Former ISL assistant editor Doug Griffiths helps write Purdue book
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Founder
Former ISL assistant editor Doug Griffiths has teamed up with Gold and Black publisher Alan Karpick and Purdue assistant athletic director Tom Schott to write a book about Purdue athletics.
Tales from the Purdue Boilermakers Locker Room, A Collection of the Greatest Boilermaker Stories Ever Told, is available at all major bookstores and on Amazon here. It is a 224-page hardcover book with 20 black-and-white photographs. It costs $19.99 in stores, and also is available as an e-book.
Griffiths was a tireless worker for ISL in 2012, covering Notre Dame football the year Manti Te’o was the Heisman runner-up and the Fighting Irish went to the national title game. He wrote a popular Big Ten picks column for us, providing some of the most viewed content produced by the site.
Doug also contributed to the listing of Purdue’s Top 10 receivers, ISL’s most exhaustive project to date. He currently works at the Plymouth Pilot News.
A little bit about the book, per a news release:
The history of Purdue athletics is sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and triumphant, and often pretty amazing—but always uniquely human. Many wild characters have arisen over twelve decades of competition, and nearly two hundred of these great stories are chronicled in this book, first published in 2003.
On the hardwood, readers will learn why Purdue turned down its first opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament and how the first “Big Dog” in Purdue men’s basketball history wasn’t Glenn Robinson. From the football sidelines, the authors reveal the dramatic incident that almost cost the lives of Rose Bowl heroes Bob Griese and George Catavolos at the 1967 Hula Bowl. Readers will find out how longtime New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner became an assistant coach for the Purdue football team. Included are the stories of Purdue’s national championship teams, like the 1961 golf team, which was led by a player who never lost to golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, and the triumphant story of the 1999 Purdue women’s basketball team surviving three coaching changes en route to a national title. Readers will enjoy stories from some of the colorful characters in the school’s past: Mike Alstott, Lin Dunn, Gene Keady, George King, Ward “Piggy” Lambert, Jack Mollenkopf, Michael “Scooby” Scearce, Moose Skowron, Joe Tiller, and Drew Brees—to name a few. Reminisce about the early days and origins of Boilermaker sports and follow the legendary paths of some of their brightest stars.
About the Contributors:
Doug Griffiths, a 1991 Purdue graduate, is a sportswriter at Plymouth Pilot News. He was previously an assistant editor at IndySportsLegends.com, as well as a writer for Nebraska’s Huskers Illustrated and an editor of Gold & Black Illustrated.
Alan Karpick, a graduate of Purdue, is the president/publisher of Gold & Black Illustrated and GoldandBlack.com. He is the author of Boilermaker Basketball: Great Purdue Teams and Players.
Tom Schott has been a part of Purdue’s athletics department communications team since 1990. Most recently, he has served as the associate athletics director, a position he has held since 2011. He is the author of the Purdue University Football Vault.
