BRING ONE HOME by Thomas L. Pelissero

Bring One Home: A Memoir of Boyhood, Basketball, and Hometown Spirit

In the 1960s, the biggest dream for many young boys across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was to play for their high school basketball team. In the small town of Bessemer, this meant one thing: wearing the blue and gold of the Speedboys. The two obstacles standing in every young Bessemer boy's way were bitter winters of endless snow and a padlock on the doors to the only good gym in town. One day, when a young inexperienced coach is hired to lead the team, the Speedboys' usual aspirations of winning championships suddenly become far humbler: they merely want to win a single game. Mired in an epic losing streak, the team's declining fortunes come to mirror those of the town itself. Iron ore mines are shuttered. Jobs are lost. And the Speedboys' losses start piling up. What transpires is nothing less than a test of the town's soul and the character of its people. Bring One Home is an irresistible trip back to the days when kids played basketball on snow-covered driveways, drank chocolate malts at the Tip Top Cafe, and folks got their news in the local barbershop. Told from the viewpoint of a young, anxious boy striving to fulfill the expectations set forth by the adults in his life, this is an underdog story as heartwarming as it is at times heartbreaking. Filled with historical insights and laugh-out-loud moments, Bring One Home is a tribute to the author's beloved hometown and their undeniable determination to win.

TOPICS OF CONVERSATION:

• About Bring One Home and the inspiration behind the book
• How the decline of the iron ore mining industry and a historic 42-game basketball losing streak became the unexpected backbone of one powerful story
• The eerie connection between the new basketball coach's first pep rally and the assassination of President Kennedy
• What it was really like to grow up in a small town where the rivalries were fierce and losing brought the community closer together
• How eight years of research uncovered the surprising root cause of the losing streak
• How proceeds from the book have been donated back to Bessemer schools, local libraries, and senior meals in the community
• A beautiful reminder to support your local library, where his own love of reading began with Green Eggs and Ham

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Thomas L. Pelissero grew up in Bessemer, a small town nestled in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Drawing on his roots, he shared the spirit and history of his hometown in his debut book, “Bring One Home: A Memoir of Boyhood, Basketball and Hometown Spirit.” As a natural storyteller with a flair for humor, Thomas delights friends and family with vivid tales from his youth and the community that shaped him. His book has won a bronze medal in the North American Book Awards, named a Finalist in the Best Book Awards, and his memoir was placed into the Congressional Record in the U.S. House of Representatives on January 21, 2026 and is on the shelf in the Library of Congress. He has donated his net proceeds from sales of his book “Bring One Home” to support literacy in libraries and schools in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Thomas earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of St. Thomas and an MBA from Concordia University, both located in St. Paul, Minnesota. He dedicated 18 years to the broadcasting industry, where he made a notable impact. Thomas’s work with popular artists in the 1980s was recognized with two Gold Records and one Platinum Record. In 1991, Thomas transitioned to a corporate marketing in St. Paul until his retirement in 2017. That same year, he founded the Erwin Township Historical Society, serving as its President. Under his leadership, the Society was recognized in 2025 by the Michigan Historical Society as the Best Local Historical Society in the state.

Thomas is married to Joy, and together they have five children and twelve grandchildren. The couple shares a love for outdoor adventures, hiking, biking, and fishing—and cherishes time spent with family and exploring history.

Learn more about Thomas L. Peliserro and his work at: https://www.thomaslpelissero.com/ 

Get the book: https://amzn.to/4tHXlMK