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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Ball games > American football
When George S. Halas was asked to rebuild the Staley Company's
football club in Decatur, Illinois in 1920, nobody could have
imagined that his efforts would forever change Sunday afternoons in
America. Halas helped found the National Football League, and with
it the Chicago Bears, the most storied franchise in the league's
history. From the Galloping Ghost, to the Monsters of the Midway,
to that indomitable "46" defense -- the "Grabowskis" as their coach
named them -- Bears teams and players have made such an impact on
the city of big shoulders that Chicago will be forever known as a
"Bears town."
It is so statistically unlikely as to be almost unbelievable.
Somehow, the Gronkowski family has produced three sons who play in
the NFL (Rob, Chris, and Dan), one who was drafted into Major
League Baseball (Gordie, Jr.), and another who is the starting
fullback for Kansas State (Goose). Their father, Gordy, even played
college football for Syracuse.
How did it happen? From an early age, Gordy realized the
potential his sons had and worked with them to make the most of it.
Beyond their monstrous size, physicality, and raw talent, he
instilled in them a commitment to fitness, health, drive, and
determination that would give his boys a leg up in ways other
families simply couldn't match. And the boys' motivation certainly
wasn't something solely triggered by a driven father. They were
like a pack of adolescent wolves readying themselves for the
recruiting hunt. Still, all were honor roll students; the three
oldest earned college degrees. Each was motivated and inspired by
his brothers. Competition and bragging rights were -- and continue
to be -- a big part of what makes the Gronkowskis tick. "Growing Up
Gronk "reveals the secrets to the Gronkowski's astonishing
collective success while opening the door to a lively,
entertaining, one-of-a-kind household.
When teams meet on football fields across Georgia, it's more than a
game--it's a battle for bragging rights and dominance in a state
that prizes football above all other sports. Join seasoned Georgia
sports journalist Jon Nelson as he tracks the history of college
football statewide. Whether it's Georgia Southern's glory days with
legendary coach Erk Russell, the bitter rivalry between Georgia
Tech and the University of Georgia, the Mercer College team's
historic beginnings or Shorter University's up-and-coming program,
every team in Georgia makes the cut in this hard-hitting history.
Enhanced by an appendix with each school's records, championship
statistics and coaching accomplishments, this is a book no Peach
State football fan can do without.
In 1984 the University of Washington Huskies won every game but
one, ranking second in national polls. For most coaches, such a
season would be a career pinnacle. But for Don James second place
motivated him to set aside what he knew about football and rethink
the game. James made radical changes to his coaching philosophy,
from recruitment to becoming one of the first college teams willing
to blitz on any down and in any situation. His new approach
initially failed, yet it finally culminated in one of the most
explosive teams in college football history. In Fear No Man, Mike
Gastineau recounts the riveting story of Don James and the national
championship team he built. Undefeated, the 1991 Huskies outscored
opponents by an average of 31 points per game on their way to
winning the Rose Bowl and a national championship. The team
included twenty-five future NFL players, and in Gastineau's
gripping account they come alive with all the swagger and joy they
brought to the game. A brilliant examination of one of college
football's greatest coaches and teams, Fear No Man is the
inspirational story of an improbable journey that led to one
classic and unforgettable season.
The 50 Greatest Players in Green Bay Packers History examines the
careers of the 50 men who made the greatest impact on one of the
National Football League's most iconic and successful franchises.
Using as measuring sticks the degree to which they impacted the
fortunes of the team, the extent to which they added to the Packers
legacy of excellence, and the levels of statistical compilation and
overall dominance they attained while wearing a Packers uniform,
The 50 Greatest Players in Green Bay Packers History ranks, from 1
to 50, the top 50 players in team history. Quotes from opposing
players and former teammates are provided along the way, as are
summaries of each player's greatest season, most memorable
performances, and most notable achievements
The Washington Redskins franchise remains one of the most valuable
in professional sports, in part because of its easily recognizable,
popular, and profitable brand. And yet "redskins" is a derogatory
name for American Indians. Prominent journalists, politicians, and
former players have publicly spoken out against the use of Redskins
as the name of the team. The number of grassroots campaigns to
change the name has risen in recent years despite the current team
owner's assertion that the team will never do so. The NFL, for its
part, actively defends the name and supports it in court. Redskins:
Insult and Brand examines how the ongoing struggle over the team
name raises important questions about how white Americans perceive
American Indians, about the cultural power of consumer brands, and
about continuing obstacles to inclusion and equality. C. Richard
King examines the history of the team's name, the evolution of the
term "redskin," and the various ways in which people both support
and oppose its use today. King's hard-hitting approach to the
team's logo and mascot exposes the disturbing history of a
moniker's association with the NFL-a multibillion-dollar entity
that accepts public funds-as well as popular attitudes toward
Native Americans today.
"The definitive book of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers" (Scott
Brown, "ESPN"): A unique literary sports book that--through
exquisite reportage, love, and honesty--tells the full story of the
best team to ever play the game.
The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s won an unprecedented and
unmatched four Super Bowls in six years. A dozen of those Steelers
players, coaches, and executives have been inducted into the Hall
of Fame, and three decades later their names echo in popular
memory: "Mean" Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Mike
Webster, Jack Lambert, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth. In ways
exhilarating and heartbreaking, they define not only the
brotherhood of sports but those elements of the game that engage
tens of millions of Americans: its artistry and its brutality.
Drawing on hundreds of interviews, "Their Life's Work" is a richly
textured story of a team and a sport, what the game gave these men,
and what the game took. It gave fame, wealth, and, above all, a
brotherhood of players, twelve of whom died before turning sixty.
To a man, they said they'd do it again, all of it. They bared the
soul of the game to Gary Pomerantz, and he captured it wondrously.
"Here is a book as hard-hitting and powerful as the 'Steel Curtain'
dynasty that Pomerantz depicts so deftly. It's the NFL's version of
"The Boys of Summer," with equal parts triumph and melancholy.
Pomerantz's writing is strong, straightforward, funny, sentimental,
and blunt. It's as working class and gritty as the men he writes
about" ("The Tampa Tribune," Top 10 Sports Books of 2013).
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