Publishers Weekly
07/13/2020
Sportswriter Cole (Giant, coathored with Plaxico Burress) delivers an in-depth, entertaining biography of one of football’s greatest quarterbacks, John Elway. Cole painstakingly details Elway’s life, beginning with his Port Angeles, Wash., childhood and his move to Los Angeles when his father became head football coach of Cal State–Northridge. In high school, Elway excelled at both football and baseball, and competed against Darryl Strawberry in the 1979 Los Angeles baseball championship. But it was football that took Elway to Stanford in 1979. Cole details Elway’s college career, including his reaction to “The Play” at Stanford—one of Elway’s best drives that nevertheless resulted in a loss and, according to Elway, “ruined my last game as a college football player.” The Denver Broncos picked him at number one in the 1983 draft, and he went on to play his entire 16-year career there, taking the team to Superbowl victories in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. After his retirement in 1999, he became co-owner of the Colorado Rush arena football team and returned to the Broncos in 2011 to become general manager. Cole smoothly takes readers from on-field action to back-office decision-making as Elway drafted University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, with mixed results, before signing veteran Peyton Manning. Cole shows Elway’s nervousness during his job interview for the general manager position, as well as the Super Bowl triumph that came after Manning was signed. This is a must-read for Elway and Broncos fans. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
"John Elway is one of the most well-documented figures in the 37 years I've covered football, and it's a tribute to Jason Cole's rich reporting that this book is filled with stuff I never knew. Elway the pitcher versus Strawberry the slugger in the Los Angeles high school baseball championship ... Living in a Belushi-like Animal House at Stanford ... How barely remembered Denver owner Edgar Kaiser made the Elway trade ... Riveting details of Elway's spats with Dan Reeves ... And as Broncos GM years later, wisely slow-playing his pursuit of Peyton Manning. This, then, is a particularly valuable story of the life and times of a great player, in and out of football. Jason Cole delivers the goods the way Elway delivered the ball."
—Peter King, NBC Sports
"The reporting and background in this book are outstanding."—Sports Illustrated
"For a man that has completely dominated headlines in Colorado, this is the most complete book about the legend. Jason Cole goes deep with Elway: A Relentless Life, and he delivers on the man who delivered so much for Colorado."—Adam Schefter, author of The Man I Never Met
"For a man who possesses more natural talent than any quarterback in history, John Elway never had it particularly easy on his path to the top of his profession, nor did he seek any shortcuts. Fueled by a relentlessly competitive nature and a gritty, understated toughness, Elway fought through a series of institutional and interpersonal obstacles to reach his goals, and he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Jason Cole was fortunate enough to witness Elway's excellence at an early age, and he kept filling up notebooks while chronicling the quarterback's peaks and valleys for the next several decades. Like his subject, Cole is unafraid to go all-in and unbending in his pursuit of success. The result is a comprehensive, uncompromising and thoroughly compelling breakdown of a living legend who continues to chase greatness, every single day."—Mike Silver, NFL Network
"The exhaustive and excellent tome by Jason Cole about the life and times of 60-year-old John Elway."—NBC Sports
"Learned so much about No. 7 in Elway, as Jason Cole connected many dots with his well-researched, deep dive into the remarkable career and life of an icon. It is an enjoyable read, too, well-written with an abundance of details and context. Not only is this a must for any given John Elway fan, but it is a treasure that needed to be documented for the sake of football history."—Jarrett Bell, NFL Columnist, USA Today Sports
"John Elway is one of America's most famous and celebrated sports figures, and yet he's always been something of a mystery. Jason Cole peals back the layers, like only someone who has known Elway since their Stanford days can. Wanna know where the power in his right arm came from? How he survived the Dan Reeves years and excelled under Mike Shanahan? Why he still grinds every day running the Denver Broncos, even with multiple Super Bowl rings and a secure legacy in place? This riveting primer on the requirements of greatness answers them all."—Seth Wickersham, ESPN
"An in-depth, entertaining biography of one of football's greatest quarterbacks, John Elway.... Cole smoothly takes readers from on-field action to back-office decision-making.... This is a must-read for Elway and Broncos fans."—Publishers Weekly
"The author convincingly shows that no other quarterback has combined [Elway's] drive, intelligence, willpower, and athleticism, and none has been so relentless in seeking self-improvement and gridiron glory....Cole is a fluent interpreter of the game of football and its arcana, and he has a considered appreciation for what it is that makes a great leader....Fans of the Broncos-and football in general-will enjoy this portrait of one of the game's greatest players."—Kirkus Reviews
"Engrossing read, very well-researched."—Ramon Maclin, Medium.com
Library Journal
08/01/2020
Through high school, college, and the NFL, quarterback John Elway (b. 1960) redefined his position, championed professional athletes' autonomy, and earned a legacy as one of the greatest football players of his generation. Cole (Bleacher Report) attended Stanford University while Elway was leading the school's football team. His personal memories of that era give him unique insight into Elway's controversial transition to the NFL and prominent role in the game's shift from defense and coaching to an emphasis on quarterbacks. From the anguish of "The Play" in 1982, marking Elway's last moments on a college football field, to redemptive triumph in Super Bowl 50, the Hall of Famer was always known for pushing boundaries. In this well-rounded, comprehensive biography, Cole illuminates the origins of Elway's skill set and ultra-competitive nature, and puts the athlete in his rightful place as a football immortal. VERDICT With exclusive recollections of Elway's college football years, Cole delves into the forces that shaped the quarterback and gave him the resiliency to overcome challenges both on and off the field. Recommended for all public library collections, and especially for readers interested in the evolution of sports in the late 20th century.—Janet Davis, Darien P.L., CT
Kirkus Reviews
2020-07-08
Vigorous biography of the hard-driven football star.
As Cole notes in this admiring narrative, there have been statistically better quarterbacks in the history of the NFL: Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and Brett Favre, to name a few. However, the author convincingly shows that no other quarterback has combined his drive, intelligence, willpower, and athleticism, and none has been so relentless in seeking self-improvement and gridiron glory. Cole traces some of John Elway’s skill to the instructions provided by his father, Jack, who coached for San Jose State University and Stanford and who provided postgame analyses while Elway was playing high school and college ball—analyses that focused less on individual plays than on Elway’s leadership skills and attitude. Elway later brought his father to Denver to coach for the Broncos, where Elway enjoyed a distinguished career that took off after he figured out how to apply those leadership skills to a sometimes recalcitrant team. “After ten years of playing statistically ugly football,” writes Cole, “Elway began a run many athletes and sports experts would consider strange,” with the QB putting up his best numbers in his last six years of playing, which doesn’t often occur. Cole is a fluent interpreter of the game of football and its arcana, and he has a considered appreciation for what it is that makes a great leader; as he notes, the quarterback is “an extension of management,” to say nothing of being the “highest-paid player on the team.” Elway’s skills as a team builder made management strong-arming needless, and when he became a general manager himself, he saw to it that his successor, Peyton Manning, developed the same abilities—even though Elway’s haggling over money nearly caused Manning to leave the team more than once.
Fans of the Broncos—and football in general—will enjoy this portrait of one of the game’s greatest players.
