The Game of Their Lives: The Untold Story of the World Cup's Biggest Upset – America's Stunning 1950 Soccer Victory Over England

In the summer of 1950, a most unlikely group was assembled to represent its country in the first soccer World Cup since World War II. The Americans were outsiders to the sport, the underdogs of the event, a 500-to-1 long shot. But they were also proud and loyal men -- to one another, to their communities, and certainly to their country. Facing almost no time to prepare, opponents with superior training, and skepticism from the rest of the world, this ragtag group of unknowns was inspired to a stunning victory over England and one of the most thrilling upsets in the history of sports.

Written by critically acclaimed author Geoffrey Douglas, and now a film directed by David Anspaugh (Hoosiers), The Game of Their Lives takes us back to a time before million-dollar contracts and commercial endorsements, and introduces us to the athletes -- the Americans -- who showed the world just how far a long shot could really go.

Geoffrey Douglas is the author of three earlier books of nonfiction—The Game of Their Lives: The Untold Story of the World Cup's Biggest Upset; Dead Opposite: The Lives and Loss of Two American Boys; and Class: The Wreckage of an American Family. An adjunct professor of writing at the University of Massachusetts, he lives in southern New Hampshire.