The African-American football player Chuck Ealey grew up in a segregated
neighborhood of Portsmouth, Ohio. Against all odds, he became an
incredible quarterback. But despite his unbeaten record in high school
and university, he would never play professional football in the United
States.
Chuck Ealey grew up poor in a racially segregated community that was
divided from the rest of town by a set of train tracks, but his mother
assured him that he wouldn't stay in Portsmouth forever. Education was
the way out, and a football scholarship was the way to pay for that
education. So despite the racist taunts he faced at all the games he
played in high school, Chuck maintained a remarkable level of dedication
and determination. And when discrimination followed him to university
and beyond, Chuck Ealey remained undefeated.
This inspirational story is told by Chuck Ealey's daughter, author and
educator Jael Richardson, with striking and powerful illustrations by
award-winning illustrator Matt James.