Perfect for readers of Seabiscuit, The Boys in the Boat, and Unbroken
"Electrifying and elegant… told with journalistic precision and pulse-quickening action."
— Men's Health
"A high-velocity work of narrative history, full of heart, soul, and fury."
— Steve Hockensmith, bestselling author of Holmes on the Range
"The kind of true story Hollywood spends years looking for."
— Paul Tamasy, Oscar-nominated writer/producer, The Fighter
AS THE TWENTIETH CENTURY ROARS TO LIFE,
EVERYONE HAS A DREAM, SO EVERYONE HAS A FIGHT
For Mike Gibbons, a penniless, bullied Irish American kid from the hardscrabble streets of St. Paul, the fight is destiny. Beneath the light of Halley's Comet in 1910, Mike and his younger brother, Tommy, vow to punch their way out of poverty and become champions of the outlawed prize ring.
Guided by a priest, a firefighter, and a beloved sportswriter—and mentored by America's first Black champions, Joe Gans, Jack Johnson, and Sam Langford—Mike pioneers a dazzling new style of scientific boxing, one that prizes strategy over brute force. It carries him from backroom brawls to the roar of Madison Square Garden and into the orbit of titans such as Harry Houdini, Tex Rickard, President Theodore Roosevelt, General John J. Pershing, Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. As his legend grows, he earns the name "The St. Paul Phantom."
But Mike's meteoric ascent, shadowed by romance and sacrifice, is fraught with conflict. Torn between his immigrant father's bloody rebel past and his mother's fear for his life, he falls for a fierce-willed suffragist who demands that he abandon the ring forever. His loyalty is tested further when his greatest rival turns out to be his own brother.
Mike and Tommy's daring quest spans rails and oceans—to the nation's grand arenas, to the birth of jazz and cinema, to the eruption of race riots and the rise of organized crime; from famine- weary Ireland to Gotham's bedlam, quake-scarred San Francisco, and the immaculate shores of Havana. Just as their dreams come within reach, World War I and the devastating influenza pandemic upend the globe, calling them to trade gloves for uniforms and help strengthen America's fighting forces.
In the war's aftermath, an aging Mike returns to the ring for one final shot at the world middleweight championship against a dangerous young fighter he once trained.
THE ST. PAUL PHANTOM is more than a boxing story. It is a sweeping historical epic that illuminates the American experience and the common ground that binds us together. Lavishly illustrated with dozens of rare, never-before-seen photographs and more than 75 original pen-and-ink illustrations, it is an inspiring, panoramic true story of courage, faith, love, brotherhood, and redemption—and a powerful reflection of the hope, promise, and opportunity of the American Dream.
As the nation celebrates America250, rediscover a remarkable chapter of the American Dream. Step into the ring and follow the extraordinary journey of the Gibbons brothers—an unforgettable saga of courage, ambition, and glory forged in the dawn of modern America. Order your copy today!
