Touchdown! These tales from the gridiron will set fans abuzz. Fun, filled with intriguing lore from football history, and engagingly written, they're almost as exciting as the Super Bowl itself. Find out all about the pranksters and one-of-a-kind characters of the game, including Clinton Portis, who liked to wear costumes to his team's weekly press conferences (including a mad scientist wig). Speaking of costumes, hazing the rookies is an integral part of the sport. Just ask Lavelle Hawkins and Cary Williams. They were tied to a goalpost and doused with water, mustard, and ketchup. You'll read about the strange injuries, including Turk Edwards' career-ending injury during the coin toss. You'll cringe reading about how San Francisco 49er Ronnie Lott gave 110%--and his pinky--all for the love of the sport. And you'll bust out laughing when you find out why coach Don Shula once took a shower with an alligator.
I Could Have Been Someone
While his successor, Ronald Reagan, played the part of the Gipper in the biography of Notre Dame's Knute Rockne, it was Ford who had the All-American life as a footbal player. A scholarship player at the University of Michigan, the future president took part in two undefeated seasons with the Wolverines as a linebacker and center, culminating in a pair of national championships. During that time, he earned the distinction of becoming the only future American president to tackle a Heisman trophy winner (the very first Heisman recipient at that), after bringing down Jay Berwanger, captain of the University of Chicago Maroons. Ford was honored as the team's MVP in 1934 and played in the '35 college all-star game (now known as the East-West Shrine Game). Ford even had a chance to go pro, with both the Lions and the Packers in need of a good lineman, but he rejected their contract offers in favor of law school at Yale. By his own account, "If I had gone into professional football, the name Jerry Ford might have been a household name today."
Touchdown! These tales from the gridiron will set fans abuzz. Fun, filled with intriguing lore from football history, and engagingly written, they're almost as exciting as the Super Bowl itself. Find out all about the pranksters and one-of-a-kind characters of the game, including Clinton Portis, who liked to wear costumes to his team's weekly press conferences (including a mad scientist wig). Speaking of costumes, hazing the rookies is an integral part of the sport. Just ask Lavelle Hawkins and Cary Williams. They were tied to a goalpost and doused with water, mustard, and ketchup. You'll read about the strange injuries, including Turk Edwards' career-ending injury during the coin toss. You'll cringe reading about how San Francisco 49er Ronnie Lott gave 110%--and his pinky--all for the love of the sport. And you'll bust out laughing when you find out why coach Don Shula once took a shower with an alligator.
Excerpt
I Could Have Been Someone
While his successor, Ronald Reagan, played the part of the Gipper in the biography of Notre Dame's Knute Rockne, it was Ford who had the All-American life as a footbal player. A scholarship player at the University of Michigan, the future president took part in two undefeated seasons with the Wolverines as a linebacker and center, culminating in a pair of national championships. During that time, he earned the distinction of becoming the only future American president to tackle a Heisman trophy winner (the very first Heisman recipient at that), after bringing down Jay Berwanger, captain of the University of Chicago Maroons. Ford was honored as the team's MVP in 1934 and played in the '35 college all-star game (now known as the East-West Shrine Game). Ford even had a chance to go pro, with both the Lions and the Packers in need of a good lineman, but he rejected their contract offers in favor of law school at Yale. By his own account, "If I had gone into professional football, the name Jerry Ford might have been a household name today."
