Over the course of his varied career Gene A. Budig has served as a professor the president of the American League of Major League Baseball the head of three major universities a major general in the Air National Guard a newspaper man and co-owner of a Minor League Baseball team. One can safely assume that Budig has met his share of interesting and inspiring people. In Grasping the Ring he selects nine from this great array of individuals and offers candid biographical sketches of these compelling characters. Though they are very different George Steinbrenner Larry Doby Tom Osborne Roy Williams Gale Sayers Jerry Reinsdorf Bob Kerrey Al Neuharth and Bob Dole are all exceptional people whose achievements and faults have captured the national interest. Budig writes Grasping the Ring as an insider whose acquaintance with these individuals enables him to ask the kinds of penetrating questions that make these stories intimate honest and revealing.