What makes HEROES unique is that author Ralph Wimbish puts himself into many of his stories, a perspective we do not often see in sports writing today.

Wimbish''s recollections of the sports figures he met as a youngster and later in a 37-year career as a newspaperman make for riveting reading. His father was Dr. Ralph M. Wimbish, a prominent figure in the NAACP''s efforts to rid the South of racial discrimination in the late ''50s and early ''60s. Wimbish the writer has some interesting observations and previously untold stories about Black athletes such as Jackie Robinson, Curt Flood, Elston Howard, Tiger Woods and others.

HEROES

is a collection of stories about stories - sitting with 1956 perfect-game pitcher Don Larsen while watching David Cone''s 1999 perfect game is a perfect example. These are stories you wish you had been able to read earlier.

Now you can.