Publishers Weekly
07/22/2019
Pro football superstar Rice and sportswriter Williams (coauthors, 50 Years, 50 Moments: The Most Unforgettable Plays in Super Bowl History) fumble with this poorly organized overview of NFL history. The objective is a worthy one—to provide an accessible look at a century of the NFL and introduce present-day fans to the origins of professional football and the significant players, coaches, and owners from its past. The authors divide their timeline into four quarters and insert sections on random topics throughout regardless of era: a history of quarterbacks, for instance, features Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in the second quarter (1945–1969). Topical issues—such as violence by players (an attack by Charlie Waters on fans who’d thrown a beer bottle at his teammate is treated as a joke) and concussions—are superficially covered. The authors claim Otto Graham to be the greatest quarterback in history, yet omit him from their choices for the roster of best of his time. Don Shula manages to be named best coach for both the third and fourth quarters of the NFL’s history, despite his retirement from coaching the Miami Dolphins in 1995, just when that last quarter began, and during the trophy-laden career of the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick. This is a missed opportunity likely to disappoint both serious and casual fans. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
This book is an amazing compilation of the game’s history as seen through the eyes of my friend Jerry Rice, aka The GOAT. If you are a football fan, you are going to love this book almost as much as you loved watching Jerry play!” — Barry Sanders, Hall of Fame Class of 2004
“Going back to our days together, Jerry Rice’s dedication to excellence has always been a trademark of his, and now it shines again with this highly entertaining book celebrating 100 years of the National Football League.” — Steve Young, Hall of Fame Class of 2005
“Jerry played every snap, whether in practice or in games, as if it were his last. His new book reflects that same dedication to be the best.” — Brett Favre, Hall of Fame Class of 2016
“It’s a daunting task to compress 100 years of history into just under 500 pages with any coherency, but Rice and Williams manage the task ably...a fun read and very informative.” — Booklist
“A treat for gridiron fans.” — Kirkus Reviews
Steve Young
Going back to our days together, Jerry Rice’s dedication to excellence has always been a trademark of his, and now it shines again with this highly entertaining book celebrating 100 years of the National Football League.
Barry Sanders
This book is an amazing compilation of the game’s history as seen through the eyes of my friend Jerry Rice, aka The GOAT. If you are a football fan, you are going to love this book almost as much as you loved watching Jerry play!
Booklist
It’s a daunting task to compress 100 years of history into just under 500 pages with any coherency, but Rice and Williams manage the task ably...a fun read and very informative.
Brett Favre
Jerry played every snap, whether in practice or in games, as if it were his last. His new book reflects that same dedication to be the best.
Booklist
It’s a daunting task to compress 100 years of history into just under 500 pages with any coherency, but Rice and Williams manage the task ably...a fun read and very informative.
Booklist
It’s a daunting task to compress 100 years of history into just under 500 pages with any coherency, but Rice and Williams manage the task ably...a fun read and very informative.
Barry Sanders
This book is an amazing compilation of the game’s history as seen through the eyes of my friend Jerry Rice, aka The GOAT. If you are a football fan, you are going to love this book almost as much as you loved watching Jerry play!
Steve Young
Going back to our days together, Jerry Rice’s dedication to excellence has always been a trademark of his, and now it shines again with this highly entertaining book celebrating 100 years of the National Football League.
Brett Favre
Jerry played every snap, whether in practice or in games, as if it were his last. His new book reflects that same dedication to be the best.
Kirkus Reviews
2019-08-18
Hall of Fame wide receiver Rice and sportswriter Williams (co-authors: 50 Years, 50 Moments: The Most Unforgettable Plays in Super Bowl History, 2015) turn in a lively history of the NFL.
A century ago, George Halas, the legendary Bears coach, "arguably the most influential figure in the history of professional football," caught a train to Ohio and created a league, the American Professional Football Association, made up of teams from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and New York. Most of those teams—the Muncie Flyers and Rochester Jeffersons, anyone?—no longer exist, but the league itself evolved, and with it football became increasingly popular not just in pro stadiums, but also in high school and college. Early football wasn't pretty: It was a mud-spattered mess, made messier by the fact that the first players didn't have helmets—and many grew their hair long in the belief that "a thick shock of hair would help absorb the shock of collisions." The authors are comprehensive in their coverage, explaining the necessary partnership of quarterbacks and receivers—you can't have greats of either unless you have greats of both—and the machinations of the draft, with a roster of the best of all time. Rice and Williams serve up a rogues' gallery, taking in the great and the forgotten alike. The pace of the narrative is a little herky-jerky, switching from anecdote to stats and brief biographies that threaten to induce chronological whiplash; the book could benefit from both streamlining and a little more Ken Burns-like splashiness, given the occasion. But there are plenty of locker-room stories that are worth the price of admission—e.g., Detroit Lions QB Bobby Layne's habit of sending rookies out to buy beer just ahead of curfew, which was sure to bring on a fine, since they "couldn't refuse the best, most influential player on the team," and Rice's own habit, maddening to equipment managers, of trying on every pair of pants in the place before a game: "Everything had to be spanking new."
A treat for gridiron fans.
