'November Ever After' has company on book shelves

Sports history has always been a fascinating subject to a lot of people. That’s what I’ve discovered since November Ever After – my memoir about the 1970 Marshall University football plane crash – was published two years ago.

Since then, I’ve come across a lot of new information from a number of reliable sources. As a result, I’ve had to rethink my position about writing another book on the topic. For now, I’m not going into any detail about it. You’ll see more on that in the weeks to come.

As an author, I’ve learned that it takes a lot more work than most people will ever know to having a book published. It’s quite a journey to go from finishing the first chapter of a manuscript to seeing your book in print.

Two friends of mine – Les Hicks and Nate Northington – have recently published sports history-related books in 2013.

Hicks is the author of Against All Odds: Fourth Down and Forever, a book that details how the Marshall plane crash inspired him to live a life of serving others. Les was a defensive lineman at Marshall in the years that immediately followed the crash.

Northington’s autobiography Still Running is steeped in the history of college athletics in the Deep South from back in the day. Nate, a running back/defensive back/kick return specialist, signed with the University of Kentucky in the mid-1960s. He broke the color line as the first black athlete to play football in the Southeastern Athletic Conference.

You can take a look at these books on the Amazon.com web site.

Click here for Against All Odds
  

 Click here for Still Running

Crash victim’s son “still a boy who longs for his dad”

Editor’s Note: Here’s a letter I received from Frank Loria Jr., the son of the one of the coaches who perished in the Marshall University football plane crash on November 14, 1970. Coach Frank Loria was my position coach when I played for the Thundering Herd.

Dear Craig,

I am the son of one of your former coaches at Marshall, Frank Loria. Just wanted to reach out and say how much I appreciate your book November Ever After. I especially enjoyed reading about the point you said my dad would always make about taking care of the little things and the big things will come. Since I was born December 30, 1970, I never knew him. Even so, I never tire of hearing things like that about him.

Just so you know my life has been great. Despite the void, I have a lot to be thankful for. My mom is a true hero and her story is a source of strength for me.  When my dad died she had my two older sisters (age 3 and age 1 at the time) and then of course me to take care of.  She really did a great job and the thing I most admire is that she never openly complained about the deal she was given.

I was fortunate to have constant reminders of who my dad was and what he stood for. As a kid his memory made me strive to excel in everything I did and to do so in an honest and good way. I wanted to be a “good boy” that my dad would have been proud of. That led me to go to West Point for college and serve proudly in the Army. That same desire to excel drives me today in the business world.  I may be a 42-year old man, but I am still a boy who longs for his dad. That may sound sad and I guess it is, but it helps me to be the best dad I can be to my two beautiful children.

I also appreciated your perspective about the tense race issues of those days. Marshall certainly was way ahead of its time in integrating folks from different races but that doesn't mean it was easy.  The thing is the crash didn’t discriminate. And from that it seems that, although not perfectly, people came together as human beings to grieve and then to move on.  Huntington, West Virginia is a special place.

This is the deal I have been given and I accept it. As I said, my life has been great and I am very happy.  But as you say in the book, “it's always with you.”  Life is messy!

My first visit to Marshall was in 2000 for the unveiling of the bronze statue and the 30th memorial of the plane crash. It was a time of healing for me. I got to meet a lot of people and for me it was most special to connect with other folks who lost parents.  There was an immediate bond of understanding and love. I have continued to go back as much as I can. I had the honor to speak at the 35th memorial which was really a privilege. I consider myself part of the Marshall family.

Anyway, I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for sharing your story.

Take Care,

Frank

Southside Connection: “November Ever After”

“I run into people all the time who tell me that they know about the movie (“We Are Marshall”), but they also want to know about the truth (“November Ever After”). What Warner Brothers did was fine in and of itself, but it didn’t go far enough. The movie proclaimed itself as a true story, when in actuality, it was not. The true story has enough in it, so it doesn’t need to be altered.”

Craig T. Greenlee, author

“November Ever After”

The above is an excerpt from Greenlee’s interview on the radio talk show “Southside Connection,” hosted by Ed Lane. The show airs weekdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on ESPN Southside (1160 AM) in Martinsville, Virginia. Click on the link below to listen to the podcast which is posted on the ESPN Southside web site.  

Radio Interview Southside Connection

Upcoming interview on sports radio talk show

“November Ever After” author Craig T. Greenlee was a guest on the sports radio talk show “Southside Connection” with host Ed Lane earlier this week. A podcast of the interview will be made available soon. Check back on this site to find out when the interview will be posted.

The veteran sports writer and former Marshall University football player, will talk about the circumstances that prompted him to write a memoir about the 1970 plane crash that killed most of Marshall’s football team.

Greenlee will also discuss why he felt compelled to do author a sequel, which is scheduled to be published over the next 12 to 18 months. 

“Southside Connection” airs weekdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on ESPN Southside (1160 AM) in Martinsville, Virginia.

“I thought I knew all there was to know …”

Author’s Note: Thought I’d share this message I received from a Marshall alumnus. It never ceases to amaze me how the story of the Marshall University football plane crash and its aftermath continues to resonate with people of all ages, races and cultures.

Hello Craig,

This past Christmas, my wife bought me a copy of your book November Ever After.  I cannot tell you how much I loved your book!  I have read probably a dozen or so books on the subject of the 1970 plane crash, but your book included information I had never heard about. 

I thought I knew all there was to know about this tragedy until I read your book.  I had NO IDEA your freshman team at Marshall was undefeated while the varsity played so poorly in 1968. 

Just think of what kind of team you could have fielded in 1969 had there been no recruiting scandal!  I also had no clue about the racial tension on campus at the time.  I assumed there was, as that was happening on college campuses all over the U.S. But stories such as the intramural football game involving the Kappa Alpha fraternity and the fight in the Twin Towers dining hall were simply fascinating.  Reading about the atmosphere on campus immediately following news of the crash from somebody living on campus was incredibly interesting as well.

My father (Peter Barr) came to Marshall in the fall of 1968.  My mother (Carol Topping) started her freshman year at WVU in 1968, but came to Marshall in 1969.  Her parents owned the Stationers Office Supply chain. One of the stores was located on 5th Avenue in Huntington, not too far from where your practice field was. 

My mother was a member of Alpha Xi Delta, and was living in the sorority house when news of the crash broke.  She too remembered screams from her sisters as they discovered that their boyfriends were gone.  Since both her family and my father’s family were born and bred in Huntington, both of their families lost a lot of friends that night was well.  

In 2000, I performed at the 30th Anniversary Memorial on campus (I was a Music major at MU).  Both you and my parents graduated from Marshall years before I did, and although I have never met you, it kind of feels like we are all related and bound together by this school and a tragedy that no one else from any other school can relate to.

Unfortunately, you experienced it face to face.  Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences through your incredible book, so that those of us who were not there, can continue to honor a respect the memories of those who were.

Go Herd! 

Jason P. Barr

Visiting Assistant Professor of Music

Glenville State College

Glenville, West Virginia

(MU Class of 2003)

Greenlee speaks: ‘It’s a story whose time has come’

The memoir November Ever After is an up-close and personal look at the 1970 Marshall University football plane crash that claimed the lives of 75 people. The crash is considered to be the worst aviation disaster in the history of American sports.

Author Craig T. Greenlee discusses the memoir – which readers have discovered to be a “compelling true story with historical significance,” in an interview on the Book Tour Radio web site.

Book Tour Radio serves as a viable on-line platform for book authors of all genres, which run the gamut from biographies, fiction and poetry to romance, sci-fi and self-help.

Interviews are conducted by host Julie Joyce, the executive producer of BTR.

Click on the link below which will take you to the author page. To listen to Greenlee’s interview, scroll down the page and click on the MP3 file. You can also download the file on your computer and listen at a later time if you so desire.

http://www.booktourradio.com/november-ever-after

"Writing this memoir was truly a catharsis for me"

Editor's Note: Below is an excerpt from an interview with author Craig T. Greenlee in Black Pearls Online Magazine. The Q&A is featured in the "Speak Brothers Speak" section on the web site. BPM is a free digital magazine whose purpose is to inspire, encourage and empower an international readership. The magazine's mission is to provide information that is essential, enlightening and entertaining.

http://www.blackpearlsmagazine.com/speakbrothers.html

BPM: Who did you write the book for? Why now? Why was this book important to create?

Greenlee: The book was written primarily for those folks whose personal stories about the crash have never been told before. Looking back on the publication process, I realized that I also wrote this book for myself, even though I wasn’t consciously aware of it at the time. After finishing the manuscript, it dawned on me that writing this memoir was a truly a catharsis for me.

There is closure, but I’m not sure if it’s complete. Maybe that’s why I feel driven to produce a sequel in the near future.  On several levels, it might seem strange that it took more than four decades for this book to come to fruition. But I’ve concluded that it’s all about timing. The time has finally arrived for this story to get widespread exposure.

In years past, quite a few people who had stories to share were not eager to do so for one reason or another. But now, those same people have shown a willingness to be candid about all of the emotional ups and downs that they experienced as it relates to the crash and its aftermath.

This is a story that’s long overdue. So now, readers can examine the human interest aspect of this historical event – directly from the mouths of those who were on the scene at the time. Readers will discover that while football is the centerpiece for the book, there are so many other elements involved that when combined, make for a riveting story.