About the Author

Wayne Embry is a native of Springfield, Ohio, and was the first African American general manager in professional sports. He graduated from Miami University of Ohio with a B.S. in Education, and a minor in Business Administration. He is a member of the Miami University Hall of Fame and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. Mary Schmitt Boyer is a general assignment sports reporter and feature writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. An award-winning sportswriter who has specialized in covering basketball and the Olympics, she has served as president of the Association for Women in Sports Media and secretary-treasurer of the Pro Basketball Writers Association.