Track and Field Writers of America's Book of the Year! “Great read! …. Evokes a time and place that many of us remember well, and provides insight for those who came after. ”—Tom Jordan, author of Pre: The Story of America’s Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine In 1968, perhaps the finest US Olympic men’s track-and-field team ever stirred the world in unprecedented ways, among them the victory stand black rights protest by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in Mexico City. But in competition no single athlete mirrored the free-thinking ’60s better than Dick Fosbury, a failed prep high jumper who invented an offbeat style that ultimately won him a gold medal and revolutionized the event. No jumpers today use any other style than his. Yet few know the struggles Fosbury endured to achieve his success, as he and Bob Welch recount in The Wizard of Foz . From the tragic death of a younger brother to nearly dying himself, from flunking out of college to nearly being drafted, Fosbury cleared far more obstacles than a high-jump bar. And even when he had seemingly made the US Olympic Team, he faced a "redo" that nobody saw coming. This book tells a story of loss, survival, and triumph, twined in a person (Fosbury), a time (the '60s), and a place (a fantasy-like Olympic Trials venue high in the Sierra Nevada) clearly made for each other. It is a story of a young man who refused to listen to those who laughed at him, those who doubted him, and those who tried to make him someone he was not. "Welch, an award-winning author and columnist for Eugene, Oregon’s Register-Guard , does a masterful job uncovering the deeper story of a teenager navigating turbulent times (brother’s death, parents’ divorce) during a period of great social and racial upheaval. This remarkable story about the man behind the famous Fosbury Flop makes an important contribution to the history of innovation in American sports." —Brenda Barrera, Booklist "Welch begins his chapters with the greatest collection of stirring epigrams I’ve ever found in a single work. That means it is a history filled with the suffering of pursuing a new idea in a world fanatically ready to doubt. It is about the power of invention, and the need for wisdom in teachers confronted by that invention. Fosbury and our society have needed decades to be able to fully tell or accept Dick’s story. Now it is done, and Welch does magnificent justice to it all.” —Kenny Moore, Olympic marathoner, former Sports Illustrated writer, and author of Bowerman and the Men of Oregon “Competing in the Olympic trials is stressful and nerve-racking enough, but to have to do it twice? Dick’s read gives us a peek into an athlete’s world and more importantly the politics that have seeped their way into the sport!” —Debbie Meyer, three-time Olympic champion and Sullivan Award winner “Great read! Bob Welch has the rare ability to provide context to what some might consider to be purely a sports story. He evokes a time and place that many of us remember well, and provides insight for those who came after. This is a ‘history book’ in the best sense of that phrase.” —Tom Jordan, author of Pre: The Story of America’s Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine "Whether you're a track nut who has long known of the Fosbury Flop or just have an appetite for a good story, The Wizard of Foz is a fascinating window into one of sports history's most unlikely revolutionaries. With breezy prose and impassioned research, Bob Welch makes a captivating case that Dick Fosbury's life is about so much more than a gawky kid from Oregon trying to jump high. A must read for track and field geeks or anyone who loves an underdog story. Which is just about all of us." — Mary Pilon, author of the NY Times bestsellers The Kevin Show and The Monopolists “Dick Fosbury has always been one of the most compelling figures in American sports. Through Bob Welch’s fascinating look at Fosbury’s extraordinary story, we see just how the high jump’s innovative but enduring style was created. Foz’s ingenuity combined with Welch’s purposeful prose results in one great book. It’s anything but a flop.” —Kerry Eggers, sports columnist, Portland Tribune "What a great tale! How a high school athlete re-invented his sport, then dominated it and went on to win Olympic gold and become a household name. And somehow he still ended up an authentic, principled nice guy." —George A. Hirsch, chairman of the New York Road Runners and the former longtime worldwide publisher of Runner's World “ The Wizard of Foz raises the bar in showcasing the life of a man who revolutionized the high jump. Whether you’re a track enthusiast or not, it’s a must read.” —Tom Pappas, former world decathlon champion “Newly employed at Track & Field News in the late 1960s, I imagined knowing much about Dick Fosbury. Lately I’ve learned that I knew little beyond his Flop and resulting statistics. Bob Welch’s book teaches in wonder