Eager to share memories about Marshall football

       Author Craig T. Greenlee gets a welcomed opportunity to talk about his time as a college jock at Marshall University at an upcoming book signing. On November 14, 1970, MU lost most of its football team in a horrible plane crash. Seventy-five people died and there were no survivors.

       Last fall, Greenlee published his first book – November Ever After – which provides a first-person perspective about what life was really like in the aftermath of the worst aviation disaster in the history of American sports.

       Greenlee will be on hand to sign copies of his book on Sunday (June 10) as part of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Associations Awards Weekend in Salisbury, North Carolina. The book signing will take place at the Literary Bookpost from 2-4 p.m.

       As a Marshall U. defensive back in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s, Greenlee knows a few things about that time period. Most of the players who were on that ill-fated flight were former teammates. He played two seasons, but left the team for personal reasons the year before the crash.

       “After the tragedy, I decided to return to the team and help in the rebuilding effort,” Greenlee said. “At that time, it never dawned on me that all of us who came out for spring football in 1971 (a few months after the crash) would wind up being part of history.

       “There are many aspects of the Marshall crash story that has never been dealt with. In writing my book, one of my goals is give readers a clearer understanding of how so many people were affected on so many different levels. November Ever After is truly a story whose time has finally come.”  

       Here’s a listing of the other authors who will participate in the book signing:

•  Leigh Montville -- Ted Williams: An American Hero. Montville is an NSSA Hall of Famer (2009)and former writer for the Boston Globe and Sports Illustrated. He has authored eight books, including biographies of Babe Ruth, Dale Earnhardt, Manute Bol and Evel Knievel.

• Duke University radio play-by-play announcer Bob Harris – From the Cotton Mill to the Crow’s Nest.

• Alabama Sportswriter of the Year Doug Segrest -- A Storm Came Up is a non-sports novel set in Alabama in the 1960s.
• Dave Ungrady -- Born Ready: The Mixed Legacy of Len Bias
• Herb Appenzeller -- Ethics in Sport
• Mark Johnson -- Argyle Armada: Behind the Scenes of the Pro Cycling Life
• Andrew Derr -- Life of Dreams, a book about NSSA Hall of Fame member Fred Russell.

       In conjunction with the book signing, Jostens will also display their twenty-eight Super Bowl championship rings. This event is free and open to the public.