Works by
John Eisenberg
(Sports Writer)

The Longest Shot: Lil E. Tee and the Kentucky Derby (1996)
It shouldn’t have happened; 1992 was supposed to have been Arazi’s year. But the horse heralded as "the next Secretariat" finished eighth. Lil E. Tee, the 17-to-1 long shot with a dime-store pedigree, stunned the world by winning the 118th running of the Kentucky Derby. The Longest Shot tells the amazing story of the most unlikely thoroughbred champion since Seabiscuit.

Cotton Bowl Days: Growing up with Dallas and the Cowboys in the 1960s (1997)
Sportswriter John Eisenberg grew up in Dallas when the Dallas Cowboys were evolving from a local team of lovable losers to national Super Bowl heroes. For everyone who lived through those days, there was something unforgettable about the Cowboys and their Cotton Bowl fans. John Eisenberg brings those days back in this poignant account of one boy's first love affair with a sport, a team, and the bonds it gave to his hometown and family.

From 33rd Street to the Camden Yards: An Oral History of the Baltimore Orioles (2001)
The winningest baseball franchise from 1960 to 1997, the Orioles are a beloved team that encompasses each of the game's major issues of the last half century--integration, free agency, drugs, labor strife, and runaway salaries. In From 33rd Street to Camden Yards, Baltimore Sun columnist John Eisenberg brings to life the epic saga of this amazing team through the recollections of those who were there--the players, managers, coaches, and owners. Includes 16 pages of photos.

Native Dancer: The Gray Ghost Hero of a Golden Age (2003)
In the early 1950s, a rising star flickered across millions of black-and-white TV sets. Nick-named 'The Grey Ghost,' Native Dancer was a blue-blood thoroughbred with a taste for drama, courtesy of his come-from-behind running style, and impressive credits: He finished first in 21 of his 22 career starts, his only loss by a nose in the 1953 Kentucky Derby; was named Horse of the Year-twice; and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame. His popularity was so great, Time® magazine put him on its cover, and TV Guide named him one of America's top three TV stars, along with Ed Sullivan and Arthur Godfrey. Legend says his ghost haunts Churchill Downs. Set against the nostalgic events of an America long past, Native Dancer is the definitive account of one of the greatest champions of horse racing's golden age.

The Great Match Race: When North Met South in America's First Sports Spectacle (2006)
In the early 1800s, the notion of sport was still quite new to America that is, until a horse race changed everything. In 1823 an astonishing sixty thousand people gathered on Long Island to watch two thoroughbreds battle it out in three grueling heats, the equivalent of nine Kentucky Derbys, in the space of only a couple of hours. And the whole thing was based on an outrageous dare. In a fast-paced narrative colorful, rich, and full of record-setting performances and towering personalities John Eisenberg chronicles the tremendous story of the year in which two horses would come to embody a nation galloping inevitably toward civil war. Eclipse was the majestic champion representing the North's evolving industrial machine, and Henry was an equine arriviste embodying Southern perceptions of superiority. Their thrilling match race would come to represent a watershed moment in American history, crystallizing the differences that so fundamentally divided North and South. A unique blend of horse racing, history, and good old-fashioned storytelling, The Great Match Race provides a telling glimpse of a nation dividing, a fascinating look at the early heritage of the American thoroughbred, and the first example of the sports spectacle as we know it.