Football Hero

Twelve-year-old Ty Lewis lives with his Aunt Virginia and Uncle Gus in a ramshackle house near Halpern, New Jersey, after his parents died in a car accident. His living conditions are bleak: He sleeps on a mattress in the laundry room, uses a salvaged portable toilet in the woods, and chops wood daily. Ty is the new kid at Halpern Middle School, picked on for his glasses, skinny legs, and the musty pillowcase he uses as a book bag. His older brother, Thane, nicknamed Tiger, is a star wide receiver at Syracuse University, 10 years Ty's senior. Throughout the novel, Ty experiences vivid flashbacks of time with Thane in which his brother imparted life lessons about resilience, self-worth, and never giving up. These recollections guide Ty at critical moments.

When the school's gym teacher, Coach V, notices Ty's extraordinary speed and invites him to spring football, Uncle Gus shuts the idea down. On Ty's 12th birthday, Uncle Gus presents him with a work permit for the family cleaning business, Slatz's Cleaning Services, requiring Ty to labor from four in the afternoon until midnight every day.

Among Uncle Gus's cleaning accounts is Lucy's Bar, run by a wiry, scarred man named Lucy who carries a crowbar and operates a gambling ring. Uncle Gus is indebted to Lucy, giving Lucy power over the household. While cleaning the men's room, Ty discovers he can overhear conversations in Lucy's adjacent office through a rusty air vent. He also meets Mike, an enormous former NFL lineman who works as the bar's cook and treats Ty with quiet kindness.

When Thane invites Ty to the ESPN NFL Draft in New York City, Uncle Gus tries to block the trip. Lucy overrides him, eager to build a connection with the soon-to-be professional athlete. Ty asks Lucy for an additional condition: Uncle Gus must let him play in the spring scrimmage. Lucy forces Uncle Gus to agree. At the scrimmage, Ty slips in the mud because of his worn-out sneakers, and Calvin West, a tall, aggressive teammate, mocks him. Ty kicks off his shoes, runs barefoot, and makes a spectacular diving catch that earns Coach V's admiration.

Thane picks Ty up in a limousine for a weekend in Manhattan. The brothers cry together, mourning their parents. Thane buys Ty new sneakers and football cleats. At dinner with Thane's agent, Morty Wolkoff, Morty privately warns Ty about the danger of family members draining NFL players' money and urges him never to mooch off his brother. Later, Thane tells Ty that once he is rich, Ty is too. Remembering Morty's advice, Ty insists he is fine with Aunt Virginia and Uncle Gus, declining the chance to be rescued.

At the Draft at the Javits Convention Center, the Jets select Thane with the third overall pick. Back home, Ty gives Charlotte, Aunt Virginia and Uncle Gus's quiet teenage daughter, an iPod from the ESPN gift bags, deepening their bond. When Thane signs a five-year, $32 million contract, Uncle Gus pushes hard for Thane to invest in a sports bar called "Tiger's Lair." Morty deflects, explaining that Uncle Gus would need to put up his own capital. Uncle Gus erupts, and when he hints that caring for Ty entitles him to compensation, Thane nearly takes Ty away. Morty calms the situation, and Thane privately slips Ty a $100 bill for emergencies.

As the school year begins, Uncle Gus and Lucy reveal the true purpose of the gambling operation: They want Ty to gather insider injury information from Thane to give bettors an edge. Uncle Gus takes Ty to a card game in Newark, where he meets Big Al D'Amico, a powerful organized crime boss who presses Ty for details about injured Jets players.

At school, Calvin discovers Ty's cleaning job and spreads the news. A plunger appears on Ty's locker with a sign reading "Toilet Ty the Turd Guy." On the field, Calvin uses illegal tactics to neutralize Ty's speed. Thane witnesses the abuse during a visit, takes Ty to the Jets' training facility, and teaches him blocking techniques: staying low, striking with the helmet and hands, and exploding through the defender. During the same visit, Ty gathers injury information for Uncle Gus, telling Thane it is for a fantasy league with friends. The Jets dominate their opener, and Uncle Gus, who bet based on Ty's intelligence, wins $5,000. The scale of the operation becomes clear to Ty.

Ty retaliates against Calvin at practice using Thane's techniques. Coach V quietly endorses the payback but warns that Calvin may provoke a fight at school to get Ty expelled from the team. Days later, Calvin corners Ty in a stairwell. Charlotte intervenes, and when Calvin shoves her, she swings her metal lunch box into his head and pushes him down the stairs, breaking his arm. Aunt Virginia fiercely defends both children at the principal's office, and the principal backs down from suspending them.

When Thane injures his knee and fellow receiver Laveranues Coles is also hobbled, Ty reports that both will likely miss the Bengals game. The information reaches D'Amico, whose network bets heavily against the Jets. The Jets win 17–14, and Uncle Gus collects on his bet.

Afterward, FBI Special Agent Kline and Agent Kemblowski, who is actually Mike the cook working undercover, pull Thane and Ty over. Kline reveals that the betting operation cleared over $700,000 for the D'Amico crime family. Thane agrees to cooperate but insists the deal must protect Uncle Gus for Aunt Virginia and Charlotte's sake. A plan emerges: Uncle Gus will feed D'Amico false information that Thane's knee has flared up, prompting the mob to bet against the Jets. Thane will actually play, causing the mob to lose. Wiretaps will capture D'Amico ordering retaliation, giving the FBI a murder conspiracy charge. Afterward, Uncle Gus and his family will enter the Witness Protection Program.

The plan unravels when Uncle Gus secretly bets $13,000 on the Jets at an Atlantic City casino, contradicting the false information he fed to D'Amico. Lucy discovers the bet and vows to attack Thane with a crowbar to injure his knee and prevent him from playing. Ty overhears this through the bathroom vent while Mike records the conversation. Realizing Lucy is heading to the mall where Thane is doing a charity autograph signing, Mike drives Ty and Charlotte there. Ty spots Lucy riding an escalator, crowbar in hand, sprints to the top, and uses the blocking technique Thane taught him to knock Lucy backward down the stairs. Police and Mike apprehend Lucy at the bottom.

After giving statements, Ty and Thane race to Halpern Middle School, where the team trails its rival Brookfield 21–10 with six minutes left. Ty enters the game and catches a long touchdown, cutting the deficit to 21–17. After Brookfield extends its lead to 24–17 with a field goal, Ty fights through tacklers to score with 15 seconds left, making it 24–23. On the mandatory two-point conversion, a defender tips the fade pass, but Ty, remembering Thane's lesson to never quit, tracks the deflected ball as it bounces off a shoulder pad, catches it before it hits the ground, and scores. Halpern wins 25–24.

That evening, FBI agents arrive to escort Uncle Gus, Aunt Virginia, and Charlotte into the Witness Protection Program. As agents load Ty into the car, Thane stops them and claims guardianship. Uncle Gus agrees without protest. Charlotte declines Ty's invitation to stay, saying she needs to remain with her family. Thane tells Ty he will not try to be a parent, just a brother. Ty asks to keep attending Halpern, and Thane agrees. As they walk to the car together, Thane tells Ty he is destined to be a football star himself.