October Meeting: Boys of Riverside by Thomas Fuller

The Boys of Riverside tells the inspiring true story of the football team at the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, and their remarkable rise from overlooked underdogs to championship contenders. Thomas Fuller follows the players, coaches, and community behind a team whose shared language, trust, and resilience became a competitive strength. The book is more than a sports story. It is also a portrait of Deaf culture, belonging, communication, and the assumptions people make about ability. Fuller shows how the team’s success challenged outsiders’ expectations while giving the players a powerful sense of identity and pride. It should make for an uplifting and thoughtful discussion about teamwork, perseverance, disability, community, and what happens when a group of people refuses to be defined by other people’s limitations.