School of Hard Knucks: My Three Sons and Baseball’s Wildest Pitch

A helicopter dad nearly spins out of control as his sons struggle to master the knuckleball—and perhaps save baseball’s most storied pitch from extinction.

Fifty-five years after the publication of the classic Ball Four comes School of Hard Knucks, the true story of three brothers on a mission to master the knuckleball, and their father’s obsession with baseball’s rarest and most storied pitch.

The action begins when Brian Gaffney discovers his young sons—Joe, Emmett, and Ben—throwing knuckleballs in their backyard. Could the knuck be their ticket to stardom? Gaffney resolves to find out. In time, they’re traveling the country to learn the knuckleball’s secrets from the greatest pitchers to ever throw it. Only a few dozen players in the 150-year history of baseball have specialized in the knuck, but Phil Niekro, Charlie Hough, R. A. Dickey, Steven Wright, Wilbur Wood, Tom Candiotti, and Tom House are among the pros willing to share their wisdom.

School of Hard Knucks is a funny, heartfelt, and informative book that’s part history, part father-and-son road trip, and part reflection about growing up and growing old. As the Gaffney boys climb the ladder of youth baseball—from Little League, travel ball, high school, to college prospect camps—it will resonate with anyone who’s ever stepped on a diamond and dared to dream.