By Dawn Scotland
The Truth Reporter
“I will do whatever I can, whenever I can, for as long as I can.”
That’s the personal slogan of Terry Crosby, legendary two sport athlete, philanthropist and community ambassador in Toledo, Ohio. The sports hero, who has written an autobiography Do You Have the Balls? available on Amazon, became a published author this year in August.
The journey took him five years. “I felt that my life has been extraordinarily blessed by God and so unusual and unique, that I felt that it was a necessity for me to write about my life’s journey,” shared Crosby.
Do You Have the Balls? details all aspects of Terry Crosby’s journey from his childhood, famed sports career, relationships, mentorship, community work and more.
“It’s not just about my life legacy it’s about those who had a positive impact in my life… I appreciate and respect to the highest those who had an impact on my life because if it wasn’t for those same people I would not be the man I am today,” Crosby said.
He emphasizes his parents Leon and Dorothy Crosby and their immeasurable impact, his friends, family and mentors growing up on the west side of Toledo — from the teammates, coaches and teachers that helped to mold Crosby’s future.
Many would say Crosby was one of the best two sport athletes (football and basketball) to come out of the city of Toledo. He played for DeVilbiss High School and the University of Tennessee, was drafted to the NBA with the Kansas City Kings in 1979 and later led a 17-year professional basketball career overseas in England where he holds a Guiness World Record. Now he serves as Community Ambassador for Taylor Automative.
“My life is so much more complex than just the sports side,” he shared. “All throughout my book I mention the word God, because He is the one who has placed me on this Earth to basically follow His instructions. Everything you see me do – it’s not me– it’s God’s work. So I give all praise and all glory to Him.”
While Crosby has experienced astounding success on the court and in life, he said one of his biggest accomplishments is becoming an author.
“Writing a book is one of the toughest challenges I’ve ever faced in my life,” he reflected. On August 21, 2024 he published his first book. “I’ve never felt the feeling that it gave once I became an official published author. It’s hard to explain. It’s a feeling of euphoria to the highest limit.”
“I really wanted to open up to the world and give them an opportunity to get to know the real me because I’m a very private person… even though I’m out in the community everyday that’s part of my job… people make assumptions about me and they have to because they don’t really know me as the man that I am,” Crosby added.
“Most people don’t know me… there are a lot of things that I want people to know that they don’t know,” he continued.
The takeaways he hopes people of all ages and walks of life will receive: “The part about perseverance, believing in yourself more than anyone else because if you don’t believe in you how are other people going to believe in you.”
“Also, emphasizing that I have had a lot of lifetime achievements in my life, but those achievements weren’t given to me. I had to work for those, and it’s not always been cake and ice cream for me throughout my life,” he shared.
Crosby hopes to shed a deeper light on one of Toledo’s legends as well as inspire the future generation of leadership with a book that he believes will impact many people even after he is gone, “the book will be here much longer than I will,” he shared.
Crosby would like to thank his publisher Carla DuPont, based in Atlanta, for her work on the project.
Do You Have the Balls to face the challenges in life and how will you handle them?
‘Do You Have the Balls?’ by Terry Crosby was listed as Amzaon.com #1 New Release Best Seller, ranked #28 in the World for Teen/Youth Sports Biographies and is available on Amazon.com. To learn more or purchase visit Amazon.com.