Pottsville readies as Maroons Week returns for encore

The following was reported in the Pottsville Republican and Herald today:

The overwhelming response to Maroons Week in Pottsville in October inspired Lasting Legacy of Pottsville and ESPN Books to schedule another.

Pushing to help the former Pottsville National Football League team reclaim its 1925 championship title, David Fleming, author of “Breaker Boys: The NFL’s Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship” will return to the area from Dec. 5 through 10.

Fleming will sign copies for fans locally in Pottsville and Tamaqua, and regionally in Berks, Dauphin, Lehigh and Luzerne counties. Other special events, including a visit to students at Blue Mountain Middle School, are being planned, according to the ESPN Books Web site and Eric S. Lipton, Pottsville, a representative of Lasting Legacy.

“I’m excited to be coming back and I’m hoping we see the book grow and find a regional audience. That’s the next step it needs to take,” said Fleming, who is spending Thanksgiving with family in Davidson, N.C.

Fleming’s book, released Oct. 9, reignited an interest in the Pottsville Maroons. Lipton said he couldn’t remember the last time local interest in the team’s legacy has been this intense.

Between September and October, Lasting Legacy of Pottsville sold 1,640 copies of “Breaker Boys.” Lipton said Lasting Legacy has ordered another 500 copies for the upcoming events, but can’t say how many people will turn out for the December book signings.

“We really missed the boat on our estimates last time. We can’t make any intelligent approximation. I hope we run out again,” Lipton said.

Talking to students

Fleming will celebrate the 82nd anniversary of the Maroons’ Dec. 6, 1925, victory over the Chicago Cardinals at Chicago for the National League Championship by speaking to students at Blue Mountain Middle School, Orwigsburg.

“It will bring it to life for the students, since it falls on that day,” Fleming said.

This event is made possible by Fleming and The REPUBLICAN & Herald, according to Janet Joyce, director of marking and community services for the newspaper.

The newspaper had asked Fleming to make an appearance at the 21st annual REPUBLICAN & Herald Family Reading Festival at the Schuylkill Mall on Nov. 3. Unable to attend, Fleming said he’d love to help in some other way.

“One of the suggestions I put out was could we raffle off a chance to win a meet-and-greet and he agreed to it,” Joyce said.

The newspaper published a coupon for students to fill out in its Nov. 2 edition. Students filled these out and dropped them off at the newspaper’s booth at the festival. A winner, Tori Correll of Blue Mountain Middle School, was picked Nov. 4, Joyce said.

At 9 a.m. Fleming will speak to about 800 students in the middle school’s sixth, seventh and eighth grades in the auditorium, said Jane F. Dries, one of the school’s reading and social studies teachers.

“From what I understand, he’s going to speak to the students for about 45 minutes, then he’ll do a book signing for any students or staff who have books,” Dries said.

This is a great opportunity for students to embrace local history, Dries said.

“I’m a believer if you want children to understand and appreciate history, you have to start with history that’s close to them,” Dries said.

Book tour

Fleming will participate in at least 10 book signings during this five-day book tour, according to Lipton and the ESPN Books Web site.

The first will be sponsored by The REPUBLICAN & Herald at 123 Mahantongo St. from 3 to 6 p.m. Dec. 5.

This will a great opportunity for people to get a newspaper subscription, said David R. Sickle, director of circulation for The REPUBLICAN & Herald said.

“If a non-subscriber would like to start up a subscription right up on the spot, they’ll get the book for free,” Sickle said Wednesday.

The newspaper purchased 360 copies of the book for the event, Joyce said.

Another new location Fleming will sign copies at will be Weis Markets, 500 Pottsville Park Plaza, Pottsville, from noon to 2 p.m. Dec. 6. The event is being sponsored by Lasting Legacy, Lipton said.

“It’s a good opportunity for us to get involved with the community,” said Tony L. Cucunato, the store’s manager.

Fleming will return to a few locations he visited in October. From 3 to 5 p.m. Dec. 6, for instance, Fleming will sign books at Good-Will Christian Book Store, 310 N. Centre St., Pottsville, Lipton said.

When the author signed books there on Oct. 12, a scheduled two-hour event turned into a nearly five-hour event, the store sold 360 copies and more than 300 people came in to have books signed, said the store’s owner, Roy W. Musser.

Musser isn’t sure how many people will turn out Dec. 6.

“I don’t expect lines like the last time, but hopefully we’ll have a good number of people, it will bring a lot of new people into the store. We’re always trying to get new customers and maybe they’ll do some Christmas buying while they’re there,” Musser said.

More to come?

Lasting Legacy and ESPN Books are also trying to set up another special event for Dec. 5, a debate on the Pottsville Maroons controversy between Fleming and a representative of either the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio, or the Professional Football Researchers Association, Huntingdon, according to Lipton.

“We don’t have anything scheduled yet. I don’t know if that’s going to happen. There’s a scheduling conflict,” Lipton said.

“But I think it’s a great idea,” Fleming said.

Since “Breaker Boys” was released by ESPN Books on Oct. 9, new efforts to help the team regain their 1925 title were launched. Fleming started an online petition to encourage the NFL to return the 1925 title to the Maroons. As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, it accumulated 9,350 signatures. State Rep. Tim Seip, D-125, and state Rep. Neal P. Goodman, D-123, are planning to present a resolution to the state House of Representatives on Dec. 10 requesting that NFL owners return the title to the team.

Aaron Schimpf, Minersville, also started a Web site for the Pottsville Maroons at breakerboys1925.com three weeks ago and a screenplay based on Fleming’s book is still being held in limbo due to the Writers Guild of America strike.