Football Books

If you are a sports aficionado, especially in college football, you will find the trove of statistics, standings, trophies earned and undying loyalty for those record achieving teams of the University of Oklahoma football.
Those teams and players have the honor and glory of holding the longest winning streak in college football. Outstanding players, top notch coaching, highly supportive student bodies and committed fans make up the full picture.
Yes, they certainly have bragging rights truly earned season after season, year after year.
Their supporters even number thousands who didn't attend Oklahoma University but who vicarious yelled their lungs hoarse each game.
Year by year the authors list the teams' accomplishments, highlighting individual statistics along with the names of the players who earned high honors on "that demanding field of combat."
The support provided by these three authors is truly remarkable; all is based on recorded accomplishments.

This is a very interesting, well-written, fact-driven book with so many incredible stories that football fans across the country will be interested in reading. It is very unique how it interacts with the Sports by the Numbers website. This book is a great read!

This book allows the reader to make comparisons to past and present teams and players, in a way that is easy and fun to read.
Whether you agree or disagree with these lists, this book is sure to generate some good conversation and debate among Giants fans, past and present. No Giants fan should be without this book!

This is an incredible book! Definitely a must have for any Giants fan! Get an inside look at the talent that made the Giants organization what it is today. This book reminds us fans of all the reasons we still follow this amazing team. Go Giants!!

For Vol fans the country over, this will bring a transfusion of their "Orange Blood!" Great for anyone who ever haunted the hallowed field of Neyland Stadium. A must for your Vol friend or family for Christmas.

Brings back some very good (and some bad) memories of "Football Time in Tennessee". A delightful collection of photography and anecdotes that shows the VOL fans "doing their thing".

I was particularly fond of the McElroy "Big Orange" Limo (Johnny grew up in my neighborhood). "Tailgating" at it's finest! He may be the "BIGGEST" Vol Fan.

As also enjoyed the "Vol Navy" photos. Having served as a crew member on one of it's vessels many times was an unforgettable experience that "Volmania" helps you relive in your memories.

You can almost hear the band playing "Rocky Top"!

After looking at someone else's copy, I had to have not one, but three copies. I ordered one for each of my two sons (Vol Alums) and one for my wife and I to enjoy. Three Christmas Gift problems solved! (hope they don't read this until after Christmas)

GO VOLS! Get "VOLMANIA"! You'll be glad you did!

A Vol Fan

This is a superb and very readable book about Arsenal's legendary manager Arsene Wenger. The sub-title of the book accurately captures what this book is about. It delves into the people and experiences that have shaped Wenger's personality. The author has painstakingly interviewed some of the key personalities that have both influenced and been influenced by Wenger. The book also gives us insights about the network of people surrounding Wenger such as colleagues, coaches, managers - both past and present.

The author does succeed, to a great extent, in explaining some of the key impressions we have of Wenger - a person who is disciplined, has a high integrity and with 'ice' exterior.

Less is known about Wenger's personal life - which is repeatedly caricatured as a football video addict in this book. Perhaps, an interview with Wenger or an autobiography may provide a more nuanced and balanced portrayal of hum in the future. Hopefully, the author will updated the book in the future to include recent events - Viera's departure and the rebuilding of the first team, the Champions League Final in 2006 and of course, the Emirates Stadium.

This book is highly recommended for all football (soccer) fans (who are curious about Wenger) and in particular, Arsenal fans who are intrigued by his personality but find current media reports sufficient. I think the book would also appeal to football historians and aspiring football managers.

This is a superb and very readable book about Arsenal's legendary manager Arsene Wenger. The sub-title of the book accurately captures what this book is about. It delves into the people and experiences that have shaped Wenger's personality. The author has painstakingly interviewed some of the key personalities that have both influenced and been influenced by Wenger. The book also gives us insights about the network of people surrounding Wenger such as colleagues, coaches, managers - both past and present.

The author does succeed, to a great extent, in explaining some of the key impressions we have of Wenger - a person who is disciplined, has a high integrity and with 'ice' exterior.

Less is known about Wenger's personal life - which is repeatedly caricatured as a football video addict in this book. Perhaps, an interview with Wenger or an autobiography may provide a more nuanced and balanced potrayal of hum in the future. Hopefully, the author will updated the book in the future to include recent events - Viera's departure and the re-bulding of the first team, the Champions League Final in 2006 and of course, the Emirates Stadium.

This book is highly recommended for all football (soccer) fans (who are curious about Wenger) and in particular, Arsenal fans who are intrigued by his personality but find current media reports sufficient. I think the book would also appeal to football historians and aspiring football managers.

Before I begin, I must express a bias - I have supported West Ham United football club for all of my life. This is not surprising because I live in east London, where West Ham United Football club is located. It is difficult to explain to an American reader what it means to support an English football club - as Korr explains, it is inconceivable that an English football team could be reocated from one side of the country to another (as happened to the Brooklyn Dodgers) and still attract any support. It is a triumph of Korr's book that he can appreciate the similarities between the principal working class sports in the two counties and at the same time highlight the very real differences. Read this book and you will gain an insight into an important component of Enfglish culture.

Like my co-reviewer, I have to admit to the same bias - I am a lifelong (35 years) supporter, although having lived in the United States for the last few years, opportunities to watch them play have been limited. I must say that when the book was first published I derived a certain amount of vicarious pride from the fact that an academic historian (and an American to boot) chose my club as a subject to research and write about. I have read and re-read the book, and lent it many times to expat supporters, and American soccer enthusiasts eager for further insight into the English game's history and traditions. I agree with the parallel with baseball (a game for which I've developed a nearly equal passion) - and would commend it to anyone with a serious interest in sport in its widest societal context. It is a history book first and foremost, and the author makes no bones about it, with a considerable amount of detail and behind the scenes discussion - not a romantic portrayal of the club's (frankly, limited) on the field triumphs, although these are of course duly documented. By the end of the book you can't help feeling that the author has developed a genuine affection for the club, and so will you.

"What Giants They Were" is a fond look back at the New York Giants. Those folks most likely to enjoy WGTW will remember when one specified "football Giants" when referring to that franchise! The tale recalls a very special time for this reviewer: He can well remember taking a short subway trip to Yankee Stadium and purchasing a bleacher ticket-the day of the game. Price: $2.00. He could buy a game program, a coke and 2 hot dogs and still have change from a Lincoln! For the 1963 season, this reviewer bought a season ticket in the bleachers. Price: $28.00! The actual games, it should be mentioned, were played on real GRASS! By November, the green grass was gone, changed to beautiful brown dirt! The Giants owned New York in the Fall. People paid attention to basketball and hockey-but not until Winter. The Manhattan-centric Giants WERE New York sports. The players became small gods, helped by the fact that rosters were stable in those pre-free agent days. The defense, anchored by #70, the great Sam Huff was virtually unchanged from 1956-1963. The team appeared in 6 NFL Championship Games in that span. That they lost the final 5 of those contests did not cost them a single fan. Those Giants were the pinnacle of franchises in a time that can never be recaptured. The memories of the old Giants are enhanced by the brutal fact that living in NYC was, to put it mildly, vastly simpler then. Author Whittingham has dutifully interviewed 20+ former players and coaches. "Someone" on high was cooperating with the author! The very names tell the story: Huff, Gifford, Rote, Webster, Conerly, Katcavage, Lynch, Mozelewski, Robustelli and Summerall. Those unable to instantly supply the relevant first names to those titans of the past will not fully enjoy WGTW. Homage in passing is paid to the Parcells/Simms era but they are blessedly outside the scope of Whittingham's tale. Those guys do not belong here! In fact, the author goes farther back than forward! Space is devoted to guys like Red Bagro, Benny Friedman, Mel Hein, Tuffy Leemans and Ken Strong! In addition to his strong research, the author has provided some of the sharpest and most personalizing photos this fan has experienced in any sports book. Many readers take typesetting for granted, or suffer silently with it, but in WGTW the work is excellent! The production values are very high indeed. Other attractions are sections on some of the men's college days and the trials they endured as rookies. Sam Huff was on his way back to West Virginia when assistant coach Vince Lombardi collared him at the airport! There is also a section on "life after football". Most of WGTW is positive. The only dirt spilled is Sam Huff's latter day rant about his trade to the Redskins after the '63 season. That was his due; his trade was the dumbest move in the life of the franchise. Sam was the heart of the team; the Giants took nearly 20 years to recover from his untimely departure. If there is a weakness to WGTW, it lies in what is NOT revealed. Some unaddressed issues might include: 1) How did the team let assistants Vince Lombradi and Tom Landry get away in favor of a guy named Allie Sherman? 2) What about the intra-Mara family squabbling? It had to be serious but never made the press. 3) What was behind Kyle Rote's sudden retirement after the '61 season? 4) Why didn't a Mara stop the Huff trade? And on a lighter note: 5) Why on earth did Allie Sherman allow backup quarterback Glynn Griffing to skip practice the entire week before the '63 championship game against the Bears? Couldn't his wedding in Mississippi have been postponed a week or two? And what ever happened to the heir apparent QB after his woefully brief performance in that game? This is first class sports reporting! We may term it pure nostalgia, but to so is to bestow a compliment. Looking backward is the crux of WGTW. This review won't deduct a star for the limited scope. The strengths vastly outweigh the "weaknesses" of a limited audience and the aforementioned unaddressed issues. We should treat WGTW like an old Hank Williams CD. Don't fret that they don't make them like they used to. Let's enjoy pleasant memories as they are handed to us.

THIS BOOK IS A COLLECTION OF INTERVIEWS AND SHORT STORIES ABOUT SOME OF THE LEGENDARY GIANTS OF THE EARLY ERA AND MOSTLY OF THE GOLDEN ERA OF THE LATE 50'S AND EARLY 60'S. IT IS A FASCINATING COLLECTION ALONG WITH SOME GREAT PICTURES. I REALLY LOVED THIS BOOK, EVEN THOUGH I AM A BROWNS FAN. A BOOK THAT SHOULD BE A MUST READ FOR GIANT AND THE NOSTALGIC FOOTBALL FAN.
VERY RECOMMENDED.

This is a fantastic book about Huskies football history. I am a big husky fan and I learned a ton about former players from Greg's book. It gave a lot of really neat insight into their opinions of the program and their personal experiences. This is a MUST READ for any Washington Huskies fan! Thanks for writing a great book, Greg !!!

If you are a bonafide Husky football fan, you must read this book. Tells the players inner thoughts and what motivated them. His players are unanimous in describing Coach Don James as a man of integrity, loyalty and are proud to be part of his legacy.
K. Wong, M.D.

As a "Son of a Buckeye" I have had the opportunity to observe the Ohio State Football program over the years. Jim Tressel brings a unique perspective to the idea of coaching. He is basically a farmer. His goal is to to grow his crop of student-athletes into successful and effective participants in modern society. His fertilizer is his personal philosophy which is well described in this book. If you wish to grow your own crop: your children, your business,or any other endeavor that you find yourself committed to, this book is a must read.

One Moment Changes Everything: The All-America Tragedy of Don Rogers
I'm West Coast born and raised. Too often we fans, and sportswriters, get caught up in regionalism and bias. We may call it "loyalty", but that's a nice word for what often comes across as petty whining because our coach, team or region isn't constantly praised by the media. It's nothing terminal, that is, until we take those perceived slights personally. In the writing of my book about former Cleveland Browns' star safety, Don Rogers, I had the opportunity to gain an insight into what I will admit was a foreign people: football fans of Ohio. So it was with a slightly more enlightened perspective than, say, I would have had some years ago, that I read "The Winners Manual" by Ohio State head coach, Jim Tressel. Never mind that the proceeds from the book go to the school's already amazing library. That's just the icing on the cake. The book is a how-to manual for organization, and road map into the mind of Tressel, a man who excels in one of the toughest jobs--including being in the highest levels of politics--that a person could ever have.

I believe we bend ourselves toward our goals, and it isn't any one thing that gets us there. If your looking for insight into the great Jim Tressel, this book will help. But if your looking for a guide in which to help you live a better, more organized life, The Winners Manual is a must-read, along the lines of some of John Wooden's best books, and books by the best and brightest CEOs this country has produced. Learn from, and surround yourself with winners, and success will follow.

Ohio is the country's center in so many ways, but I've come to know it's football fan base as, by far, the most loyal and informed in the country. And in every sense, Tressel is the CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation that insists on excellence performed under a powerful and exacting microscope. I think he succeeds admirably. And this book can both help you understand how he does it, and how you too might get the most out of your life, as well.

This excellent game plan for the gridiron of life was 23 years in the making.

Over that time period, coach Jim Tressel has utilized such a manual for his Youngstown State and Ohio State teams. And this book is the guide presented to players at the start of each season.

The main source that inspired Tressel came from the home; his father, Lee, was a long-time head football coach and athletics director at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. Lee was nationally-renowned in the coaching community for his work with young people. But Lee also had a "head coach" in reaching out to others.

"She (Lee's wife, Eloise) typed the practice schedules for my dad's teams, because at a small school the athletic department didn't have money for a secretary. She sewed the players' names on the back of their jerseys at Baldwin-Wallace College for many years," writes Tressel, in a section on living with an attitude of gratitude.

"And her service was always motivated by a perspective of gratitude," he continues. "She was grateful that her husband had a chance to coach and to have an impact on all those young men. Because of her service and her involvement in the community, she was selected as an outstanding citizen in the city of Berea long before my dad was."

Each day will bring additional challenges, which may lead someone to tackle new avenues and goals. "(I)f a player says, 'I really want to excel at football, but I feel that medicine is my life's calling,' we help that player map out a plan to make it to medical school. It might be medical school, law school, or some other career path, but we want to help every player achieve his goals," writes Tressel.

"Executing a plan to reach our full potential takes a lot of preparation. We must first uncover all the hidden things that can help or hinder our putting that plan into action. Excellent preparation takes tremendous commitment, focus, and discipline," he adds. "The willingness to do what it takes to execute that plan will yield excellence, but it doesn't just happen. Achieving excellence requires a great deal of hard work."

With proceeds from the book to benefit the renovation of The Ohio State University main library, Tressel is making sure that a foundation in books will be available to every OSU student and researcher using the college's vast library system.

Tressel is a successful coach who has led teams to five national titles. But the book is an inspirational guide to strive to be the best in any situation, on and off the field.

For anyone who wants to understand the passing game. This book is easy to read, has lots of diagrams, and is user friendly. If you want the tools needed to implement a winning passing game this book is for you! I purchased this book for my private collection. This is one of the best books, on the passing game, that I have read so far.

Coach Rice has produced a masterpiece which has withstood the test of time. Although written in the 1980's, "Winning Football With the Air Option Passing Game" remains an important treatise on using formations and motion to isolate a given defender against two receivers. Quarterback reads then become as easy as finding one receiver, then checking down to the other if the first is covered.

This makes Rice's book invaluable to those coaches who are looking to insert some passing into a ground-based attack, rather than spreading out five receivers and throwing on every down.

Of course, Coach Rice does such a masterly job of explaining and diagramming his pass route combinations that even pass-happy offensive coordinators will find useful insights here.

Highly recommended.

"Winning Single Wing Football" is a complete revision of the late Dr. Kenneth Keuffel's classic 1964 "Simplified Single Wing Football" (or SSWF, which I will contrast with the newer WSWF). Written an astonishing FORTY YEARS later, WSWF starts with the core of the unbalanced-line single wing offense that SSWF first presented, then adds much more. The irony to me is that WSWF is actually far more "simplified" than SSWF. It is as though with 40 additional years of experience to draw on, Dr. Keuffel pared away all but the absolutely essential information.

After a brief introductory chapter that outlines his playing, coaching and teaching careers, Dr. K walks the prospective single wing coach through all the steps he must take to get an offense up and running. He does so in a way that reflects credit on his Ph.D. in English Lit from Penn -- simply and logically.

I know of no other coach able to impart the basics of setting up a single wing attack in only 10 pages, but Dr. Keuffel manages this in the second chapter of WSWF. He follows with an elegantly simple description of how to teach linemen to be single wing centers.

(In the process, Dr. K highlights the necessity for training several centers, but without scaring coaches away. This is a skill that can be taught with sufficient application and attention to detail -- it isn't rocket science.) All other positions receive the same treatment in chapter three.

Next Dr. Keuffel gets to the heart of the single wing offense, the straight series running plays. Coaches who have seen SSWF will notice the first of Dr. K's major simplifications here with the very first play -- Play 48, the straight-series off-tackle play. Where before Dr. Keuffel ran two different variations of this play, one with linemen pulling and leading, and a separate goal-line variation with solid blocking and the blocking back kicking out the EMLOS defender, he now only uses the goal-line version.

Time after time in WSWF, Dr. Keuffel extols the benefits of "getting two for one" -- i.e., teaching one thing that you can use in two or more situations. He leaves the door open, however, for others to do things differently. Readers are free to go back to the original pulling scheme for Play 48, or even to adapt the popular modern method of pulling the backside guard and tight end, the water boy, and the larger members of the cheer squad through the off-tackle hole.

Chapter 5 lays out the fun stuff, the indirect attack. Dr. Keuffel details the methods behind the FB full and half spin sequences, as well as a complementary TB half-spin cycle. He also strongly urges selectivity in choosing cycles -- more is most definitely not better when choosing which indirect cycles to run, especially given limited practice time. Again, the astonishing thing to me is that Dr. Keuffel is able to impart an entire lecture on indirect-series single wing football in only ten pages.

Next, the section dearest to my wild-eyed heart -- the passing game. Chapter 6 covers the basics of passer development, setting up dropback protection, variations on dropback route packages, teaching the running pass, and then explores the arcana of reverse passes, special passes (a jump pass, a shovel pass, etc.), and fake passes, including the legendary Statue of Liberty play.

Again, Dr. Keuffel's interest in simplification leaps off the page with his new versions of the optional running pass (Plays 79 and 99). Where before he released three receivers strongside (WB, TE, and BB), he now adds a strongside blocker and releases either the wing and blocking back (Play 79) or the wing and TE (Play 99). He makes explicit mention of his decision to do so and the reasons which drove his decision, which leaves the way open for coaches to do it the old way -- or even adopt a more modern method.

The Andrew Coverdale/Dan Robinson book The Bunch Attack: Using Compressed Formations in the Passing Game (Art & Science of Coaching), for example, features a Flood route package which is perfect for adaptation to Dr. Keuffel's Play 79/99. Using such modular methods (including 30-degree, "severe-angle" blocking) allows coaches to continue to modernize and personalize their single wing attack. (Note: The thoughts on Bunch passing and SAB are mine, but I believe they fit perfectly with the methods Dr. Keuffel used to teach his offense.)

Chapter 7 presents the quick-kicking game, which can be a tactical weapon of great value whether your opponent expects it or not, and which can allow a team to out-think a more talented opponent by forcing him to drive the length of the field if he wants to score. There is a wide array of fake quick-kick plays -- runs, passes, even a screen and a Statue -- and something of even greater potential value, a way to further simplify your entire kicking game.

Dr. Keuffel advocates using quick kick protection for punts, field goals and extra points, unbalanced line and all. This could be a real time-saver during pre-season installation, and as with all unusual variations, might cause your opponents to waste valuable practice time preparing for them.

To me, the most important section of the book starts with Chapter 8 and runs through Chapter 10. Here is where Dr. Keuffel's decades of experience truly shine through -- he discusses the smallest details of pre-game strategy and mid-game tactical adjustments. He tells coaches exactly how to use the spotter in the booth, how to break down film, and how to create and use a game plan. It is among the finest discussions of coaching strategy and tactical application during the game that I have ever seen.

I would advocate purchasing this book to offensive coaches of all stripes for these three chapters alone. The effective use of variations -- in formation, cadence, alignment, personnel; pre-season preparations; and focusing on and exploiting defensive weaknesses, are all addressed with Dr. Keuffel's typical economy of expression. This book is pure gold, whether you run single wing, Power-I or five-wide shotgun spread, because he teaches coaches how to THINK.

Buy this book -- you'll thank me later.

DR. K has done it again with his second book on the single wing. All I can say is that this book is all you need to run a complete offense at any level.