T-C-C instructor writes book on James 'Quick' Tillis

Jan Engleman Price, adjunct instructor at Tulsa Community College, has collaborated with James “Quick” Tillis to write the boxer’s biography, Thinkin’ Big: The Story of James “Quick” Tillis, The Fighting Cowboy.

Price, a free-lance nonfiction writer, has co-authored two books and has written several human interest stories for local, national, and international magazines. She owns Write Resource, a writing consulting company, and provides foreign language translation and tutoring services for individuals and corporations--such as MAPCO and National Steak and Poultry Company.

Price has a Bachelor of Science Degree from University of Central Oklahoma and a Master of Arts Degree from Emporia State University.

Tillis, a native Tulsan nicknamed the “Fighting Cowboy” by former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, had a record of 42-22-4 with 16 knockouts during a 21-year boxing career in the heavyweight division. His opponents included former world heavyweight champions Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.

The biography, as told by Tillis to Price, reveals the personal and professional sacrifices he has made--including Tillis? gritty childhood as an African-American youth in Oklahoma; his amateur boxing success, his tumultuous professional boxing career, and his financial and legal battles. Tillis was a regional Golden Gloves champion as an amateur.

The biography, published by ECW Press of Toronto, Canada, shows how a raw and humorous Tillis, always adhering to his philosophy of “Thinkin? Big”, dealt with an alcoholic parent, his rise to boxing stardom, his role in the movie The Color Purple, the corrupt boxing management which robbed him of his titles and fortune, the highly-publicized and controversial heavyweight fight with Tyson, and his personal relationships.

”It is very good reading from the perspective of an athlete determined to make something of himself and his life,” said Reuben Gant, Greenwood Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, about Tillis’ biography. “A must read for fans of the fight game and aspiring boxers or athletes.”