from the Blog World, WGCY News, Gibson City

Book On Illinois High School Football Published

To coincide with the start of the 2010 Illinois high school football season, a longtime high school sports writer is releasing a book on the history of the sport in Illinois.

The book is Dusty, Deek, and Mr. Do-Right: High School Football in Illinois, by Taylor Bell, the longtime high school sports writer for the Chicago Sun-Times. The title makes reference to Tuscola quarterback Dusty Burk, Pittsfield coaching legend Donald “Deek” Pollard and Evanston coach Murney “Mr. Do Right” Lazier.

“We talked to the great players and the great coaches. We dealt with the great programs and the great teams, not just the large schools but the small schools and the mid-size schools and the great games and so forth,” Bell said.

Many of the stories took place before high school football playoffs began in 1974. Programs chronicled include DuQuoin, Metamora, Geneseo and Decatur St. Theresa, which had great programs in the 1940s and 1950s. The book also discusses winning programs at schools such as East St. Louis, Mount Carmel, and Joliet Catholic.

The book is published by the University of Illinois Press.