Backfield Boys: A Football Mystery in Black and White - Paperback

by John Feinstein (Author)

In Backfield Boys, renowned sports journalist and New York Times-bestselling author John Feinstein tells a thrilling story of friendship, football, and a fight for justice.

Freshman footballers Jason Roddin and Tom Jefferson are a perfect pair: Jason is a blazing-fast wide-receiver, while his best friend Tom has all the skills a standout quarterback needs. After summer football camp at an elite sports-focused boarding school, the boys are thrilled to be invited back with full-ride scholarships.

But on day one of practice, they're shocked when the team's coaching staff makes Tom, a black kid, a receiver and Jason, a white kid, a quarterback. Confronted with mounting evidence of deep-seated racial bias, the boys speak out, risking their scholarships and chances to play. As tensions ratchet up with coaches and other players, Tom and Jason must decide how much they're willing to lose in a conflict with powerful forces that has nothing--and everything--to do with the game they love.

Author Biography

John Feinstein (1955-2025) was a renowned sportswriter and the author of more than forty books, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers A Season on the Brink and A Good Walk Spoiled. He also authored numerous sports-related mysteries and adventures for young readers, including the Benchwarmers trilogy and The Prodigy, the story of an amateur teen golfer playing the Masters. His first young adult mystery, Last Shot, won the Edgar Allen Poe Award. John worked as a sports columnist and commentator for the Washington Post, The Golf Channel, Sirius XM Radio, and Comcast Sportsnet. He died at age sixty-nine in 2025.