Russell Wilson Standing Tall

Few took notice when the Seattle Seahawks selected Russell Wilson in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Despite Wilson’s accomplishments at the college level, few experts predicted success for the sub-6-foot signal caller. Two years later, Wilson and the Seahawks were Super Bowl champions. With Seattle’s triumph in Super Bowl XLVIII, Wilson set the NFL record for most wins in a quarterback’s first two seasons. In this commemorative edition, veteran Seattle sports writers Art Thiel and Steve Rudman trace the quarterback’s ascent from North Carolina State to Wisconsin, with a detour into professional baseball, and through the Super Bowl XLVIII win. Featuring nearly 100 unique color photographs, Russell Wilson: Standing Tall captures the meteoric rise of one of the NFL’s most surprising superstars. 

Art Thiel was a columnist at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for nearly 30 years before he and Steve Rudman founded Sportspress Northwest in 2010. His 2003 book abut the Seattle Mariners, Out of Left Field, was a regional best seller. A graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, Thiel regularly appears on the Seattle NPR affiliate, KPLU-FM. He lives in Seattle. Steve Rudman’s career in sports journalism has included roles as an editor and columnist at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, editor of The National Sports Review, director of research at ESPN, and a talk-show host at KIRO Radio, Seattle’s CBS affiliate. He previously authored 100 Years of Husky Football and coauthored The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists. He lives in Seattle. Sportspress Northwest is an online venture founded by Art Thiel and Steve Rudman in 2010. The site provides analysis and commentary on the Seattle Seahawks, Sounders, Mariners and University of Washington football and basketball teams. Mike Holmgren is a veteran NFL coach and executive who coached the Seattle Seahawks from 1999 to 2008, including the Seahawks’ NFC Championship season in 2005. Holmgren coached the Green Bay Packers to their Super Bowl XXXI triumph in 1996.