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The Athlete: Greatness, Grace and the Unprecedented Life of Charlie Ward Kindle Edition
Jon Finkel (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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The Athlete is the first definitive biography of Charlie Ward. Culled from hundreds of articles, clippings, books and original interviews with those who know Charlie best, this story begins with a foundation of college athletic excellence laid down by his father. From there, Jon Finkel traces Ward’s background from small-town Thomasville, Georgia to football-crazed Tallahassee to basketball Mecca Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ward’s remarkable journey includes staggering setbacks—from a near career-ending leg injury in high school, to academic obstacles prior to attending Florida State, to not being drafted by an NFL team after winning the Heisman Trophy. Through it all, Charlie’s calm demeanor, high character and unshakeable faith buoyed his belief that be it basketball or football, grades or career, he was going to succeed and set a strong example along the way.
As electrifying as Charlie Ward’s highlight reel, The Athlete is a towering sports biography, epic in scope and triumphant in its portrayal of one of the greatest modern athletes the world has ever seen.
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateDecember 1, 2017
- Reading age14 - 18 years
- Grade level5 - 12
- File size7116 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Praise for Charlie Ward
"Charlie Ward is not only a once-in-a-lifetime athlete, he's a once-in-a-lifetime person. The Athlete is the remarkable, page-turning biography his story deserves." - Tony Dungy, Super Bowl Champion Head Coach
"I can't imagine if you're a high school parent and your son is being coached by a man with the combination of athletic success, personal character and competitive spirit that Charlie has. I still don't think people properly grasp what this guy has done. And now to pass all that knowledge and experience on to high school kids? It's perfect."
- Jeff Van Gundy, ex-NBA Coach, NBA Analyst
"His leadership transcended offense, defense and special teams. It transcended the basketball court. The way he goes about his life with such integrity. The way he's remained grounded after all he's accomplished. I've learned as much from him as he ever did from me."- Mark Richt, University of Miami Head Coach
"I lived with Charlie during the height of his college football popularity and I have so much respect for how he carried himself. He was the biggest star in college and he was so humble. His teammates respected him. His leadership was so unique. He had such a quiet strength and he treated people so well. You can achieve all of your dreams and goals and treat people with the utmost respect!" - Warrick Dunn, National Champion, 3x NFL Pro Bowler
"I became a believer in Charlie Ward the person before I became a believer in Charlie Ward the football player. We were neighbors for two years at Florida State. As a quarterback, he changed the college game as we know it with his speed and passing. As a man, he's almost beyond reproach." - William Floyd, National Champion, Super Bowl Champion
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B077L9675M
- Publication date : December 1, 2017
- Language : English
- File size : 7116 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 302 pages
- Lending : Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,427,183 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Jon Finkel’s books have been endorsed by everyone from Kevin Durant and Tony Dungy, to Spike Lee and Mark Cuban. He is the author of the recent books:
Hoops Heist: Seattle, the Sonics, and How a Stolen Team's Legacy Gave Rise to the NBA's Secret Empire
The Life of Dad: Reflections on Fatherhood from Today’s Leaders, Icons and Legendary Dads
The Athlete: Greatness, Grace and the Unprecedented Life of Charlie Ward on Heisman Trophy winner, National Champion and New York Knicks star, Charlie Ward.
He also wrote “Mean” Joe Greene: Built By Football with 4x Super Bowl Champion Joe Greene, Heart Over Height with 3x NBA Dunk Champion Nate Robinson and Forces of Character with 3x Super Bowl Champion and Fighter Pilot Chad Hennings. In addition, he authored the Mario Lopez-endorsed fatherhood fitness book, The Dadvantage.
His book, Jocks In Chief: Forty-Four Essays Ranking the Most Athletic Presidents, from the Fight Crazy to the Spectacularly Lazy, is the first book in US History to rank every single president - athletically.
As a feature writer, he has written for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, The New York Times, GQ, Details, Yahoo! Sports and many more. His NBA book series, ‘Greatest Stars of the NBA’ won several American Library Association awards and the twelve books were a part of the NBA’s famous ‘Read to Achieve’ program. His feature writing also received a notable mention in the 2015 Best American Sports Writing Anthology.
Jon has been a live TV guest on CBS: This Morning and Good Morning Texas and has appeared on hundreds of radio stations, podcasts and live-streams promoting his work.
He is also the co-host of the Life of Dad Show podcast (600k downloads) and the Lunch Break Facebook Live Show (1M viewers).
Customer reviews
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Loved it and loved it highlights the generational sports genes, in the Ward Family, originating from a HBCU Football program under legendary Coach Jake Gaither. Charlie Ward, Senior won MULTIPLE Championships, Junior just more FAMOUS. That is outside of THOMASVILLE, GA! *I'm related so my review my be biased, but I'm HONEST.
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