General Sports

From 1973 through 1982, Pitt had one of the nation's most successful football programs, including a national championship in 1976. From 1976 through 1982, no team in college football won more games than the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. Pitt captured the 1976 national championship with a perfect 12-0 record, highlighted by the brilliance of Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett. The memorable season capped one of the most stunning turnarounds in college football history.

From 1964 through 1972, Pitt never had a winning season, and university officials had begun to consider the possible dissolution of the football program. But the hiring of coach Johnny Majors, fresh from an impressive revitalization of the program at Iowa State University, breathed life into Pitt's football fortunes. Majors brought with him a young, aggressive staff of assistant coaches, men whose contacts and experiences touched and reached recruiting regions Pitt had never harvested. Beginning in 1973, Pitt registered eleven consecutive winning seasons.

Following the championship season, Majors returned to his native Tennessee, where he had been an All-America halfback during the 1950s. Jackie Sherrill, Majors' replacement at Pitt, continued the winning ways, registering five straight winning campaigns, including three straight 11-1 seasons from 1979 through 1981. Pitt's football program produced numerous All-Americans, first-round NFL draft choices and brought a level of sustained recognition to the university's football--recognition that it hasn't reached since.

Since 1988 the New York Mets have used Port St. Lucie (a.k.a. "St. Lucie") as their spring training home. Loyal fans from Flushing and beyond have made an annual trek to the bucolic backfields of St. Lucie to literally walk in the footsteps of their baseball heroes. The theme of loyalty and patience fill these pages, as we take a pictorial history of the Mets in St. Lucie. Though undergoing some change through the years, the fields of St. Lucie have remained mostly unchanged, while the Mets have migrated through a variety of managing styles, ranging from the brashness of Davey Johnson, Dallas Green, and Bobby Valentine, to the humble demeanors of Jeff Torborg and Art Howe, to the humor-filled reign of Jerry Manuel, who became adept at substituting jokes for wins during his years managing the Mets. Today Terry Collins is at the helm of the team and for only the second time since training at St. Lucie, the team enters 2016 spring training fresh off an appearance in the World Series! While the post September 11th 2001 era ushered in increased privacy for the players, the St. Lucie complex still ranks extremely high in "fan friendliness." In turning these pages, you not only revisit the Mets of yesteryear, but you also get a glimpse of the changing nature of the game, as well as the changing face of the nation.

Viera, Florida, has been the spring training home for the Washington Nationals since the team's inception in 2005 and author Jim Maggiore has made the sojourn to Florida every year to watch the team get ready for the regular season. From Nick Johnson and Frank Robinson to Jayson Werth and Matt Williams, this book captures the Nationals in action through the years, not only on the diamond of Space Coast Stadium, but also on the backfields of the Nationals' spring training site. The enthusiasm, optimism, and insouciance of spring are delivered in these pages, as well as suggestions for getting the most out of a visit to Viera. Nationals fan or not, you will greatly appreciate this work; through its spring training stories and more than 200 photographs, it captures the intimacy and charm of baseball's spring training season.