Short description
In this inspiring and candid autobiography, Cec Thompson, one of Rugby League's all-stars and the first African-American in the League, tells his compelling story of humble beginnings and eventual sporting triumphs. Over the course of 30 years, Thompson transformed himself from a functioning illiterate into a respected teacher and successful businessman.
Long description
Cec Thompson recounts his remarkable rise from an uneducated orphan to become one of the first black men to represent the UK in rugby league. In the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Cec played outstanding rugby league for Hunslet and Wokington Town and was capped for Great Britain against New Zealand in 1951. His success on the field gradually awakened his belief that the formal education denied him in his early years, was the true key to self-advancement. He became obsessively determined to educate himself. In this remarkable autobiography, Cec not only describes his glory days on the rugby field, but also his long and painful years as a student. From the time when he could barely write his name, Cec climbed up the education ladder to reach Leeds University - maintained only by the income from a window-cleaning round - where he gained a degree in economics and a diploma in education. After several years of teaching in South Yorkshire, in 1974 he was appointed head of the economics (and master in charge of rugby) at Chesterfield Grammar School, where his department broke all records for successful examination results.
Review
It is what Cec Thompson has done with his life overall that is so moving. -- The Times