Tales from the Gonzaga Bulldogs Locker Room

It's the mom-and-pop store that has become a national franchise. The most renowned player in school history grew up three blocks from the cozy campus, yet the program has grown into a perennial top 25 power with a coast-to-coast following-even if those casual fans still mangle the name. It's Gonzaga University-"Gon-zag-a"-as in "Zags," the endearment that has overtaken "Bulldogs" as the school's athletic ID. There are many Bulldogs, but only a few Zags. There are many Zags stories, however, and fans will find the essence of this college basketball phenomenon in Tales from the Gonzaga Bulldogs Locker Room. For readers who only know Gonzaga as the school that launched John Stockton toward the Basketball Hall of Fame and later rewrote the concept of being an NCAA Tournament Cinderella, this anecdotal anthology will fill in the blanks. The book focuses on a variety of names and events, like the "Tall Gaul"-seven-foot-three Frenchman Jean Claude Lefebvre; the year the Zags actually pulled their "sixth man" out of the stands; and Frank Burgess, the future judge who led the nation in scoring. These stories are all a part of the little-known legacy that led to the modern-day heroics of Dan Dickau, Richie Frahm, Blake Stepp, and many others. Fans will meet them all, along with numerous other unforgettable characters, in this reissue of Tales from the Gonzaga Bulldogs Locker Room. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports-books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Dave Boling is a veteran columnist for the Tacoma News Tribune.