CHANNILLO
Series Description:
Billy Miske had a loving family, fame, fortune and he was on a fast track to becoming the heavyweight-boxing champion of the world. He stood toe to toe with Jack Dempsey, battled seedy managers and crooked promoters. Yet, despite his grit and reputation as one of the toughest fighters in the game, there was one opponent he could not beat no matter how hard he fought.
Based on the incredible inspiring true story of one of the greatest prizefighters of the early 20th century, The Final Round takes you back to a time when family, sacrifice, pride and love drove a man to the ultimate fight of his life.
Updated: Weekly
Status: Completed
Author Bio For Gary W. Allison:
G.W. Allison was born in Michigan, raised wherever the pursuit of happiness took his family, spied on the Soviets for the U.S. Navy, then worked on a shrimp boat in the Gulf of Mexico; he graduated from an FBI police academy, slaved away in corporate America, traveled the country as a rock-n-roll roadie, traded it for a camera and saw the world, sold some writing, screeched into Hollywood with a horror script that produced a forgetful film, drudged through the hackneyed world of journalism until driven mad, and finally published two novels, There is a Season and The Final Round. He currently resides in Michigan with his adoring wife and two children.
Acknowledgements:
First, and foremost, I want to give a big hardy thanks to Chuck Grady. Not only is he an extraordinary film director, but he is a good friend. Without him, the story written here on these pages wouldn’t even exist. He did a lot of legwork in the research end of this project and was an honest critic when I finally put pen to paper. Thank you, Chuck, for bringing the life of Billy Miske to my wandering attention and for your unwavering enthusiasm. I also want to thank Kathryn McDermott for her help in discovering the heartstrings and encouraging me to tug on them hard, but without going overboard. Thank you to Melissa Thorn, whose eagerness to read a rough draft and give a scorching review made this writer cringe but produce a better second draft, then third, then fourth, then… Well, you get the picture. I also want to thank my mother for always saying something nice even when I didn’t deserve it and for correcting my grammar, except when speaking. Finally, and as always, I want to thank my wife. She’s the first to read and point out the little, and sometimes, big uglies and it cannot be an easy burden.
Notes:
Thank you for reading The Final Round. There is very little information about Billy’s personal life, and boxing records from Billy’s era are almost reliable. Often times, dates are not accurate and only statistics are given. Newspaper articles, when available, were extremely helpful in capturing not only the essence of these great boxing moments, but in capturing the blow-by-blow accounts from those that wrote the articles. As for Billy’s personal life, I fictionalize some relationships, some locations, and the order of which moments in his life happened. Some names were changed; some characters are combinations of real people; and some I just made up. For example, the characters of Jimmy Steel and Sam Wallace are not real; however, they are what I believe to be a reason for Billy’s unstoppable career actually stopping short of glory. Before Billy's illness he was unable to reach the pinnacle of success in the world of prizefighting, despite a stellar record. There are no reasons given in the history books, by friends, or family. As they say, it is what it is. The Steel and Wallace characters are my way of offering an explanation, albeit a dramatic one, though. It makes for a better story. That is why this is a novel and not a biography. However, the backbone of this tale is real. Billy Miske was a real person, a remarkable man, filled with flaws like you and me, but the one thing that remained true throughout the research was that he loved his family until the very end and he was a determined young man. He was willing to do anything to provide for his family. So much so, that he was willing to die for them. In a strange way, Billy was a lucky man. It is true that he sacrificed for the ones he loved, however he did so by doing what he loved. If only the rest of us could be so lucky. Because of this sacrifice, he lived more in 29 years than most men have lived in a lifetime and he guaranteed his legacy among the annals of professional boxing.
Series Description:
Billy Miske had a loving family, fame, fortune and he was on a fast track to becoming the heavyweight-boxing champion of the world. He stood toe to toe with Jack Dempsey, battled seedy managers and crooked promoters. Yet, despite his grit and reputation as one of the toughest fighters in the game, there was one opponent he could not beat no matter how hard he fought.
Based on the incredible inspiring true story of one of the greatest prizefighters of the early 20th century, The Final Round takes you back to a time when family, sacrifice, pride and love drove a man to the ultimate fight of his life.
Updated: Weekly
Status: Completed
Author Bio For Gary W. Allison:
G.W. Allison was born in Michigan, raised wherever the pursuit of happiness took his family, spied on the Soviets for the U.S. Navy, then worked on a shrimp boat in the Gulf of Mexico; he graduated from an FBI police academy, slaved away in corporate America, traveled the country as a rock-n-roll roadie, traded it for a camera and saw the world, sold some writing, screeched into Hollywood with a horror script that produced a forgetful film, drudged through the hackneyed world of journalism until driven mad, and finally published two novels, There is a Season and The Final Round. He currently resides in Michigan with his adoring wife and two children.
Acknowledgements:
First, and foremost, I want to give a big hardy thanks to Chuck Grady. Not only is he an extraordinary film director, but he is a good friend. Without him, the story written here on these pages wouldn’t even exist. He did a lot of legwork in the research end of this project and was an honest critic when I finally put pen to paper. Thank you, Chuck, for bringing the life of Billy Miske to my wandering attention and for your unwavering enthusiasm. I also want to thank Kathryn McDermott for her help in discovering the heartstrings and encouraging me to tug on them hard, but without going overboard. Thank you to Melissa Thorn, whose eagerness to read a rough draft and give a scorching review made this writer cringe but produce a better second draft, then third, then fourth, then… Well, you get the picture. I also want to thank my mother for always saying something nice even when I didn’t deserve it and for correcting my grammar, except when speaking. Finally, and as always, I want to thank my wife. She’s the first to read and point out the little, and sometimes, big uglies and it cannot be an easy burden.
Notes:
Thank you for reading The Final Round. There is very little information about Billy’s personal life, and boxing records from Billy’s era are almost reliable. Often times, dates are not accurate and only statistics are given. Newspaper articles, when available, were extremely helpful in capturing not only the essence of these great boxing moments, but in capturing the blow-by-blow accounts from those that wrote the articles. As for Billy’s personal life, I fictionalize some relationships, some locations, and the order of which moments in his life happened. Some names were changed; some characters are combinations of real people; and some I just made up. For example, the characters of Jimmy Steel and Sam Wallace are not real; however, they are what I believe to be a reason for Billy’s unstoppable career actually stopping short of glory. Before Billy's illness he was unable to reach the pinnacle of success in the world of prizefighting, despite a stellar record. There are no reasons given in the history books, by friends, or family. As they say, it is what it is. The Steel and Wallace characters are my way of offering an explanation, albeit a dramatic one, though. It makes for a better story. That is why this is a novel and not a biography. However, the backbone of this tale is real. Billy Miske was a real person, a remarkable man, filled with flaws like you and me, but the one thing that remained true throughout the research was that he loved his family until the very end and he was a determined young man. He was willing to do anything to provide for his family. So much so, that he was willing to die for them. In a strange way, Billy was a lucky man. It is true that he sacrificed for the ones he loved, however he did so by doing what he loved. If only the rest of us could be so lucky. Because of this sacrifice, he lived more in 29 years than most men have lived in a lifetime and he guaranteed his legacy among the annals of professional boxing.