Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football

My Father, Leon Pickett, was the oldest living member of he Mighty Mites until April 2, 2008. I cherish this book, I cherish the wonderful memories. Sarah (Pickett) McGarrahan

In my opinion Twelve Mighty Orphans is absolutely the best sports nonfiction book to come along since Seabiscuit, An American Legend. And they both have a similar theme throughout - that of America's love for the underdog. You don't have to be a football expert to be rooting for the boys at the Home. The editorial review from Publisher's Weekly on this page that said "Dent's strength is his play-by-play accounts of key games, but descriptions of personal interactions are often forced and lifeless" is completely off the mark. The play-by-play is great, of course, and exciting. However, it's the back story of the underdogs that grew up at the Masonic Home and scrapped their way to winning while being transported to games on the bed of a wheezing old truck that brings it all together and makes the reader care passionately for the Mighty Mites. Without stories of what shaped the orphans before and after their coming to the Home it could very well have been like reading descriptions of games that were straight off the sports pages of a newspaper. My congrats to Jim Dent for making this story a feel-good winner.

I grew up in Ft. Worth in the late 40's & 50's and heard plenty about them from my father & his friends. This is one of the best sports books I've read & am surprised there never has been anything ever written about them before..

I REALLY, REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. I FOUND OUT THAT ONE OF MY EMPLOYEES IS THE GRANDSON OF MR. PICKETT (THE ONLY LIVING MEMBER OF ONE OF THE TEAM PHOTOS IN THE BOOK) .... I'M SURE THAT THE STORIES CONTAINED IN THIS BOOK WILL MAKE A GREAT MOVIE. THANKS TO JIM DENT FOR BRINGING THIS TOGETHER. - RICK SOUTH

I'm a native Texan and an avid football fan who played football in the southern panhandle area between Odessa and Lubbock and I had never heard this story. I'm thankful that Jim Dent wrote this book and you will be, too. This is a story of struggle and perseverance during terrible times. The facts are how a rag-tag football team from an orphans home in the 1930's competed and won against the "big dogs" of Texas high school football. The heart of the story, though, is how this orphans home, Masonic Home, it's coach, Rusty Russell, and the players, usually only 12 on the team during any season, overcame harsh times and even harsher lives. That these boys, who found themselves in this home after the deaths of one or both parents and who sometimes witnessed these deaths first-hand, played football at all is nothing short of fantastic. That they grew as young men under the mentorship of a caring coach is a testament to perseverance in the face of enormous odds...in other words, almost miraculous. Throughout the book, the author sprinkles stories away from the football field to bring life at the Masonic Home into focus. The oil boom, depression, poverty, Texas football politics, Jack Dempsey, and even Seabiscuit all come together to relate the life and times of this school and football team. If you're a native Texan, love football, or cheer for the underdog, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.