Courage Beyond the Game: The Freddie Steinmark Story

In this detailed though ultimately disappointing biography, Dent (The Junction Boys) again turns his attention to the glory days of college football, chronicling the sadly truncated life of Freddie Steinmark (1949%E2%80%931971). As an undersize sophomore starter at safety for the University of Texas, Steinmark possessed intelligence and guts, which made him an invaluable contributor. But as a junior in 1969, Steinmark's play dipped, and everyone couldn't help notice that he walked with a limp. Steinmark completed the regular season in tremendous pain; doctors discovered a bone sarcoma and eventually removed the young man's cancer-ravaged left leg. Dent's biography of a courageous student-athlete grappling with adversity starts promisingly before becoming submerged in country-fried descriptions (a strong-armed quarterback could "throw a football through a car wash without it getting wet"), interminable game recaps, and profiles of seemingly everyone Steinmark ever met. (Aug.)