Football Books

When Emmit Smith was a baby, he wached football because his dad wached it all the time and got him into it. That is why he is so good at running back. First when he got drafted to the cowboys no one knew how good he was. Emmitt talked to the coach and asked if he could play more than he already was. He led the cowboys to 5 super bowls in a row, that shows how good he was. I think kids that are starting football should read this book. That is how you can become a very good football player.

When Emmit Smith was a baby, he wached football because his dad wached it all the time and got him into it. That is why he is so good at running back. First when he got drafted to the cowboys no one knew how good he was. Emmitt talked to the coach and asked if he could play more than he already was. He led the cowboys to 5 super bowls in a row, that shows how good he was. I think kids that are starting football should read this book. That is how you can become a very good football player.

I've just finished an excellent book, worthy of high praise. A journey through post-war British history through the eyes of a goalie, a soccer fan, and a Londoner, "The Goalkeeper's History of Britain" by Peter Chapman is a fabulous piece of writing. It might seem an arcane subject for many Americans, sports fans or not, but I found "Goalkeeper's History" to be a book which made sense of many aspects of the British character I had always wondered about. A book for sports fans, Anglophiles, and modern history lovers, "Goalkeeper's History" follows Peter Chapman's eyewitness account of growing up in the postwar London borough of Islington. When the book begins, Chapman outlines the neighborhood of his early childhood, late 1940s and early 50s Islington, still filled with the graphic aftermath of the Blitz, where numerous houses survived only as piles of smashed bricks. We get to know family and friends, Londoners all, survivors of war and imperial retreat. Islington comes to life through the eyes of this excitable young football fan, who learns football and team loyalty from his Dad and Uncles. By early school age, Pete had fallen in love with the stoic goalkeeper's position, the practical personification of the English spirit on the football field. We follow Chapman's childhood as world event's rage, Britain pulls back from empire, and popular culture spreads rapidly across the globe. He goes on to play goalie for Leyton Orient's junior team in the 1960s(sort of like playing minor league baseball), then leaves school and works as a traveling carbon paper salesman in America, a reporter for the Guardian and BBC in Latin America, a sports reporter for the World Cup for ITV, and eventually as an editor for the Financial Times. Throughout he gives us a humorous and whimsical insight into the English character and the steadying presence of the goalkeeper, soccer's version of Churchill's bulldog. As a lifelong baseball and football fan, European history buff, and Anglophile, I loved Chapman's book for the fact that it gave me a cultural perspective on his country only a native could have. I've often developed sports's analogies to make sense of Ameican history, politics, and culture, but although I'd spent more than 3 years living and working in Britain, such intuitive understanding of their culture often escaped me. Chapman's book gives the reader a tool to make sense of everything from hooliganism to Thatcherism to the differences between "shotstopping and crossing". Add this to books that will keep our "special relationship" special. "The Goalkeeper's History of Britain" is funny, thoughtful, and written in a fast-paced conversational tone. I imagined sharing a beer and swapping sports stories with Peter Chapman as I blitzed through his pages. As soccer continues to grow in popularity in this country, with English Premier League on the Fox network every weekend, and American women dominating the World Cup, take a minute to pick up "The Goalkeeper's History of Britain". It's a lovely book. Buy it, read it and savor it.

I'm not sure how much I can add after the wonderful review by Mr. Nunn, except that I share many of the same views.

My mother heard an interview on National Public Radio with the author and thought I would enjoy this book. I had been looking for a book that was able to somewhat clearly and entertainingly depict some features of British culture. As a football (soccer to Americans) fan, this book was wonderful. The book intertwines British (primarily English) football history centered around the goalkeepers with some bits of British history as well as some autobiographical bits.

The analogy of the goalkeeper for the country of Great Britain is quite ingenious and helpful in understanding the kind of general attitude the British have towards the world. I don't want to spoil the fun of figuring out the British attitudes Mr. Chapman often refers to, but I will say that they are enjoyable and fun to find.

I hope you read this and find it as entertaining as I did. I'm confident it will be well worth your time.

This book is really great! It's extensive coverage of the Golden Era of U of M football should be in every graduate's library. The author has extensive knowledge of this era - his father having played in it. If you want to know some fun facts, this book is for you!

This book has a lot of very useful statistics. It is excellent for report writing, and for "taking a trip down memory lane"

Outstanding book. 11 years later (1988 publishing), it is still an entertaining and informative book that I often refer to during football season. I wish they'd publish an updated version. Many things have happened in 10 years - Elway's rise, Jim Kelly's 4 Superbowls, Brett Farve, Troy Aikman, Drew Bledsoe, Scott Brunell and Steve Young just to name a few. The book covers many interesting aspects - preponderence of star QBs from certain universities, aging not so gracefully, Steve Deberg's many trades, the QB class of 83, black QBs, "franchise" QBs that never materialized, etc. Highly recommend the book to any NFL fan. One of my favorite books on football.

There is possibly no position in sports more difficult than quarterback in pro football. While many positions require skill, playing quarterback needs this as well as courage, leadership, and intelligence. The basic nature of the position is abstract to human or animal nature; where the quarterback is asked to stand tall despite the fact there are larger, stronger men attempting to "kill" him, and he must look 30 yards downfield while stepping up towards these men coming at him. He cannot attack these men, he must accept the punishment, and go on to the next play. Add the fact where defenses now are fully deceptive, and based on fully attacking this one position; and it's not an easy chore. The creation of the forward pass in football led to the earliest passers such as Sammy Baugh, and to the modern passers of Marino, and Elway. (Book is 1988 print) There are insights on all the greats, along with beautiful picture on these players along with the many others that made some contribution to the position. I have seen no other book to date that can offer the pictures on such a broad number of players in football. Along with the pictures are insights by many of the top minds in and covering the game. Whether it be Bill Walsh, Sid Gillman, or other coaches, there is something for any fan of their favorite quarterback. From Johnny Unitas to Greg Cook, any player deemed to have some effect on the game is reviewed. This book is a pure delight to fans of football, and it's most significant player.

Howard "Hopalong" Cassidy, Rex Kern, Archie Griffin and many more memories of Saturday afternoons in the "Shoe"

With so many Ohio State books out after the national title season, this book does a great job of capturing the essence of the final seasons. This is a must have for Ohio State fans to remember the greatest moments in Ohio State history, particularly the Fiesta Bowl season.

Ms. Mozahn has done a great deal of research on a team whose histoy is legendary. She shows us the importance of the team to the community and its inspiration to individuals.

This book is about the Green Bay Packer players and the teams that have won 12 National Football League Championships and 3 Superbowls. There are interesting stories about players like Brett Favre, Reggie White, and Don Hutson who helped to make the Packers a winning team. There are many colorful action pictures and exciting stories of the Packers 3 Superbowl wins and other great games. This is a book young and old football fans would love to read.

Designed and photographed by relatives of Mel Knoke, the first inductee into the Packers Hall of Fame, Green, Gold, And Proud: Portraits, Stories, And Traditions Of The Greatest Fans In The World is a stunning photo documentary of and tribute to fans of Wisconsin's football team, the Green Bay Packers. Exploring the enthusiasm of fans who come to the Packers' training camp and summer practices, and filled with candid essays and testimonials as well as gorgeous full- page color photography of fans at home or dressed up in pro-Packers regalia, Green, Gold, and Proud is unquestionably a labor of love, revealing the bonds of excitement and enthusiasm that come from cheering the efforts of a beloved home state team. An accompanying 80-minute DVD chronicles the history of Lambeau Field, sharing the players, games, coaches, and moments that have marked the Packer's path to victory. A visually appealing giftbook, perfect for Packers fans.

Green, Gold, and Proud sets new standard for books about Packers fans

Many books have tried to capture what it means to be a Packers fan. Few, if any, have actually succeeded.
Until now.
Green, Gold and Proud: Portraits, Stories, and Traditions of the Greatest Fans in the World by Curt and Kyle Knoke is sure to become the standard by which all future books about Packers fans will be judged.
If it's true that a picture paints a thousand words, then this book with its hundreds of vivid, full-color photographs speaks volumes. Never before has the panorama of fans comprising Packers Nation been captured so colorfully and in such exquisite detail.
This labor of love incorporated the talents of both men on a scale never before attempted. Curt, 65, is the co-founder of Image Studios, Appleton. He retired in 1996 after a long and prosperous photography career spanning more than three decades and now lives in Gresham, Wis. His nephew, Kyle, 38, is a creative director with Allen/James Design, also of Appleton.
Since Curt's retirement, the two have teamed up to produce books that celebrate people, enviroments and community.
One of their joint creations, a composite of "environmental portraits" featuring Shawano County, helped raise more than $50,000 for the Shawano Area Community Foundation. Curt shot the photos while Kyle did the graphic design.
Their second book, The Art of Labor, used high quality black-and-white photos to turn the spotlight on the craftsmen, ironworkers and masons who labored to produce the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center.
In the fall of 2003, Kyle and Curt began deliberations that would lead to their greatest and most challenging project yet: a book about Packers fans, arguably the greatest fans in the world. Notably, it was Mel Knoke-Curt's uncle and Kyle's great-uncle-who was the first fan to be named to the Packers Fan Hall of Fame.
The project began simply enough in 2003 with a few sample photographs taken during training camp and in the stadium tailgate area. Having inherited Mel's tickets, they also took photographs at two regular season games, capturing an historic moment when the Packers won the divisional title thanks to an improbable come-from-behind victory by the Arizona Cardinals in the final game of the season.
Fortune seemed to be on their side. With a few sample photographs and concept for a book in hand, they approached the Packers' marketing department, which was looking to promote the team's fans now that the stadium construction project was drawing to a close. The Knokes presented their subject matter-the fans-against white, seamless backgrounds that were indeed eye-catching and clearly thought provoking.
"We really wanted to focus and celebrate the fans, their personalities and their enthusiasm," said Kyle in explaining the white, "sweep" backgrounds that comprise perhaps 75 percent of all the photos in the book. "By stripping away the environmental distractions the focus falls squarely on the fans."
The Knokes sold their idea to the first publisher they approached, Triumph Books of Chicago, Ill. Virtually within five minutes of sitting down and explaining their concept to Tom Bast, the company's editorial director, "it was a done deal," said Kyle.
"We felt so good about them (Triumph Books) right from the start," said Kyle. "They were genuine, good people; we didn't look any further."
Having received their marching orders, the Knokes set up shop in a stairwell at section 109 with the start of the 2004 season.
"We started shooting photographs a couple of hours before game time, in the tailgating areas, and continued right through halftime within the stadium," said Curt. "A couple of people helped us by recruiting fans in the parking lot and surrounding area."
More than a hundred subjects were randomly selected at a typical home game. "We were looking for people who could represent the full scale and breadth of the Packers fan base; there were fathers with sons, mothers with daughters, friends and groups of people from every conceivable demographic," said Kyle.
"Although they were randomly selected, it's amazing how many fans came from such places as far away as Australia, Switzerland, Germany and others; probably half of the states are represented as well," said Curt.
The Knokes gathered hundreds and hundreds of exposures per game over the course of an 8-10 hour period. Multiple that by eight home games and, well ... the math speaks for itself. (Curt actually built a foam box complete with a heating pad to protect the photo equipment, as the weather grew cold later in the year.)
"Editing was a challenge but it was really rewarding," said Curt. "I would edit first and Kyle would do the final edit. Every different subject or groups of subjects would invariably bring a smile to my face and Kyle's too.
"They were all there to celebrate the same event and there's a certain commonality among them," Curt continued. " They were all eager to have their photographs taken and extremely cooperative. In 33 years of business, I've never worked on a project where I photographed so many happy people!" (In one shot, a woman can be seen literally doubling over in laughter.)
"It was really a beautiful experience," added Kyle. "I've been in marketing for some time and never seen people so natural and at ease in front of the camera ...there was nowhere else on earth these people wanted to be. These were not professional models and yet it happened so naturally; it's really a testament to Curt's personality and his ability to shoot great portraits, he makes people feel so comfortable."
During road games, the Knokes took their cameras on the road to favorite Packer hot spots and in the homes of Packers fans, many of who are members of Packers Partners. They call these photos "location portraits." Here again they sought fans that were broadly representative of Packer fans worldwide. Some photos were taken in a fan's favorite Packers room or, in one such case, next to a favorite green and gold car in an empty stadium parking lot.
Fans in the location portraits also provided short testimonials in response to an open-ended question: "What does it mean to be a Packers fan?" These are included with the photos and are full of revealing anecdotes.
"The beauty of this book, really, is in the random selection of subjects. Our goal was not to feature the most well-known, eccentric or celebrated fans," said Kyle. "The point of the book is to celebrate fans everywhere. Hopefully, everyone can see a little bit of themselves in these pages."
Words often come up short in explaining the magic of Lambeau Field, for as the poet full knows, the objectification of the subjective is not necessarily achievable with a few well-chosen words. Photographs can come a bit closer, however, to capturing the mystique, the drama and the sheer depth of human experience evident on a Sunday afternoon in Green Bay.
"It's uncanny how much personality is in these photographs; many of these fans wear their personalities on their sleeves. It's a little glimpse of who they are. The stadium is conducive to making people feel comfortable; people can be themselves and it really shows in these photographs.
"Packer fans come together from all walks of life-from every social, economic and ethnic background-and all their differences are sort of stripped away. It's a collective celebration," Kyle said.


-by Bill Van Lannen

"Green Bay Replay" is one of the best sports books I've ever read. The late Dick Schaap was a master sportswriter, someone who could tell a story lyrically and powerfully, and was also a longtime fan of the Green Bay Packers. Both were needed, because one without the other wouldn't have written this powerful, funny book, one of the best modern football books ever.

I've read many, many books about sports. Baseball, football, basketball . . . and most have been tolerable. Some have been excellent. This book is superlative, mostly because it (like Schaap did) has a heart about the issues that have changed the NFL since the 1960s (the time of original Super Bowl I winning Green Bay team) and points out how many of these changes, for good and ill, have affected one team -- Green Bay.

Because Green Bay is the only publicly owned team in America and has an unusual leadership setup in that there's not even a figurehead owner, the relationship with the fans, city and team is closer, warmer and more special than in any other city. Other cities have great fans, yes -- many of them do. But other cities don't live and die with their team, year in and year out, as do the Green Bay fans.

This fan, who suffered through many 3-13 and 4-12 seasons on the way back to first respectability, then a Super Bowl Win, then playoff contention and near-Super Bowl misses, enjoys re-reading this book now and again because it contains what many sports books of the present lack -- optimism.

As well, it's a faithful look at the Packer teams of the 60s and the 90s, warts and all; granted, some of the scandals that came out after this book was published (i.e., Antonio Freeman's car accident with or without DUI -- he got out of the car and no one's sure who was driving at the time -- and Eugene Robinson's trip to the strip club after moving to the next team happened after this book was printed in paperback) are not covered, but was Schaap supposed to be omniscient, too?

If you like Brett Favre, Reggie White, Jerry Kramer or Ray Nitschke (among others), this book is for you. If you're a Packer fan, this book is for you. And if you're a football fan, demoralized from star after so-called star refusing to sign autographs, swearing in front of kids and microphones, and other such behavior (and it goes downhill from there, let me assure you), this book is for you.

Five stars. Highly recommended.

Barb Caffrey

As a die-hard Packer fan, I savored every minute of my team's return to glory in the mid 90's. This book chronicles and highlights the long and often difficult road that the Pack traveled back to the top. From the days of Vince Lombardi to Mike Holmgren and all the time in between, Dick Schaap has got the greatest team to ever step on a field well covered. An absolute must for any Green Bay Packer fan!

This is the perfect book for Packer fans who want to experience or remember the feeling of game day at Lambeau Field. It's funny and touching and really captures the atmosphere we have in Green Bay. Packer fans are unique--the photos in this book show how special and upbeat they are, whatever the score.

Enhanced with an informative introduction by Bob Harlan, reflections by Bart Starr, and the accompanying full length DVD 'The Legends of Lambeau Field'; "Green, Gold, And Proud: Portraits, Stories, And Traditions Of The Greatest Fans In The World" is a photo album featuring the full color photography of Curt Knoke showcases Wisconsin's Green Bay Packer football team's legions of colorful and enthusiastic fans. Readers will be treated to a spectrum of memorable fan costumes worn in support of their favorite team. A fitting tribute to Packer fan enthusiasm and loyalty, "Green, Gold, And Proud" is highly recommended browsing and would make a very popular addition to any Wisconsin school or community library collection.

This is the best book on soccer data in the market. Where else would one know who was the champions of Fiji in 1985? It is a pity that the author was unable to update the soccer statistics for the 21st century. In the 10 years since this edition was published no encyclopedic soccer books have managed to match the sheer size and volume of this work. This book can be best described as the 'Bible" of soccer knowledge.

I would strongly recommend this book to all the soccer fanatics who treasure data and statistics in the world of football. To the passive fans however, this book is not to be recommended because it lacks any illustrations. This monumental work was researched for the HARDCORE fans of this beautiful game. My only wish is that a similar book of this depth would enter the market soon.

In the introduction, Oliver promised to expand his work in future editions. But I have yet to see any new editions coming into the market. I believe that this was his last work and his commitment to the game would be missed greatly.

This is THE reference book in terms of world soccer history/statistics. A magnificent work by Mr.Oliver in terms of compiling all the data that is presented in this book.
There is only one problem....no updated edition has been published since 1995.