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The Cyclone (1930) by Henry H. Graham ⭐⭐⭐
On the flyleaf, there is an inscription that is a bit hard to read, but we do know that it was given to Vasser, and it was from Grandma, Grandpa, a name that starts with an S, Dona, and a name that starts with H. Let this stand as a good example against the erroneous claim that people in the old days “had such good handwriting”. Nope, sorry. They were just like us, and scribbled just as hastily as we do today.
This is the illustration in the front of the book. Now that is One. High. Kick! The illustration is signed by Herman F. Burns. In this photo, we also see that it was published in Nashville, Tennessee by the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The Cyclone is a neat story about a junior in high school who has just relocated to fictional Wildhorse, Arizona, staying with a friend of the family. Everything here is new to David, and he knows no one at all at the school he is to attend. None of the people in town except a choice few know anything about David, and his past is shrouded in mystery. It becomes even more mysterious when he seems to come out of nowhere to become the star of the high school football team. This story is written much like a Horatio Alger novel, where the hero is undeniably good and thoughtful, and the villains are unreasonably nasty. In the end, his story is told.
The Cyclone is a very good read, and has a lot of interesting descriptions of the football gameplay. I love old sports stories because of this. They always have some interesting outdated lingo, but the underlying game is usually the same. If not, it’s a fascinating look into the way they used to do things before these sports were evolved into what they are today.
I would definitely recommend this short book to anyone who is interested in football. It’s also one of those wonderful stories with a strong, intelligent hero that a person can admire.
