When he decided to be a writer, it was sports that pulled and pushed at the words of Mark Stallard. A native Kansan, Stallard was born in Topeka--his father's nomadic blood keep the family on the move, and by the time he was seven, Stallard had lived in five different Kansas communities. While he never had enough stuff to compete in baseball and basketball, Stallard loved sports.

 

After attending high school in Ralston, Nebraska, he returned to the Sunflower state to study Education and English at the University of Kansas. Stallard also studied journalism at Wichita State University, winning the school's top Journalism Merit Award for magazine writing. Stallard eventually covered sports for the Wichita Eagle, as well as writing for other magazines. In 1993, he received a Master of Liberal Arts from Baker University.

 

After writing and submitting proposals for several different book ideas, Stallard landed his first book deal almost by accident, and Kansas Royals Facts & Trivia was published--although just barely--in 1999. Since then, Stallard has written and published more than 10 other books, including Kansas City Chiefs Encyclopedia (third edition, August, 2013), AFL to Arrowhead, Wildcats to Powercats, Tales from the Jayhawks Gridiron, Then Landry Said to Staubach...., and Otis Taylor: Football from My Own Heart.

 

The third edition of Tales from the Jayhawks Locker Room was published in 2012 and received a high-praise, 5-star review on Amazon: "Great book! If you're a Jayhawks fan, I guarantee you'll enjoy this. Very well written and an easy read, I finished it in one day. Highly recommended."

Stallard's most recent release is the third edition of his Kansas City Chiefs Encyclopedia, which has received several top reviews: "While Pro Football Reference.com has a wider scope in some categories, this book contains much that is not there, like extensive team records. A recommended pleasure for Chiefs loyalists."