A prolific author of boys’ sports fiction at the turn of the 20th century, Ralph Henry Barbour offered a range of engaging and easy to read stories, commonly centered around football and the importance of hard work and teamwork.
In addition to his popular novels such as The Half-Back (1899), Barbour published many of his short stories and series in The American Boy, Sport Story Magazine , and Boys’ Life.
The image at right is an illustration from the novel The Half-Back .