At the Finish Line: Local Icons, Legends, and Records from the Heartland

From 1969 to 1974, Richard (Dick) "Humpy" Knodle authored a sports column for his local newspaper--The Mt. Morris Times-- Mt. Morris, Illinois. The Times was a new publication, having replaced the Mt. Morris Index which had been the local newspaper since 1890. Dick and his colleagues produced a weekly epistle that covered local, regional, state and national sports, with the emphasis on all those local athletes who honed their skills from football to basketball to golf, tennis, track and more. Dick told his wife, Darlene, that his intention in writing the column was to ensure that every athlete, no matter the sport, got his/her name in the newspaper at least once per year. Mix in a little local politics and commentary, and you have a robust picture of life in a small printing town in northern Illinois, chock full of some pretty amazing athletes and supporters.