For more than a decade, I have been working in spurts and flourishes on Terror in the City of Champions. Although I set the project aside for several years, I never stopped pondering it or feeling the pull of its gravity. It is a tale that deserved to be told and I hope I have done it justice.
Along the way I have been fortunate to have the support of many people, none more important to me professionally than Philip Spitzer, my agent and friend. I will always be indebted to Philip, whose advice, encouragement, and loyalty have been unwavering in my years as an author. It has been a pleasure working with him. (Thank you also to Lukas Ortiz of the Spitzer Literary Agency.) Further I am grateful to editor Keith Wallman of Lyons Press for recognizing the value and potential in this book and for his guidance along the way. Fellow writers Ian Thibodeau, Tim Wendel, and Taylor Stanton have also offered valuable assistance and my peers at the University of Detroit Mercy—especially Dr. Vivian Dicks, professor Jason Roche, Dr. Roy Finkenbine, Dr. Mark Denham, and Fr. John Staudenmaier—have been generous with their expertise and encouragement. Writer Richard Bak deserves a special acknowledgment for repeatedly going the extra mile to assist me. He is the most prolific author on subjects related to Detroit, including the Tigers, Joe Louis, and Henry Ford. His work deserves a wider audience. Author Charles Avison also merits a nod for his energetic efforts to bring attention to the City of Champions era.
Anyone who writes authoritatively about the Black Legion owes a debt to historian Peter H. Amann and attorney Maurice Sugar, both of whom devoted years to researching the organization and left their files accessible to all at the Walter P. Reuther Library. In particular I drew upon Sugar’s extensive news clippings and Amann’s oral histories and collection of Michigan State Police reports. I would also like to thank these individuals for their helpful contributions, both large and small: Greg Bishton, Jamie Bishton, Sara Cochrane Bollman, Basil Mickey Briggs, Holly Campbell, Mark Jerome Cavanagh, Barbara Chenot, Elizabeth Clemens, Mary Teresa Coulter, Nancy Durston, Lisa Edmondson, Ned Garver, Rick Gehringer, Dennis Hurkett, Danielle Kaltz, Maurice Kelman, Robert Krajenke, Christian Kraus, Nancy Kreider, Cassidy Lent, Gloria Lewis, Amy Marsh, Jessica Masten, Marti Morris, David Nantais, Francis Parker, Chris Pidcock, Lois Ralph, Amy Reytar, Barbara Rock, Matt Rothenberg, Carl Scheib, Bobby Shantz, Linda Ann Shaw, Patterson Smith, Garnett Stokes, and the late Fr. Leo Wollenweber.
Finally, I offer my heartfelt appreciation (and love) to my partner in life, Beth Bagley-Stanton, always my first reader; my caring and talented sons, Taylor, William, and Zack (and daughter-in-law Molly Heinsler); my friend Mike Varney; and my whole extended family. Terror in the City of Champions marks my first book since the death of three people dear to me whose devotion was unconditional: my mother-in-law, Marjorie Bagley; my oldest sister, Janis Stanton-Peterson; and my father and hero, Joe Stanton. They are part of this work too.