Tom Benjey's Weblog

I’ve been asked why I haven’t blogged lately. There are two major reasons (besides often not having anything worth saying): volunteer work associated with the Craighead House restoration keeps me pretty busy and I’ve been getting another book ready to publish. I’ve published books of my own before, reprinted out-of-print books, helped other authors get their books in print, but, until now, hadn’t published another author’s new book. Going to press as this is being written is America’s Cradle of Quarterbacks: Western Pennsylvania’s Football Factory from Johnny Unitas to Joe Montana. This is author Wayne Stewart’s 30^th book, most of which deal with some topic related to sports.

It’s very different promoting a book written by someone else rather than one I’ve written. I’m more comfortable speaking positively about it than I ever was about my own books. I only felt comfortable talking about how interesting the subject of my books were and, in Lone Star Dietz’s case, how descriptive his illustrations were. Sure, I get to talk about how Stewarts subjects, Johnny Unitas, George Blanda, Joe Namath, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, and Joe Montana, led interesting lives. But now, I get to talk about Wayne Stewart’s writing, how it grabs your attention and keeps you wanting to hear what happens next.

Others who’ve read the manuscript agree with me:

“Stewart has written a fascinating book that belongs on the shelves of football historians and everyday fans alike.” Jeffry J. Miller, author of Rockin’ The Rockpile, Buffalo’s Forgotten Champions, and Game Changers

“Any fan of the Baltimore Colts of my era, any fan of my friend and teammate Johnny Unitas, or, for that matter, any fan of football in general should enjoy Wayne Stewart’s book. It contains great stories, statistics, and information on all of the many great quarterbacks who came out of Western Pennsylvania and much more.” Raymond Berry, NFL Hall of Fame Wide Receiver