RUNNER-UP

It was an enormous blow to half-back Jesse Dale when a fractured rib prevented him from pursuing his greatest love-high school football. The sudden appearance of Big Tiny Little on the scene did not help matters either - for here was an egotistical competitor aligned with Jesse's enemies. How the former football hero finds new avenues of expression in school journalism-politics and makes his athletic comeback on the track team builds to an absorbing boys' story in which the ideals of fair play are open for inspection. Big Tiny's refusal to accept Jesse's counsel on the skills of running indicate the real stature of both boys, a subject that has intrigued this author whether unfolded on the field, the court or the track.