BY JIM MUIR, THE SOUTHERN
SESSER - When Sesser Mayor Ned Mitchell throws out a challenge he doesn't fool around. He sets his sights really high.

Mitchell, who has served as the top elected official in Sesser (population 2,228) for more than 25 years, has declared "literary war" against Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City (population 8,143,197). Along with that, Mitchell is also leading a public relations campaign aimed at getting the attention of television megastar Oprah Winfrey.

In a letter sent to Bloomberg Monday, Mitchell issued a friendly but open challenge: "Our baseball story is better than yours and we are willing to wager equal reviews to prove it."

What has Mitchell and other Sesser residents issuing a challenge to one of the world's most powerful mayors in one of the world's most dynamic cities and extending an invitation to one of the world's best known celebrities is the book "Playing With the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War, and a Field of Broken Dreams."

The book, written by Gary Moore, who lives near Chicago, is being sold nationwide and details the life of his father, Gene Moore, a 15-year-old baseball player from Sesser who attracted the attention of major league baseball scouts from the Brooklyn Dodgers only to have his dream of playing professional baseball snuffed out by World War II.

At the other end of the challenge is a book written by Joshua Prager, entitled "The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca and the Shot Heard Round the World." The book is one of the top selling in the nation and details the 1951 playoff game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants.

Mitchell has challenged Bloomberg to "a fair review of each city's hometown baseball book to let the people of America decide which is better." In his letter Mitchell encouraged Bloomberg to fairly review "Playing with the Enemy" and he promised the same honest Southern Illinois review of "The Echoing Green."

Mitchell pointed out that "The Echoing Green" is a widely reviewed book published by Pantheon, a division of Random House, the largest publisher in the world. He also noted that Prager lives in New York City and writes for the Wall Street Journal. On the other hand, Mitchell said, "Playing with the Enemy" was published by Savas Beatie, a small, independent press and despite rave reviews from readers has not received a New York media review.

"I trust the most powerful mayor in the world is not afraid of a little one-on-one and will welcome a duel of hometown baseball books," Mitchell says.

Hollywood movie producer Gerald Molen, ("Schindler's List," "Minority Report," "Jurassic Park") has acquired movie rights to "Playing With the Enemy." Filming is set for mid-2007.

Moore is pleased that the Sesser mayor has initiated this challenge to Mayor Bloomberg.

"My dad (Gene Moore) grew up in Sesser and his life was shaped and molded by the people and values of this wonderful little town," Moore said. "To see Mayor Mitchell and the great people of Sesser rising up to challenge the mayor of New York City on behalf of 'Playing With the Enemy' is an honor. There's certainly nothing wrong with a little friendly competition and I firmly believe 'Playing With the Enemy' is up to the challenge!"

Moore said he has promoted his book in major cities across the nation including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Dallas, but has not experienced the emotion he felt when he returned to Sesser a few weeks ago for a book signing.

"It was like bringing my dad back home," Moore said.

Along with the challenge to Mayor Bloomberg, Mitchell said a concerted effort is being made to engage the support of Oprah Winfrey. Signs reading, "Dear Oprah, Please call us, we have a great American story to tell," have been erected on the three main arteries leading into Sesser.

Mitchell said he believes the human drama and small town flavor of "Playing With the Enemy" is the type of book Winfrey often promotes on her national talk show.

"Oprah has a book club and we believe this is a book she might be interested in," Mitchell said. "She occasionally gets out of Chicago and goes on the road with her show. We want to invite her to Sesser as our guest."

Mitchell said one of the main attractions on Sesser's Main Street is the Opera House Restaurant. In extending the invitation to Winfrey, Mitchell said the city will be willing to officially change the name of the restaurant on the day of her visit.

"We'll name it the Sesser Oprah House for that day," he said.

Along with the signs, the city has also printed 500 bumper stickers that simply say, 'Oprah Call Sesser' with the city hall phone number included.

"Oprah grew up in a small town so she understands what communities like Sesser are like," Mitchell said. "We've got some of the classes at the grade school involved in a letter-writing campaign so it has turned into a communitywide effort. I've got a bumper sticker on my car and I've been in other communities in the past few days and I've had people ask me about it. Oprah has a huge amount of fans."

Another staple of small communities is how quickly news travels. He said the move to attract Oprah's attention is the buzz all over town right now.

"It has certainly created some excitement around here," Mitchell said. "We just hope Oprah calls us."