Project Gutenberg 2021-05-02 Public domain in the USA. 124 Barbour, Ralph Henry 1870 1944 Barbour, R. H. (Ralph Henry) Rockwell, Norman 1894 1978 Rockwell, Norman Percevel Rockwell, Norman P. The Secret Play The Purple Pennant Series Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "The Secret Play" by Ralph Henry Barbour is a sports novel written in the early 20th century. It revolves around a high school football team from Clearfield battling their way through the challenges of the season, as they face the loss of their coach and the pressure to perform. The main character, Dick Lovering, who has a physical disability but a deep passion for the game, ultimately takes on the role of coach despite his inexperience, showcasing themes of determination, leadership, and camaraderie. The opening of the story introduces the setting in Clearfield, where we meet Dick Lovering, a 17-year-old who has just received a car as a gift for his efforts managing the local baseball team. He is depicted as a thoughtful and determined young man who, along with his friend Fudge Shaw, is concerned about the football team's lack of a coach after their previous one departs under unfortunate circumstances. The narrative quickly sets up the tension around finding a new coach and introduces several characters who are key to the football team, including Lanny White, the new captain, and a cast of hopeful athletes. Dick's journey is framed by the buildup toward his unexpected acceptance of the coaching position, despite reservations about his ability to lead a team. This establishes a foundation for exploring how he manages the challenges of coaching a high school team while navigating his physical limitations. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 81.9 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Football -- Juvenile fiction Football stories PZ Text Category: Children & Young Adult Reading Category: Novels Category: American Literature Category: Sports/Hobbies 455944 2025-07-26T04:32:46.618005 text/html 435019 2024-10-18T13:28:15 text/html 848014 2025-07-26T04:32:54.218952 application/epub+zip 845059 2025-07-26T04:32:48.012052 application/epub+zip 256693 2025-07-26T04:32:47.276022 application/epub+zip 956590 2025-07-26T04:32:58.746994 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 909515 2025-07-26T04:32:53.599968 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 322084 2022-09-29T11:05:20.997509 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 410356 2025-07-26T04:32:45.559052 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 390556 2024-10-18T13:28:15 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17990 2025-07-26T04:32:58.953953 application/rdf+xml 16074 2025-07-26T04:32:47.392993 image/jpeg 2749 2025-07-26T04:32:47.333008 image/jpeg 779062 2025-07-26T04:32:46.687055 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia