Michael Loynd is chairman of the St. Louis Olympic Committee, a representative on the International Olympic Committee’s World Union of Olympic Cities, a member of the International Society of Olympic Historians, and a sports attorney and lecturer. He is the author of All Things Irish: A Novel.
Loynd's new book is The Watermen: The Birth of American Swimming and One Young Man's Fight to Capture Olympic Gold.
At Lit Hub Loynd tagged seven of his go-to books about underdogs, including:
Wayne Coffey, The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey TeamRead about another entry on the list.
Al Michael’s words in the last few seconds of the 1980 USA vs USSR Olympics hockey game are legendary: “Do you believe in Miracles? Yes!” Wayne Coffey takes us behind the scenes of all the sacrifices, hardship, and bonding that had to come together to make this ragtag group of college kids the greatest hockey team in the world—if just for that one night. Never has a sports game played such a part in our nation’s trajectory to recapture America’s lost swagger and confidence that had been lost after Vietnam and Watergate—and restored on this ice rink in Lake Placid. You’ll feel that way too.
--Marshal Zeringue
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