Checkers: A Hard Luck Story is a novel by Henry Blossom.
First published in 1896, the novel is set during the World's Columbian Exposition and follows businessman Jack Preston as he develops a friendship with the horse racing tout and gambler Edward "Checkers" Campbell.
[1] The novel was the basis for the 1924 silent film Gold Heels.
[2] Blossom adapted his novel into a play, Checkers, which premiered at the American Theatre on Broadway in 1903.
[3] The play was also adapted into a Broadway musical, Honey Girl (1920), by Edward Clark, Albert Von Tilzer, and Neville Fleeson.