Twelve Mighty Orphans The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football

They Were Just a Scrawny Band of Orphans from Fort Worth, Texas, in the 1930s and 1940s-the Masonic Home Mighty Mites, a group of boys bound together by hardship and death. Their first practice started without a football, only six scarred leather helmets, and mismatched, tattered jerseys. But their devoted coach, who worked for peanuts and drove them around in the Home's antique, smoke-belching truck they called Old Blue, inspired them to believe in themselves-and within a few years they were playing for the state championship against the biggest and richest high schools in the state, despite being outweighed at least thirty pounds a man. Soon they attracted legions of fans far beyond the borders of Texas. When heroes were scarce during the Great Depression, the Mighty Mites became a symbol of hope. They showed America that heart can triumph over the greatest obstacles.

Jim Dent, a longtime award-winning journalist who covered the Dallas Cowboys for eleven years in Fort Worth and Dallas, including a stint at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has written six books, including The Junction Boys, the New York Times bestseller that was the basis for an ESPN movie and remains a fan favorite. Dent lives in Texas.