The High School Left End; or, Dick & Co. Grilling on the Football Gridiron

"The High School Left End; or Dick & Co. Grilling on the Football Gridiron" by H. Irving Hancock is a classic youth novel, written during the early 20th century. The story revolves around a group of high school boys, particularly focusing on Dick Prescott and his friends, as they navigate the challenges of high school athletics, specifically football. The book explores themes of camaraderie, rivalry, and social dynamics among students from different backgrounds. At the start of the narrative, we are introduced to the disturbing atmosphere surrounding the Gridley High School football team, with whispers of reluctance from some boys, deemed "soreheads," to participate in the upcoming season. Dick Prescott, motivated by both a sense of duty and curiosity, takes it upon himself to unravel the mystery behind this discontent while also balancing the expectations of his peers and the football coach. Alongside his friends, he discusses the potential players, their backgrounds, and the sociopolitical undercurrents at play, setting the stage for a story that combines both sports and a deeper commentary on class dynamics within the school. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Harrie Irving Hancock was an American chemist and writer, mainly remembered as an author of children's literature and juveniles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and as having written a fictional depiction of a German invasion of the United States.