All the Way to #1 Book Talk and Signing

Tuesday  |  October 4, 2016  |  12:44 PM

News Release:  Massillon Museum to Host All the Way to #1 Book Talk and Signing

The Massillon Museum will host Timothy Hudak for a book talk and signing Tuesday, October 4, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.  All the Way to #1 is a 408-page paperbound book authored by Hudak with John R. Pflug, Jr. Filled with 330 black and white photos, statistics, and the most comprehensive listing of the 20th century’s high school football champions found anywhere,All the Way to #1 is a one-of-a-kind book of interest to fans across the country.

The 20th century was the defining era of high school football, and during that time a select group of programs across the country solidified their reputations as the nation’s greatest teams. With legendary coaches like Paul Brown, Wright Bazemore, Gerry Faust, and Bob Ladouceur, they produced national championship teams at schools like Massillon, Valdosta, Moeller, and De La Salle.

But which of these teams was the greatest? All the Way to #1 is the first book to thoroughly document the nation’s top 20th-century high school football teams. Identifying 17 legendary programs, football historian Timothy Hudak tells exciting and entertaining stories of how these teams came to national prominence and draws his own conclusion about which of them was the best.

Hudak is a graduate of the University of Hawaii, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history. He has been studying the history of football at the high school and collegiate levels for more than 25 years and is the author of almost four dozen articles and book reviews on high school and college athletics. He has taught courses in the history of college football at community colleges. Hudak and his wife, Patti Graziano, live in Cleveland.

Co-author Pflug (who will not attend the event) is a graduate of Brown University, where he majored in political science. His father, Bob, was a high school player in Ohio and a high school football coach in Pennsylvania, both of which earned him high school Hall of Fame recognition. This generated in John Pflug an abiding interest in the sport of football. He has spent the last 15 years researching the history of high school football, in particular the high school football national champions of the 20th century. Pflug and his wife, Carol, reside on the family farm in Browns Cove, Albemarle County, Virginia.

All the Way to #1 is offered for sale for $34 in OHregionalities, the Museum shop, where patrons will also find handcrafted items, local books, notecards featuring Museum images, and unique Christmas gifts. Museum memberships are always available at the reception desk. Complimentary coffee and a cookie will be available to attendees at the event.

The Massillon Museum receives operating support from the Ohio Arts Council and ArtsinStark. The Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East (Ohio Route 172) in downtown Massillon.  A visit to the Massillon Museum is always free and free parking is available on adjacent streets and in nearby city lots.  For more information, call the Museum at 330-833-4061 or visitmassillonmuseum.org.