The Kids Got It Right

In the summer of 1964, a high school all-star team lost the most significant football game in Texas's history, to the Pennsylvania Big 33 squad. Determined to prevent another loss, Coach Bobby Layne met with the governor for an important request: authorization to recruit black all-stars for his new squad.

Although Texas was flush with many great black football stars, at the time, high school football was dominated by white players and black and white players rarely mixed in the racially divided state. Layne's scheme never would have worked without Bill Bradley and Jerry LeVias. When no one else would room with LeVias, one of three black players on the team, Bradley stepped forward, and the two quickly became the closest friends and the best of teammates.

Together—and with Layne's will to win—the two led their team to victory at Hershey Stadium. In The Kids Got It Right, Jim Dent tells the story of an American tale of leadership, brotherhood, and Texas-style football.