2008 Woodie Awards
The newest face of Foley
Mick Foley, the man behind a slew of characters in the ring, is now poised to conquer the literary world as well
Ben Erwin
Issue date: 10/31/03 Section: The Verge
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While he may have made a name for himself sacrificing his body for decades across Asia, Africa and North America, Foley also is part of a rather illustrious literary company. Alongside the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Jimmy Buffett, Foley is one of only a handful of authors who have written best-selling works of both fiction and nonfiction.
Foley will be promoting his latest work, and first novel, "Tietam Brown" as well as sharing his experiences in the world of literature and sports entertainment. He is scheduled to speak at 8 p.m Saturday in the Grand Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.
Foley, a wrestling fan since childhood, has one of the most famous stories in the business of sports entertainment. By now, his exploits of videotaped mayhem at Cortland College in upstate New York and subsequent tours throughout Asia and America on the way to stardom are well known to all wrestling fans, but it wasn't until the 2001 release of his autobiography "Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks," that industry dilettantes took notice.
Eschewing proposed ghost writers and other outside help, "Day" was handwritten by Foley on a stack of legal pads during plane trips between World Wrestling Entertainment shows.
With "Day," Foley dropped his wrestling personas to reveal a man who is insecure at times, always wry and perennially honest in his portrayal of his experiences and the industry that made him a star. For the first time, fans became privy to Foley rather than the sadistic Cactus Jack, the deranged Mankind or the hedonistic Dude Love.
"Have a Nice Day" proved Foley may have endured more punishment than most would imagine humanly possible, but underneath it all was a simple underdog tale of hard work and eventual success.
Nestled on the New York Times bestsellers list for a whopping 26 weeks, "Have a Nice Day" was a critical and commercial success of grand proportions.
Because of the book's success, Foley was afforded the opportunity for another autobiography. This time, Foley combined his abilities as a storyteller with a bit of social commentary on "Foley is Good: And the Real World is Faker Than Wrestling."
The book's title was a play on signs that fans would often bring to events proclaiming, "Foley is God." Although Foley vehemently denied the supernatural label throughout the book, "Foley is Good" again combined Foley's humorous tales of life on the road with a view into his personal life with wife Colette and children Dewey and Noelle.
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