great listen and great history of all these players and what happened later in their lives, after their amazing high school basketball team.

Beautiful

I am a proud East High School alumnus and this book tells the history of joy, sadness and pride of a year that was a linchpin in the history of EHS and of Columbus, Ohio. The details of lives of all of the players, coaches, staff and those in the orbit of this Championship year are in depth and touching. The history here of African-Americans struggle within the city, education and sports is deep and informative. I have an all new respect and Tiger Pride for my fellow alumni and those that worked so hard for a championship but also respect of the basic civil rights of citizens in Columbus and the nation.