WARREN, Ohio – They grew up together, attended Warren G. Harding High School together and earlier this year David Lee Morgan Jr. and Steve Arnold’s books were released within a few weeks of each other.

“The LeBron Phenomenon: My Front-Row Seat to History” is Morgan’s 17th book, including eight in a children’s book series about renowned athletes. “Born to Lead” marks Arnold’s first foray into authorship. 

“As I knew my coaching career here was winding down, I had three people say, ‘Hey, you need a memoir because what you’ve experienced, nobody else has done as a coach in Warren City Schools,’” Arnold said.

He spent about 35 years as a Harding coach, including serving as the school’s first Black football and basketball coach. He retired in 2023 and became Liberty High School’s basketball coach in 2024. 

“I’ve seen a lot, and everybody has a story to tell,” Arnold said.

He decided to follow his friends’ suggestion to become an author and called on Morgan for guidance. At Morgan’s suggestion, Arnold recorded his thoughts and memories and sent the recordings to his co-author who penned the words. Arnold tweaked the writing to ensure it portrayed the stories he remembers.

The Books

Morgan’s book is his latest about James. While working as a sportswriter at the Akron Beacon Journal, Morgan watched James play, starting with Amateur Athletic Union teams and then at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron. That was when more people relied on newspapers for their high school sports news.

“If you were a sports fan, LeBron was the sports story back then because the sports world at that time was not in Brooklyn,” Morgan said. “It wasn’t in Jersey. It wasn’t in the Bronx. It wasn’t in L.A. It wasn’t in Texas. It was on Maple Street in Akron.” 

All of the major newspapers were coming to James’ school to watch him play. Morgan wrote his latest book for the generation who remembers that. 

“But then also, there’s a generation of people who weren’t even born then, but they like LeBron now,” Morgan said. The book is for them too.

At one point last month, both books were Amazon No. 1 top sellers for best new releases in their respective categories. Arnold’s was No. 1 in basketball biographies and Morgan’s in professional basketball. But they share much more.

“We’ve known each other since we were kids,” Morgan said. 

Authors’ Backgrounds

Their fathers, Sonny Morgan and Charles “Petie” Arnold, were active in community sports throughout the city, serving as role models for youth, he said.

Arnold, who lives in Howland, graduated from Harding in 1982, and Morgan, of Canton, graduated in 1984. They were inducted into the school’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2017.

Both men said the school system and the city proved pivotal in their lives.

“Outside of my family, I owe everything that I’ve ever accomplished professionally to Warren G. Harding High School – my friends, my experiences walking home from here and going down and walking the railroad tracks and passing the Buena Vista and smelling Uncle Nick’s chicken and jumping the trains,” said Morgan, whose Warren friends know him as Boona, a nickname his mother gave him. 

He’s a former newspaper sports writer, and besides his author duties, he teaches English at Stow-Munroe Falls High School. 

Morgan also attributes his success to his Warren upbringing. He learned to be competitive while playing baseball when west and east side little league teams faced off on the diamond and then celebrated together. Morgan also recalls looking up to Arnold and other older athletes when he was working out in the high school gym.

“All of that allowed me to go out and compete in the press boxes or in New York when I was covering the Guardians, the Indians,” he said.

The city and its school system shaped Arnold too, and he likens the high school to New York City.

“Anything and everything you want is here – good and bad,” he said. 

“Warren City Schools and Harding get such a bad rap sometimes, but the educational tools are unmatched,” he said. “Now, it’s up to you to utilize that.”

Arnold’s book also shares stories of five of his players who were killed, either by violence or in accidents. He remembers every detail and questions whether he could have done anything differently to prevent the tragedies. That pain never fades.

He believes those who read his book can learn something about leadership. Many people think they want to be leaders but may not understand everything that goes along with it.

Morgan hopes his latest book gives readers a new perspective on the famous basketball player.

“The perspective that I had is the front row seat – being there behind the scenes, being in practices when all of the media wasn’t allowed,” he said. 

Morgan recalls watching James being upset because he believed he’d let his high school teammates down after getting suspended for accepting a jersey.

He shares the perspectives that he had so readers can view James differently. He witnessed the player’s development and believes he was blessed to have access most people didn’t.

When they were younger, both Arnold and Morgan aspired to be newspaper writers. Morgan earned a degree in professional writing and editing at Youngstown State University. Arnold received his degree in communications and public relations at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus. Arnold opted for a career with the Ohio Division of Liquor Control and coached his teams after work. 

Morgan knows he’ll write another book but hasn’t decided who or what the subject will be. Arnold doesn’t anticipate writing a second book.

“I would say right now, probably not,” he said. “But if you’d have told me that I would have one book, I would say no way. Who knows what the future holds?”

Pictured at top: David Lee Morgan Jr., left, and Steve Arnold hold their books while standing in front of the facade from the old Warren G. Harding High School.