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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Ball games > American football
It may be true that defense wins championships, but it's
quarterbacks who put their stamp on the NFL like no one else. The
Mount Rushmore of the position would have to be a many-headed hydra
to honor them all: preternaturally poised Joe Montana and
gunslinging Brett Favre; cerebral Peyton Manning and athletic Steve
Young; shaggy Joe Namath and crewcut Johnny Unitas; black-and-white
pioneer Sammy Baugh and his high-def descendants, Tom Brady, Drew
Brees and perhaps someday, Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck. "Sports
Illustrated" celebrates these iconic figures and many more in a pro
football compendium unlike any ever assembled.
"NFL QB" examines every aspect of this storied position through
original essays, classic prose from the magazine's rich archives
and insights from Hall of Fame players, all set against the most
striking photographs ever taken on the subject. Every record holder
is represented and reevaluated. The big arms, the elusive
scramblers, the two-minute magicians, the crossover cultural stars,
even the notorious flameouts, are all showcased. This comprehensive
tribute to the game's most essential position is a must-have for
any NFL fan.
When Wilbert Montgomery earned his Super Bowl XLVII ring as
running-backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 2013, he was no
stranger to glory. In Philadelphia and elsewhere his legacy still
looms large. Montgomery was the halfback whose touchdown on the
second play from scrimmage and total 194 yards against a stout
Cowboy defense helped spur the Eagles to the 1981 NFC title and
Super Bowl XV. But perhaps even more enduring should be the story
of how this shy but courageous athlete broke down barriers
throughout his life, even before the his time in the NFL. Escaping
an oppressive and impoverished environment in his home state of
Mississippi in the early 1970s, he became one of the first African
Americans to play for what was then Abilene Christian College,
after its all-white coaching staff lured him away from the gridiron
at historically black Jackson State College. Although leading ACC
to a 1973 national title would help catapult Montgomery to a
remarkable pro career, no one before has illuminated the complex
interplay of race relations, sports, and religion in Montgomery's
heroic accomplishments in West Texas and beyond.
This guide is the ultimate resource for true fans of the Golden
Gophers. Whether you’re a die-hard from the days of Herb Brooks
or a more recent supporter, these are the 100 things every fan
needs to know and do in their lifetime. Experienced sportswriter
Brian Murphy has collected every essential piece of Minnesota
knowledge and trivia, as well as must-do activities, and ranks them
all from 1 to 100, providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow
checklist as you progress on your way to fan superstardom.
At the end of World War II, the top ten college football teams were
largely the same as they are today-with one exception: Oklahoma. In
1947, Bud Wilkinson was named OU's head football coach and became
the architect of Oklahoma's meteoric rise from mediocrity to its
present status as a perennial powerhouse. Based on interviews with
Wilkinson, former OU president George L. Cross, and numerous former
players, author John Scott gives us the behind-the-scenes story of
Wilkinson's years at the University of Oklahoma. Scott takes us
through the teams Wilkinson directed from 1947 to 1963, revealing
the philosophies and tactics Wilkinson used to turn OU into one of
college football's elite programs. A close-up view of games-from
strategy to execution-brings OU football and its cast of colorful
characters to life. Scott details the Sooners' 47-game winning
streak as well as thrilling games against Notre Dame, Army, USC,
and others. He also provides details of Wilkinson's breaking of the
color line in OU athletics and the infamous food-poisoning incident
in Chicago in 1959. Before his death in 1994, Wilkinson reviewed
the first draft of the book and wrote in a letter to the author,
"The explanations of football strategies are concise and clear.
They rank among the best I have ever read." Including vignettes of
Wilkinson's closest coaching friends (Royal, Bryant, Leahy,
Sanders, Blaik, Tatum), Bud Wilkinson and the Rise of Oklahoma
Football captures all the drama of Oklahoma's ascendance and serves
as an authoritative and entertaining history of the sport that will
appeal to all college football fans.
Most Colorado fans have taken in a game at Folsom Field, remember
the Buffaloes’ national championship victory over Notre Dame, and
can vividly recall Kordell Stewart’s Hail Mary heave to Michael
Westbrook. But only real fans know the amazing story of
“Whizzer” White, have read Sal Aunese’s letter to his
teammates just before his death, or are aware of how the rivalry
with Nebraska was born. Featuring traditions, records, and lore,
this lively, detailed book explores the personalities, events, and
facts every University of Colorado fan should know. Whether
you’re a longtime fan from the days of Bill McCartney or a more
recent supporter, these are the 100 things all fans need to know
and do in their lifetime. CU beat reporter Brian Howell has
collected every essential piece of Buffaloes knowledge and trivia,
as well as must-do activities, and ranks them all from 1 to 100,
providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist as you
progress on your way to fan superstardom.
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.
Upton Bell grew up at the knee of the NFL's first great
commissioner, his father, the legendary Bert Bell, who not only
saved the game from financial ruin after World War II but was one
of its greatest innovators. Present at the Creation details Bell's
firsthand experiences, which started as he watched his father draw
up the league schedule each year at the kitchen table using
dominoes. There he learned the importance of parity, which is a
hallmark of the league's success, and also how to create it. Over
the past fifty-three years, Bell has been an owner, a general
manager, a personnel executive, a scouting director for two Super
Bowl teams, a television commentator and analyst, and a talk-radio
host. He has seen the NFL from the inside and has experienced many
of the most important moments in NFL history. Bell was player
personnel director for the Baltimore Colts when the team played in
three championship games and appeared in two Super Bowls. At
thirty-three he became the youngest general manager in NFL history
when he joined the Patriots in that role in 1971. He left the NFL
in 1974 to compete against it, joining the upstart World Football
League as owner of the Charlotte Hornets, which lasted just two
years. In 1976 Bell began his forty-year career as a radio and TV
talk-show host, yet he remains a football guy who was in the middle
of the game's most significant moments and knows that half the
story has never been told, until now. Watch a book trailer.
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