Born in Tlaquepaque, Mexico, in 1943, Francisco Jiménez has won many awards for The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child from which "Learning the Game" appears.  Jiménez was choosen as the 2002 U.S. Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Supoprt of Education (CASE) and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for his work as a professor and program director at Santa Clara University.