The Making of the American Boy

M y colleagues Charlie Cooke and Alexandra DeSanctis may think they are the reason I like baseball, but in reality, it was Tom Playfair’s doing. Tom Playfair, Percy Wynn, and Harry Dee, that is. And it wasn’t just baseball they brought to life. These fictional heroes and their friends and professors exemplified for me, as a child, courage, studiousness, and kindness, along with a strong sense of humor and a wonderful conviction of faith.

When you cherish a book and its characters deeply, it can be difficult to convey their value to others without slipping into overwrought gushing. Such a display would cheapen these stories and annoy readers, so, simply put, the boys who fill the pages of Father Francis J. Finn’s three most popular books — Tom Playfair, Percy Wynn, and Harry Dee — teach readers about sin, faith, and redemption in a clear manner that challenges and inspires. But there is no stuffy preachiness to be found here. Father Finn understood boys, having taught for many years at a boarding school during the 1880s. He was also deeply patriotic and wished to show how being a proud American, being a lively boy, and being a devout Catholic are not incompatible. These books and characters were beloved in their day by numerous boys and girls, and perhaps their favorite character was the stalwart Tom.

How does one introduce such a boy? Here, the author helps us out: “Tom Playfair! The same bright, cheerful, happy Tom whom some of my readers have already met. Just as healthy, stronger, a little taller; but the same kind, genial Tom. His sturdy little legs were still encased in knickerbockers, his rounded cheeks still glowed with health; his blue sailor-shirt still covered the same brave, strong heart.” The hero or co-hero in three books, Tom has a tremendous character arc. Beginning as a rather wild, unmanageable child coddled by his aunt and cowed only by his stern father, Tom does not immediately strike the reader as a particularly virtuous boy. His well-meaning father sees his own influence is insufficient for curbing Tom’s excesses, so our hero-in-the-rough is enrolled at St. Maure’s, a boarding school for boys in Kansas. It is this school that becomes the backdrop for most of Tom’s (and eventually Percy’s and Harry’s) adventures, and it is here that he encounters a wide range of boys and meets his mentor, Mr. Middleton.

Tom’s close friends are Percy Wynn and Harry Dee. Percy has perhaps the sweetest nature of the three, thanks in part to his upbringing in the midst of a family of ten sisters. Poor Percy is rather effeminate at first and suffers a severe culture shock upon his enrollment at the all-boys school. Tom comes to his rescue, though, and makes it his mission to turn Percy into a real boy. But while he is forming Percy’s muscles, Percy’s goodness is forming Tom’s character. These two are then quick to welcome Harry Dee into their circle. Harry lost his mother at a young age and suffered another traumatic loss right before enrolling at St. Maure’s. Once there, though, he is strengthened in knowledge, skill, and virtue through his interactions with Tom, Percy, and others of their set.

The charm of these tales and the convictions they elicit from readers is remarkable. Father Finn had a knack for capturing just the right tone of a scene and of writing engaging dialogue that holds the reader’s attention. Furthermore, faith isn’t merely present in these stories, it informs them and gives them life. These boys are far from perfect, but they are aware of this, determined to correct their faults through prayer and action, and have the support of their peers and professors in the endeavor. Our boys live full lives, participating in rigorous studies and energetic athletics, and it is clear that their faith is not separate from these activities. But neither do the boys display some sort of annoying “holiness.” Percy’s actions on the occasion of a suspenseful baseball game (one of the sources of my early appreciation for the sport) illustrate this marvelously:

“I say, Percy,” whispered Quip, “you didn’t catch that ball on the fly.” “I know it,” answered Percy; “I didn’t say I did, either.” “Wouldn’t it be honest to go and tell the umpire?” It was hard to say whether Quip were serious or not in putting this question. “It would be absurd,” answered Percy. “In baseball such candor would be sentimental. I read a story in St. Nicholas once, where a boy sacrificed a game by announcing to the umpire that he had caught a ball on the short bound when the umpire had already decided it a fly catch. The story was very nice; but the writer didn’t understand the duties of the umpire and player rightly. The umpire is to judge our plays by what he sees. If he decides me out when I’m not, through his own bad judgement, I grin and bear it; in the same way, if he declares me to have put a man out when I haven’t, I grin the more.” Percy was good, but he was not a goody-goody.

Father Finn knew his audience, and each of his books is filled with adventures ranging from an amusing excursion at a pond to an unsolved murder mystery. Our boys experience the death of loved ones, nasty school bullies, and the departure of friends, and it is through these tests of courage and faith that we see them grow into virtuous young men. Old-fashioned as the writing may seem at times, these stories reach through the complex struggles of the soul and strike the chord of honor and nobility buried deep within.

St. Teresa of Avila is sometimes said to have prayed, “From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us!” There are certainly no sour faces in Father Finn’s tales, and even after dozens of reads, these stories still leave me laughing out loud at the antics of our heroes. Who could keep a straight face as Tom coaches his baseball team using algebraic terms? Or help chuckling at his misguided attempts to play exorcist over the school bully? And it would be difficult to keep from smiling when Percy gets his newly caught, still-on-the-line fish stuck up in a tree. These and many other moments give levity and life to the books, beautifully balancing the serious scenes and themes that Father Finn carefully but truthfully includes.

By showing, not telling, Father Finn gives readers a wonderful picture of well-ordered American boys: bravely fighting against their faults, courageous in the face of danger, honest in word and deed, plucky athletes, serious students, and all this aimed at growing in faith. Far from sappy or saccharine, Tom, Percy, and Harry are the friends and heroes our children — and especially our boys — need today.