Author of Praying Colonels book holds signing

RELEASED: November 20, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—Robert W. Robertson Jr. '63, author of "The Wonder Team," will be at the Centre College Bookstore on Friday, Nov. 21, from 2-4 p.m. for a book signing. "The Wonder Team" takes an in-depth look at the Praying Colonels and their rise to the top of the football world from 1917-1924. The book will be available to buy at the bookstore.

Robertson was also on campus during October's Homecoming festivities to showcase the original fire engine that the 1921 Praying Colonels rode on through Danville after their victory over Harvard: click here for the story.

"The Wonder Team" is the story of the most famous and publicized college football team ever to play the game. It all began with a dream, an almost supernatural belief, held by Robert L. "Chief" Myers, that despite his lack of personal athletic prowess, he could recruit young men who could play the game and mold them into a championship squad, ably assisted by a wonderfully talented coach named "Uncle Charlie" Moran.  

The "Praying Colonels" of Centre College played all over the country and beat the major powers of the day, despite having only 200 students enrolled in the College. Centre produced three first-team Walter Camp All-Americans, played in three of the first post-season bowl venues ever held, and won the hearts of the entire nation as the "Roaring Twenties" were ushered in.

Robertson comes from a long line of Centre connections, starting with Judge Charles Godfrey Wintersmith, who attended Centre from 1829 to 1831. The author's father, Robert Wintersmith, Sr., M.D., and uncle, William Howard Robertson, were members of the Class of 1925, and another uncle, Frank Gault Robertson, was a member of the Class of 1932.

The author's brother, George W. Robertson, M.D., and sister-in-law, Claudia, are members of the Class of 1968; the author's son, Rob III, is a member of the Class of 1992. Another brother, William Howard Robertson II, attended Centre in 1967.

Robertson is a graduate of the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.