If you had been Michael Sampson's elementary teacher, you would have called him a "dreamer." His eyes would often "glaze" over and his mind would be a thousand miles away...or maybe even millions of miles away in another corner of the universe. By the time he reached fifth grade, he had read every book in the Tom Bean, Texas school library. He had written a series of books featuring Frank and Joe of the Hardy Boys fame, and even had a poem published in a national magazine. In sixth grade he joined the school's Junior High football team, and received the inspiration for a book he would publish 30 years later--The Football That Won... He lived for football and books in grades 6-12. As a senior, he was a captain on the Tom Bean Tomcats football team, where he won the school's academic award and was named to the Class B Texas State All Star Team.