Earl Warren, who served as Chief Justice of the United States, is often memorialized for a quotation unrelated to his tenure on the Supreme Court but is nonetheless a wry observation on life: “I always turn to the sports pages first, which records people’s accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man’s failures.”

A number of sports history books chronicle remarkable athletic triumphs and give readers a greater sense of how sports can impact life. THE BOYS OF RIVERSIDE is that type of work. It all began with a routine email blast from the California Department of Education proclaiming the undefeated season of the Riverside Cubs, the eight-man football squad from the California School for the Deaf. Fuller was the San Francisco bureau chief for the New York Times and was located a good distance from Riverside. But he was drawn to the story, perhaps because he shared Warren’s spirit and belief. Maybe it was time to write about an accomplishment.

"THE BOYS OF RIVERSIDE is a deep dive into a silent and unfamiliar world. Thomas Fuller vividly discusses characters and issues with honesty and grace. But more than anything, it’s about the thrill of winning and the importance of teamwork."

So Fuller traveled to Riverside and met with players, coaches and their families. The article he wrote garnered attention for the squad while increasing the pressure on the school to win the state championship. Fuller gave up his reporting job to cover the team for an entire season. THE BOYS OF RIVERSIDE is the product of that adventure, an inspirational story and a dazzling book that will have you cheering for the Cubs from beginning to end.

The Cubs play a different game from their 11-man counterpart. Fewer players make for wide-open offenses and higher scoring contests. Furthermore, the school only has around 50 boys in enrollment. The pool of talent to fill a squad, even for an eight-man team, is difficult. Fuller explains many of the differences in the philosophies and strategy of this kind of game. Readers who have never seen a football game played with so few participants will find the discussion informative. Fuller spends a great deal of time introducing and talking about the players. As deaf athletes, their experience in sports makes for an uplifting story.

Readers also will learn about some of the adjustments that deaf teams must make when playing teams whose players can hear. Interestingly, it appears that the football huddle is the product of deaf squads playing other deaf squads and needing to hide their sign language from opponents. Also noteworthy is the development by non-deaf teams of the “silent count,” which they employ for games when fan noise is so loud that hearing signals is impossible. This has long been used by deaf teams as a means of getting plays run without audible signals.

THE BOYS OF RIVERSIDE is a deep dive into a silent and unfamiliar world. Thomas Fuller vividly discusses characters and issues with honesty and grace. But more than anything, it’s about the thrill of winning and the importance of teamwork.