Relive the most memorable and sensational events in Cleveland sports history. Many of them are known by shorthand: Red Right 88. The Drive. The Fumble. The Shot. Beer Night. Some were gut-wrenching. Some, like the 1964 NFL championship game, were glorious. All are highlight of the shared experience of all Cleveland sports fans.

The definitive book about Clevelandds 20 most glorious and gut-wrenching sports moments. Twenty chapters recount those most remarkable events that Clevelanders still talk about--and will continue to debate, bemoan, and otherwise cherish for generations. Many are known by shorthand: Red Right 88. The Drive. The Fumble. Ten-cent beer night. Game Seven. The Shot. But beyond the immediate groan or smile the memory elicits are great sports stories infused with that curious blend of excitement, hope, and doom that feels just like home to any Cleveland sports fan. A great way to share the local sports legends with the next generation--or to relive them yourself.

Cleveland's Finest has in depth, extremely personal interviews with some of the top names in Cleveland sports. Each interview is a no-holds-barred tell-all of the most intimate and sometimes controversial details of the largest impact moments in Cleveland's sports history. This is the first book written from the player's point of view, mixed in with the media that covered it and the fans that watched. This book will change the way the entire sports nation looks at Cleveland. Finally, the true stories are told!

Cleveland sports history goes well beyond The Shot, The Fumble, The Drive and so many other ignoble moments. Many of the city's most illustrious sports tales are long-forgotten chapters of tribulations and tragedy, of fleeting fame and enduring milestones. There are forgotten firsts, such as football's first pass and the invention of baseball's slider having ties to Cleveland. There are overshadowed tragedies like a fatal crash involving an Indians pitcher occurring the same year two of the team's hurlers were killed in a high-profile boating accident. And then there are the near misses--like George Steinbrenner coming within seconds of owning the Indians and a famous musician who almost became a Cleveland Brown. From basketball to boxing, hockey to Heisman, journalist Marc Bona chronicles more than a century of unremembered tales.

Cleveland sports fans: If you can’t laugh about it, what else are you gonna do? Cleveland sports teams have set records for futility in baseball, football, and basketball. But even beyond that, Cleveland sports fans have witnessed more than their share of weird, wild, random, and odd occurrences, from front office ineptitude to absurd losses to bizarre injuries and more. Like the Cavs player who accidentally scored a layup in the wrong basket (and another who shot at his own basket on purpose) … The testy Tribe manager who got into a fight during an exhibition game with the Triple-A farm team … The Browns owner who took advice from a random stranger on the street and blew a first-round draft pick on “Johnny Football” … The rookie pitcher shot in the leg while riding on the team bus wearing a cheerleader outfit and go-go boots … The team owner once called “the dumbest man in pro sports” … One Browns star whose season-ending injury came while popping a wheelie and another whose eye was nearly put out by a referee’s flag … The Indians player who was traded for himself … A victory owed to a timely swarm of insects … The Cavaliers’ first draft, planned using bubble-gum cards … When Tribe mascot Slider fell off the outfield wall into live action during a playoff game … Phew! And we’re just getting started. (We haven’t even mentioned 10-Cent Beer Night yet.) If you’re a Cleveland sports fan, you’ll enjoy this offbeat collection.

Here’s Akron, with attitude. A giant cockroach, ticket-happy traffic cops, sexting teens, bumbling politicians, prima donna sports stars . . . There are few topics that Akron Beacon Journal columnist Bob Dyer hasn’t tackled head-on. His biting commentary has earned him followers and foes alike—along with a boatload of awards. In this collection of his best writing, Dyer nearly crashes the Goodyear blimp, drag races in a ’64 Plymouth Barracuda, drives a 126-ton locomotive, panhandles on a downtown street corner, surveys the “Great Wall of Fairlawn,” dispenses unsolicited advice to LeBron James, and generally waves a red flag at political correctness. Great fun to read—as long as you’re not overly sensitive!