The Game before the Money recounts the National Football League's story and the evolution of America's most popular sport in the vivid words of men who built the NFL. This unprecedented look at football history from the players' perspective combines the stories of icons such as Frank Gifford and Bart Starr with those of journeymen who shared the huddle with Johnny Unitas and rallied to halftime speeches from legendary coaches Vince Lombardi and George Halas. Featuring players from the 1930s through the 1970s, these personal accounts trace professional football in its journey from post-barnstorming days through the first two decades of the Super Bowl.
The Game before the Money offers backstories to classic games and the men who made history in them before multi-million dollar contracts. Insights into life in the NFL come from those most capable of providing it, NFL legends themselves. Forty former players open windows onto their own lives, their triumphs and tragedies, and the hardship and the glory that make them the people they are both on and off the field.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"The Game before the Money is both an interesting read for football fans and a valuable source for sports historians." -Zachary J. Garceau, Journal of Sport History "Fans who remember these players will thoroughly enjoy reliving the good times with the heroes of their youth, and younger fans will get a valuable sense of how today's game came to be."-Wes Lukowsky, Booklist "I recommend this book for any football library. Its significance is in the preservation of the early game of football through the players who actually played the game in their own words."-Bob Swick, Gridiron Greats "Original and far more interesting than fiction, these stories need no garnishment. Jackson Michael humbly asks, listens, and writes. His stated goal of delivering NFL history directly from the mouths of the men who made it is achieved with all the flair of a simple dive play that busts open for a forty-yard touchdown."-Doug English, NFL All-Pro Defensive Tackle
Sprache
Verlagsort
Produkt-Hinweis
Illustrationen
Maße
Höhe: 229 mm
Breite: 150 mm
Dicke: 32 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-8032-5573-9 (9780803255739)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Jackson Michael is a member of the Football Writers Association of America and the Maxwell Football Club. He is a freelance writer and journalist. Twitter @JacksonMichael
List of Illustrations
Preface: Opening Kickoff
First Quarter: Players whose careers began before 1950
Chuck Cherundolo
Joseph "Buddy" Lex/Clarence "Ace" Parker
Al "Ox" Wistert
Nolan Luhn
Charley Trippi
Johnny Lujack
George Taliaferro
Second Quarter: Players whose careers began in the 1950s
Yale Lary
Frank Gifford
Johnny Lattner
Cotton Davidson
Bob Skoronski
Bart Starr
Paul Hornung
Sonny Jurgensen
Jim Taylor
Don Maynard
Third Quarter: Players whose careers began in the 1960s
Carroll Dale
Austin "Goose" Gonsoulin
Dick Frey
Irv Cross
Garland Boyette
Mick Tingelhoff
Lee Roy Jordan
Tony Lorick
Carl Eller
Dan Reeves
Walt Garrison
Ken Houston
Elvin Bethea
Bob Griese
Rocky Bleier
Fourth Quarter: Players whose careers began in the 1970s
Jack Youngblood
Otis Sistrunk
Conrad Dobler
Joe DeLamielleure
Billy "White Shoes" Johnson
Doug English
Louie Kelcher
Chris Bahr
Afterword: Overtime
Acknowledgments
Appendix: Monetary Figures in 2013 US Dollars
Author's Note Concerning Sources
Further Reading: Extra Points
Index
