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We Will Rise: A True Story of Tragedy and Resurrection in the American Heartland

Steve Beaven

3.72 · Rating details · 663 ratings · 83 reviews

The inspiring true story of the tragic loss and triumphant resurrection of a basketball team and its coach at the heart of a small Indiana town.

By 1977 the University of Evansville’s Purple Aces basketball team had won five small-college national championships. With a charismatic young coach and a freshman phenom, this small Indiana city hoped to see its team shine in the ...more

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Paperback, 288 pages

Published January 1st 2020 by Little A

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Dec 08, 2019 Lance rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sports, own-a-copy, blog, basketball, history, arc, nf-books-read-2019

Excellent book on a sports tragedy

On December 13,1977 a plane crash near Evansville, Indiana killed all on board, including the players,coaches and managers of the Evansville University basketball team. The grieving by the school and city as well as their recovery from this tragedy is the topic of this excellent book by Evansville native Steve Beaven.

He uses his first hand knowledge of the town and the Purple Aces history, along with information from over 150 interviews and many other stories to Excellent book on a sports tragedy

On December 13,1977 a plane crash near Evansville, Indiana killed all on board, including the players,coaches and managers of the Evansville University basketball team. The grieving by the school and city as well as their recovery from this tragedy is the topic of this excellent book by Evansville native Steve Beaven.

He uses his first hand knowledge of the town and the Purple Aces history, along with information from over 150 interviews and many other stories to paint an excellent picture of the basketball program. From legendary coach Arad McCutcheon, who won multiple Division II titles in Evansville to the heartbreaking loss in the 1982 NCAA tourney to Marquette, Beavan's account reads like a history lesson of Evansville University basketball. The most interesting part of this information is the six day coaching stint (no games,.practices, or recruiting) by Jerry Sloan, who abruptly resigned after making his alma mater excited about their most famous player coming to coach. Don't feel.sorry for Sloan...he ended up with a long and successful career coaching in the NBA, most notably for the Utah Jazz more than 20 years.

Of course, in the middle.of all this basketball history is the terrible night of December 13, 1977. Here, Beavan describes the night of the crash with great detail, especially with the delayed takeoff and resulting errors that led to the fatal.crash and the doctor who heard the crash, ran out of his house and tried to help any survivors. The reader will also know something about !many of the young men on the plane, such as prize recruit Mike Hoff and Kevin Kingston. Even the only player not on the plane, David Furr, couldn't escape tragedy as he and his younger brother were killed in a car crash two weeks after David's teammates perished.

But this somber story is not the mood for the book, nor the school or its basketball team. There is great detail in how the Purple Aces, under coach Dock Walters, hired to replace the popular Bobby Watson after the crash, built the team.back to its winning just three years after the crash. While Meagan also is able to write about some of the surviving family members of the players and how they mourned, soles and moved on, their stories are not as.prominent in the book after the crash as the basketball is and that is the only minor flaw, in my opinion, in an otherwise very uplifting book.

Fans of the story of the Marshall football team rebuilding after a plane crash, told in the movie "We Are Marshall", will enjoy this similar tale of tragedy and resurrection after a very dark period. Especially recommended for college basketball fans who recall that tragic day. ...more

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Dec 16, 2019 Wendy rated it did not like it

To be honest I did not read this entire book. I relegated it to my "will-not-be-finishing-this-one" bookshelf. Way too many details on every coach, player, anyone involved with a coach or player (family & friends) for me to stay interested. Sports nuts interested in decades old high school basketball in a small town will love this!

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Dec 14, 2019 Richard Propes rated it liked it · review of another edition

I eagerly anticipated reading Steve Beaven's "We Will Rise: A True Story of Tragedy and Resurrection in the American Heartland," a book that remembers the December 13, 1977 plane crash that took the lives of the entire University of Evansville basketball team along with coaches, boosters, and everyone else on the plane. In fact, the lone player to not be on that plane would actually die a mere two weeks later in a car crash.

It was and remains a tragedy that has a permanent place in the Indiana I eagerly anticipated reading Steve Beaven's "We Will Rise: A True Story of Tragedy and Resurrection in the American Heartland," a book that remembers the December 13, 1977 plane crash that took the lives of the entire University of Evansville basketball team along with coaches, boosters, and everyone else on the plane. In fact, the lone player to not be on that plane would actually die a mere two weeks later in a car crash.

It was and remains a tragedy that has a permanent place in the Indiana consciousness, especially for those of us, myself included, who had any connection at all to that particular basketball team.

While I did not have a direct connection to the tragedy, my indirect connection was strong as I was in the same class as UE basketball player Mark Siegel. Additionally, Siegel's father, Ed Siegel, was a beloved Pike High School teacher and basketball coach. I would graduate from Pike in 1983. As was true for most Pike students, we felt this tragedy in our bones.

Beaven's book is a competent, though often quite scattered, account of the tragedy though the book devotes surprisingly little time to the tragedy itself. A good amount of the early part of the book is devoted to the years leading up to the tragedy, while Beaven does serve up quite a bit of information about the Dick Walters years that followed and began, I believe, in late 1978.

In terms of the tragedy itself, it seems like Beaven did what most sportsbooks do - he devoted most of the material to the team's stars while offering very little information about the bit players. There's a sliver of a chapter about Mark Siegel, mostly an accurate accounting of the impact on Mark's death on his father. However, it's a surprisingly abrupt chapter lacking anything resembling nuance.

I also found Beaven's back-and-forth approach to the stories distracting. "We Will Rise" often lacks a cohesiveness that allows you to emotionally invest in a story that absolutely should lead to your emotional investment. While the direct chapters around the plane crash are involving, most of the closing chapters aren't much more than your usual sports reporting. At times, it actually feels rather disrespectful.

I wanted to truly love "We Will Rise," but I simply had trouble engaging with the book and can't help but feel like it's a missed opportunity to create a truly gripping tale of a tremendous tragedy that many people don't even know about or know very little about. Beaven has crafted a competent account, but it's a disappointingly uneven one that never quite connects as much as it should. ...more

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Dec 18, 2019 William Gary Narron rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Boring and meaningless

It reads like an infinite number of old newspaper stories. No human interest, no story line, no emotion, no passion.
The author seems not to care why should I.

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Nov 13, 2019 Steve Eubanks rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

As exceptional story of a college and community overcoming devastation and rebuilding a basketball program that was the heart of the town. Beaven lets the story unfold in all its heartache and triumph without any unnecessary theatrics.

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Feb 02, 2020 Brandon McGuire rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I really loved this book. It’s far from perfect and won’t be winning any awards, but it’s a wonderful tale of heartbreak and redemption in a struggling town. I’m a sucker for sports books and will generally go out of my way to read whichever one catches my eye.

I had very little knowledge or background of the tragedy surrounding the Evansville basketball team, so I went into this book with an open mind. I liked that the author went out of his way to explain the backgrounds and motivations of the ...more

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Jan 09, 2020 Michelle Tuite rated it liked it

Reading 2020
Book 2: We Will Rise: A True Story of Tragedy and Resurrection in the American Heartland by Steve Beaven

Found amazon First Reads through Katie Colcomb Augustine AKA Pink Katie, and tried my first book from that service. You get books that are not published yet. I chose a nonfiction since I had not read one in awhile.

The story is of the 1977 University of Evansville Purple Aces basketball team. One foggy evening they take off late on their flight to their next game, the plane crashes ...more

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Jan 29, 2020 Mandi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Surprisingly good read for an only occasional basketball fan

This book is not my genre of choice but I saw it and it made me think of my father-in-law, a sports fan from Indiana. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I thought the writing was great and the story was compelling. There were great details and historical background and I loved how the city itself was treated almost as its own character with it’s own personality and biography.

I did get a little confused and bogged down by the very ...more

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Jan 16, 2020 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I can't count the number of times I walked through Memorial Plaza, passing these words--"Out of the agony of this hour, we will rise."--without really thinking about the tragedy of the 1977 men's basketball plane crash as anything except a historical event.

This book is heavy to start, introducing us to the players and the promise of their futures even as we know what's going to happen. I have learned so much about the city of Evansville's history and the school's history and it makes me ...more

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Jan 09, 2020 Barbara rated it really liked it

I am a resident of Evansville, Indiana, the city featured in this book. We were all impacted greatly by the airplane tragedy, and the author did an excellent job of explaining the degree of basketball importance in our city. Some readers are saying there are too many insignificant statistics and details, but true Aces fans appreciate every bit of it. It’s a matter of having the right reading audience.

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Dec 30, 2019 Jen rated it it was amazing

The writing is strong and details vivid. I enjoyed the book despite not being a huge sports fan.

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Dec 15, 2019 Jill rated it liked it

On December 13, 1977, the entire University of Evansville basketball team, their coaching staff, and radio announcer were killed in a plane crash while en route to a game. This novel introduces the players and coaches and explains how they each ended up at UE and how their families, and the town, rebuilt the basketball program after their tragic deaths.

The story is a little scattered, with narratives bouncing between various families, geographies and points of view....but as a lover of NCAA ...more

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Feb 01, 2020 Scott J Pearson rated it really liked it

Shelves: sports

This new release seeks to tell the tale of basketball at the University of Evansville, a small Division I school in Indiana. Like many areas in the American midwest, the community surrounding the school is tight-knit and obsessed with basketball. Before moving into Division I, the program even won several national championships at the Division II level.

There’s a wrinkle in the true story that makes its telling especially emotional. In 1977, the entire basketball team died in a plane crash. A new This new release seeks to tell the tale of basketball at the University of Evansville, a small Division I school in Indiana. Like many areas in the American midwest, the community surrounding the school is tight-knit and obsessed with basketball. Before moving into Division I, the program even won several national championships at the Division II level.

There’s a wrinkle in the true story that makes its telling especially emotional. In 1977, the entire basketball team died in a plane crash. A new basketball coach and a new team were brought in to complete the season. Within a few years, they miraculously qualified for their first Division I basketball tournament (i.e., the NCAAs or “March Madness”). Obviously, this brought deep joy and pride – dare I say, redemption – in the Evansville community.

As the afterword suggests, this story is based on an abundant amount of research. It’s almost as if you can hear the words of the first-hand witnesses in the tale. The story presents as an anthology of short, personal anecdotes masterfully weaved together into a coherent narrative. Although probably not difficult to an Evansville fan, the cast of characters is so wide that it is tough to keep the names straight. Still, as the author sometimes deliberately slips into the first person, one hears genuine excitement through the narrative. The author thus portrays his personal connection to the story.

Why do we need another sports story? The movie We Are Marshall details the loss of the Marshall University football program in a 1970 plane crash. This tale has similar resonance. I’m composing this review days after Laker great Kobe Bryant died with his daughter in a helicopter crash. As evident by the national outpouring of grief in the Bryants’ deaths, these stories tend to define American culture. Sports make us feel as if we know the players, as if they are part of our circle of friends. The players’ untimely deaths, therefore, profoundly affects us – our hopes, our dreams, our perspective of life. In modern society, sports stories convey our humanity in a way that national politics, religion, and other unifying forces do not and cannot. We use these stories to show who we are in our hearts. As such, Beaven in We Will Rise uses the Evansville saga to remind us more of what it is to be human, to be alive, to be American, and to believe.

...more

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Jan 04, 2020 Trevor W. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Well-Written and Compelling Story (Finished a Few Months Too Soon)

No doubt the author wishes he could end the book with hometown son / new coach Walter McCarty taking the Aces into hallowed Rupp Arena against then-number-one-ranked Kentucky and winning in late 2019. I'm a basketball guy, and learned to hate Evansville in the early 90s when they were the conference hegemon who perennially seemed to end my Butler Bulldogs' season and steal the conference's NCAA bid. Damn you, Parrish Casebier! But ...more

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Jan 05, 2020 Tracy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Well written; details the impact of a tragedy on a community

I was a 15 year old southern Indiana teen when the crash happened. I remember crying when I heard the news.

This is a factual account of the meaning of basketball on small town Indiana. The story of a communitys grief and the struggles to move forward. If you're expecting a happily ever after due to a single hero, this isn't it.
Mr Beaven does a nice job of telling the history of the town so the reader understands how something like ...more

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Jan 09, 2020 Bernadette rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Very compassionate, well researched, inspirational telling of the tragic story of the University of Evansville's basketball team, whose members all died in a plane crash, devastating the university and the city of Evansville & surrounding areas. The triumphant rebuilding of the team in subsequent seasons did much to revitalize & help the university & town come to terms with the loss of such promising young men.
Though this is a work of tragic historical non-fiction, it reads almost ...more

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Jan 11, 2020 Tim Oberholzer rated it liked it · review of another edition

A fair account

We Will Rise favors the personal side of the Evansville Aces in and through the 1977 plane crash. The story is a good read that does not overwhelm with history or basketball Xs and Os. Two subtle points came up several times in the book that wore on me. First, the author kept referring to the "jet" that crashed. A DC-3 is not a jet. A Douglas DC-3 is a propellered aircraft. The NTSB account of the crash refers to the propellers. It might seem trivial but it made me question whether ...more

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Jan 01, 2020 Rusty Mason rated it really liked it

Well done Steve Beaven. As a 9-year old boy on December 13, 1977, I remember that night vividly. My mother and I ran out our front door after hearing sirens blaring some 4+ miles in the distance, wondering what was going on. We went back inside and my mom turned on the tv to see a tearful David James choking out the horrific news. Having attended Aces games with my parents prior to that fateful night, I was overcome with sadness.

This book brought back so many memories of those magical and ...more

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Jan 09, 2020 Mr. V rated it liked it

I very descriptive read that read almost like a history text book. The author does a good job of describing Evansville and the area in a historical context and does a an excellent job of introducing you to the players, coaches and other people connected to Evansville basketball. Where he falls short is connecting you with the emotions that these families and friends suffered. The grief these families had to indoor had to be great and the way it would of spread into the campus and into the ...more

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Jan 21, 2020 Claire Y rated it it was ok

Shelves: owned-ebooks, 2020-motley-reading-challenge

Full disclosure. I'm not a basketball fan, so reading this book was a bit of a challenge for me. However, it was interesting enough for me to finish.

We Will Rise, written by Steve Beaven, is a story of the University of Evansville basketball team that perished in a plane crash on 12/13/77. It is a non fiction book, so expect a lot of statistics, player and coach backgrounds -- before and after the plane crash. You don't read about the plane crash until midway through the book, and it is just a ...more

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Jan 02, 2020 Joanne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-challenge

This book is about a small midwest college town with a big basketball tradition that lost its entire team and coaches in an airplane crash in 1977. Yes, a very "We Are Marshall" situation. Normally I enjoy this type of nonfiction book, but this one is extremely basketball minutia heavy, with a seeming cast of thousands. One reads about the details of both players' and coaches' high school sports careers, about coaches and players prior to and after the doomed Purple Aces, and even a few local ...more

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Feb 11, 2020 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 23, 2020 Peter J Strauss rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Just downright terrific.

Well written book not only about basketball but about what the sport means to a town that has rolled with more than a few punches-Evansville, Indiana. Devastated by a tragic airplane crash killing the entire team in December 1977, some larger than life coaches and players rebuild the team into a national powerhouse.

Beavan writes in depth homages to those tragically lost and to their families and celebrates those who resurrect the great tradition, while giving hope to the ...more

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Feb 08, 2020 John Vonhof rated it really liked it · review of another edition

We Will Rise is a fun read, especially for college basketball fans. I struggled at times with the mix of characters and their names, finding it a bit difficult to follow everyone. Once I realized that the author was building a back story to the ACES team, their families, coaches, and community--it made sense. I understood the story and the characters and how everything toes together. The chapters on the plane crash and the loss of the team was difficult to read but formed the basis for the fan's ...more

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Feb 14, 2020 Kathy A Boyd rated it liked it · review of another edition

Readable but...

As a native of basketball crazy Indiana born the same year and 15 miles from Larry Bird to a basketball fan father I expected more. The first third of the book was so confusing I almost gave up. It skipped around different times and seemingly unrelated people. Only my knowledge of the area and sport kept me reading. It did get better, by part two I was glad to have kept reading. I'm sure the author spent much time researching this book and I appreciate his efforts. I don't believe ...more

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Jan 15, 2020 Mikayla Upcott rated it liked it

Overall, I enjoyed this book, not being familiar with Evansville's history and not knowing how it was going to end. But the end wasn't what I was expecting, and it's a true story, so it's not like that could be fixed.
I also couldn't help but be annoyed in the last chapter, when the verb tense of the writing switched from past tense (as it had been in the entire rest of the book) to present tense talking about an event that did, in fact, happen in the past.
I was also confused when the epilogue ...more

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Jan 08, 2020 Philip Richardson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A Good Basketball Story

This is an excellent story about small college basketball programs. The tragedy surrounding this basketball program is just a small part of the whole story. Fielding a competitive team is a challenge for a small school trying to compete with the larger NCAA Division I schools. Often a winning season falls to the assembled talent left over after the larger programs have have taken the best for themselves. This is a story about the challenges of building and maintaining a ...more

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Jan 13, 2020 Kim Wilch rated it really liked it · review of another edition

What a story

I can’t imagine the research that went into this book, kudos. I’m not a basketball fan so the jargon went over my head, I could still follow the meaning. Had trouble with spiderwebbing, the story veering in unnecessary detail. Overall, I enjoyed the book (minus the tragedy) - I can’t imagine how the families and community dealt with it! Heartfelt condolences to all! Good job taking all the emotions into account to tell this story. The resurrection was inspiring but I’m not sure (as a ...more

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Jan 29, 2020 Gina Jones rated it it was amazing

I gave this book 5 star review as it was well written, historical value and due to my interest in the city of Evansville and the Purple Aces. As a youngster I spent some summers in Evansville, my Dad lived in Evansville as a young man and attended Bosse High. He was an aces fan as well. I also have attended an Aces basketball game and found the experience exciting. The mention of all the great players of the 1970's era was to me an important part of the story. I recommend this book to not only ...more

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Jan 22, 2020 Jeffrey rated it really liked it

As someone born in the early 80's and about 3 hours from Evansville, I hadn't really heard much about this story.

Overall it was a really good book. Sometimes I felt it went way to far into the back story of each and every name mentioned in the book. But I'd still recommend it.

Unfortunately Steve wrote and published the book too soon. The perfect ending is this book would have been recapping the Aces upset of Kentucky Wildcats in November in November of 2019.

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