Author Craig Ohlau’s first hit, The Sons of Chester , was a home run, immortalizing a group of brothers from a small, death-row river town growing up in the 90s. In his next at-bat, the bases are loaded, and he does it again with Kings of the County League . Kings of the County League presents baseball unadorned, a game sweet enough to lure ex-big leaguers, grown men married with kids still living for the occasional square-up, college upstarts dreaming of the pros, and the blossoming high school hopefuls looking to hang with the “big boys” every summer to the scorched, dusty sandlots in the middle of America’s heartland. Set against the backdrop of a small German town in southern Illinois just minutes from the big city, the story charts the history and fortunes of one manager, one baseball club, and one summer in town vs. town, you versus me mid-western county league baseball. The funny and poignant story reminds us of the real meaning of summer, friends, and what was America’s favorite pastime. "I have been a friend of Vern Moehrs since the late 1940s, and I consider him a true baseball legend. No one in amateur baseball history has ever accomplished what Vern has with the Bud Lights and Miller Lites. He has touched and made better the lives of many young people and has always maintained his enthusiasm for our great game of baseball. Vern and his wife, Lucy, are truly my Hall of Famers." -Whitey Herzog, National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2010 "The Clair sure as hell ain't the Cape, but this is a damn good baseball story!" -Shaun Seibert, Cape Cod League Hall of Fame Class of 2019 " Kings is a straightforward, entertaining narrative full of humor, emotions, and our great national pastime." -Tim Funkhouser, IHSA and Greater St. Louis Coaching Hall of Famer, 2020 Finalist for ABCA National High School Coach of the Year "In tiny pockets of middle America, the game of baseball still evokes a layered passion, where individual stories and the meaning of "team" unite behind a shared summer dream. Craig Ohlau's Kings of the County League took me to that place, page by page, in an achingly powerful account of friends, a legendary manager, and 'the best damn game in the world.'" -Brian Kaufman, author of The Fat Lady's Low, Sad Song -- Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2018 "An absorbing snapshot of an inspiring brand of baseball." -Randy Wells, Waterloo Buds Catcher 2001-2003, Chicago Cubs Pitcher 2008-2012 Craig Ohlau is the 7-time national award-winning author of the American Writing Awards "Book of the Year"  The Sons of Chester:  A Tale of Small Town Boys, Baseball, and Very Big Dreams.  He dedicated 18 years to the Mon-Clair Baseball League as a player between 2001-2018--the league immortalized in his second book-- Kings of the County League:  One Summer, One Team, One Dynasty --2021 Maxy Awards Finalist for "Non-Fiction Book of the Year," 2021 PenCraft Awards Winner in Non-Fiction, and 2021 American Writing Awards Winner in "Best New Non-Fiction." Both of Craig's books have been accepted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Craig was inducted into The National Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019 and the County League Hall of Fame in 2021.