Review of "Madden & Summerall"

For years, if one wanted to watch the most intriguing match-up of that Sunday's NFL schedule, the viewer would be hearing Pat Summerall and John Madden on the telecast.  This is a very good book on the success of that duo. 

Title/Author:

“Madden & Summerall: How They Revolutionized NFL Broadcasting” by Rich Podolsky

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

For football fans who watched games on TV in the 1980’s and 1990’s, there were a pair of broadcasters who were assigned to the biggest game played on Sunday: Pat Summerally with the play by play and John Madden as the color commentator.  Their chemistry in the booth was fantastic and made the games must-see TV.  This book by Rich Podolsky offers an in-depth look at both men during their partnership in the booth.

Both of them became well known before pursuing broadcasting.  Summerall had a successful playing career as a kicker, mostly for the New York Giants.  Madden had ten highly successful years as head coach of the Oakland Raiders, capping it off with a victory in Super Bowl XI.  Their pre-broadcasting days are covered quite well by Podolsky.

Their paths to becoming the most popular and successful broadcasting team took different paths and the book takes the reader onto both trails in a very informative and entertaining manner. Summerall was much more comfortable with the transition to the role of broadcaster and had several successful years with his first partner, Tom Brookshire. 

That changed after Madden was hired to do commentary full time after a 4 game audition, one of which was with Summerall.  Madden always expressed his gratitude toward Summerall for helping him through those early days.  When CBS, the network the two worked for at the time, made the decision to replace Brookshire with Madden, it was like a match made in heaven.  Fans, critics and nearly everyone associated with football loved the pairing.

The book doesn’t just talk about the games and broadcasts as many other topics that affected the pair are discussed, for both their professional and personal lives.  On the former, that included when Fox outbid CBS for NFL games in 1994 and the pair went to that network where they remained until Summerall’s last game in Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002.  There’s also Madden’s “turducken” (always mentioned on their Thanksgiving Day game), the telestrator and the All-Madden team.

As for their personal stories, those are covered thoroughly as well. From Summerall’s alcoholism and health issues to Madden’s fear of flying and closed spaces, just about everything you want to know about their personal lives (not all of it bad, despite these examples) is covered in the book.  It’s a fun, entertaining and informative read on this iconic broadcasting team.

I wish to thank The Globe Pequot Publishing Group for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: Madden & Summerall: How They Revolutionized NFL Broadcasting eBook : Podolsky, Rich, Aikman, Troy, Buck, Joe: Kindle Store

Review of “Marinovich”

This was one of those books that I wish I didn’t let sit in my TBR pile for so long. Former USC and Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich has penned a memoir that is very different than other books in this genre. This is my review.

Title/Author: “Marinovich: Outside the Lines in Football, Art and Addiction” by Todd Marinovich with Lizzy Wright

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: Todd Marinovich was seemingly born to be a football player. Not only did he show great promise as a quarterback in his days playing youth football, his father was Marv Marinovich, a former NFL player and coach. While he achieved success in high school and college football (the latter at USC) and was a first round draft pick of the then-Los Angeles Raiders, there was a demon Todd was battling: addiction. This memoir is a very good account by Todd of his struggles battling the disease.

I used “disease” because that’s how Marinovich described it for both himself and his father, although that didn’t occur until near the end of the book. He said Marv’s addiction (what he always called his father, never “Dad” or something similar) was physical conditioning and coaching while his was drugs and alcohol. While his story is not unique, this was written with quite a different tone than other sports memoirs. 

This is because Marinovich doesn’t focus on his childhood or his playing career. Due to his addiction, his time with the Raiders was brief, but did have some good games. After several attempts at recovery, he caught on in the Canadian Football League, but that didn’t pan out. He played one season in the Arena Football League and was named Rookie of the Year but like with all his other football teams (even at USC) he never could stay away from drugs.

Instead of football, Marinovich concentrated on telling the darker side of his struggles. He gives some very detailed and painful accounts of his arrests, failed rehabilitation sessions, and failed relationships including with his family. Even though he currently is living a decent life in Hawaii coaching youth football and crafting his artistic talent, he makes it clear that addiction is something he is still fighting every day. This is what makes this such a powerful book. It’s clear that he has many regrets and knows his issues but is trying every day to overcome them. Todd Marinovich must receive at least some praise for opening up like this to the world. 

I wish to thank Ben Bella Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.  

Link: https://benbellabooks.com/shop/marinovich/ 

Review of "The Last Folk Hero"

Jeff Pearlman came on my radar a few years ago with his excellent book on the history of the first edition of United States Football League.  That made me want to read more of his books and while I have read a few of his earlier works, this is his most recent and so far one of his best.  Here is my review of his book on Bo Jackson, "The Last Folk Hero." 

Title/Author:

“The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson” by Jeff Pearlman

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

Whenever an athlete can compete at the highest level in two (or more) sports, it is a very noteworthy accomplishment.  When that athlete can do certain feats that even most stars in that particular sport only dream of accomplishing, that is when stories of incredible feats are told and passed down through the years.  Vincent “Bo” Jackson is one of those athletes in which this was accomplished, and his story is told in this excellent book by Jeff Pearlman 

Pearlman has made a very good career on writing sports biographies of famous athletes who may have a flaw or two, but has had either outstanding success in their sport, some great stories to share, a compelling story on the way to fame or, in Jackson’s case, a bit of all three traits.  The “great stories” are feats of amazing athleticism by Jackson shared by those who have claimed to have seen them.  This goes from his youth to high school sports (track and field as well as baseball and football) to college sports at Auburn (again, all three, although his fame there was for football) to the professional ranks.  Because many of these stories have a “you have to see it to believe it” aura, that was the inspiration for the title which is very appropriate.

The book also does an excellent job of portraying Jackson’s life and personality without the benefit of input directly from him.  Pearlman does write that he did contact Jackson about the project and certainly wanted to talk to him, but Jackson declined.  However, he did not give Pearlman any objections to writing the book, so the author went ahead and between his research and over 700 interviews, he ended up with a very entertaining and detailed book.

Among these details are plenty of discussion about Jackson’s accomplishments at Auburn, the NFL with the Los Angeles Raiders and in major league baseball, primarily with the Kansas City Royals, but he also spent some time with the Chicago White Sox and California Angels.  He suffered a devastating hip injury that required a hip replacement and given the medical knowledge at the time, it was considered a near-miracle that he was able to resume his baseball career (his football career was not resurrected) with the White Sox.  Mainly because his football career, especially with the Raiders, was shortened due to the injury, more of the sports accomplishments described are in baseball.  That doesn’t diminish either the writing about nor the stories telling about Jackson’s feats in that sport as well as track and field.

There is plenty of text about Bo off the field as well.  Of course, the “Bo Knows” campaign by Nike is covered and that is quite entertaining as well as informative.  The feeling of Bo being used for business purposes is not unique to him, but his views (as told by others such as teammates or friends) about team owners such as Hugh Culverhouse of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Ewing Kaufman of the Royals was very interesting.  Jackson’s personality also makes for interesting reading.  The easiest way to describe it would be complex as many people of all types of relationships with him have stories to share and they range from him getting very angry at people for seemingly minor issue to being very generous to strangers with his time, money or both.  Something that is very consistent, however, is his dedication to family.  This is true for both his mother and later with his wife and children.  He vowed to ensure that his children did not grow up with an absent father like he did and he is keeping that promise, at least according to those who spoke to Pearlman.

This is a complete book on the man that is all the more remarkable when one considers none of this information came from Jackson himself.  Any reader who “knows Bo”, no matter if it is from sports, TV commercials or some other means, will find this book one that will be hard to put down and well worth the time to read.

I wish to thank Mariner Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Link: The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson: Pearlman, Jeff: 9780358437673: Amazon.com: Books

 

Review of "Hell With the Lid Off"

I am always grateful for the publishers who regularly allow me to review their books. One of them, University of Nebraska Press, has been very supportive of this blog and the reviews for several years now and they always let me know their upcoming books.  When I saw this one, not only the title was attention-grabbing but so was the subject.  One of the best rivalries in pro football is the subject during the era when I believe the sport was at its best.  Here is my review of "Hell with the Lid Off"

Title/Author:

“Hell With the Lid Off: Inside the Fierce Rivalry Between the 1970’s Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers” by Ed Gruver and Jim Campbell

Tags:

Football (American), professional, rivalry, Steelers, Raiders

Publish date:

October 1, 2019

Length:

400 pages

Rating:

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Sometimes the best rivalries in sports are not necessarily the longest lasting ones, but shorter ones between two excellent teams in their times when they play several meaningful games. Such was the case in the 1970’s with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders. They met each other in the playoffs every year between 1972 and 1976, with the winner between them ending up as the Super Bowl champion three of those five years.  Both teams played hard-nosed, hard hitting football, drafted many future Hall of Famers and provided fans with very memorable playoff games. Those five years of the Steeler-Raider rivalry are captured in this excellent book by sportswriters Ed Gruver and Jim Campbell.

Because Campbell is not only a writer but also was an employee of the Steelers during this time frame, the book does slant a little toward more coverage of the Steelers than the Raiders. But that doesn’t mean Oakland get shortchanged in the excellent writing, detailed accounts of their seasons, or interesting stories on their best players. Both teams are praised for their play on the field, their smart drafting, and their coaching staffs from the head coaches (Chuck Noll and John Madden) on down, both teams are given their proper due for their success in the 1970’s.

The book’s tone is set early on.  The first chapter is an excellent account of one of the most famous plays in NFL history, the “Immaculate Reception” when Steelers rookie Franco Harris caught a deflected pass just before it would fall incomplete and ran it all the way for a touchdown to give the Steelers a 13-7 victory over the Raiders in the 1972 AFC divisional playoffs and begin what would be the fiercest NFL rivalry over the next five seasons.  Every aspect of that play was dissected and each of the main players involved not only shared his recollection of the play but was also portrayed in that chapter.  Then the book provides insight into the two owners and their very different philosophies on how to win, Art Rooney of the Steelers and Al Davis of the Raiders.  After them, each season of Raider and Steeler football is recapped along with their playoff matchup and the Super Bowl results on the three times one of them won that game during this time frame covered.

This book does a wonderful job of portraying both franchises and its players and coaches throughout the entire five year stretch and concentrates strictly on the football. There is very little commentary on the social or political situations of the cities or the nation at the time. That is what makes this book one that hard-core football fans of that era will want to read, even if they are not fans of either one of these teams.  That includes this reviewer – I did not care for either of them but respected their success and reading about them brought back some great memories of their classic battles.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

                                                                       

Book Format Read:

Hardcover                                                                                                                                         

Buying Links:

https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9781496214676/

https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Lid-Off-Pittsburgh-Steelers-ebook/dp/B07Q5L7KC8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of “Kansas City vs. Oakland”

When I saw the cover of this book on NetGalley, I thought this would be about one of the best football rivalries from the 1970’s.  While that was a good portion of the book, it was much more than just the Chiefs vs. the Raiders - a great book on the two cities as well as their football and baseball teams.  Here is my review of  “Kansas City vs. Oakland.”

Title/Author:

“Kansas City vs. Oakland: The Bitter Sports Rivalry That Defined an Era” by Matthew C. Ehrlich

Tags:

Baseball, Football (American), professional, politics, Raiders, Chiefs, Athletics, Royals

Publish:
September 16, 2019

Length:
256 pages

Rating:

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

One of the best professional football rivalries from the 1960’s through the 1970’s was the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders.  While their rivalry was the most notorious and visible, that was certainly not the only rivalry or sports connection the two cities had.  There was a bitter history between the two cities in baseball as well and how these two sports connect with the local politics of both cities is told in this excellent book by Matthew C. Ehrlic.

While the book is geared more toward readers who prefer scholarly works, the narrative is not like that format at all - indeed, it is a quick and easy read that all readers will easily digest.  Ehrlic explains what each chapter will encompass in the introduction and there are plenty of endnotes to illustrate the extensive research he performed about not only the sports teams but the civic atmosphere in both Kansas City and in Oakland.

The coverage of the rise of the rivalry and also the fortunes of both football teams is very good, with most of the detailed passages describing games between the two teams.  Both the Chiefs and Raiders were considered to be the model franchises for the upstart American Football League and both represented the league in the first two Super Bowls, losing to the Green Bay Packers in both.  What really stood out in the chapters about these football teams was the fact that both of them had shaky beginnings in the AFL and nearly didn’t exist. Oakland was awarded a team only after Minneapolis broke its promise to the league and instead accepted an NFL expansion team (who became the Vikings) and Kansas City got the Chiefs only because Lamar Hunt had experienced poor attendance and financial difficulties in Dallas after that city was awarded an NFL expansion team, the Cowboys.  After such inauspicious debuts, it was interesting to read about how both franchises rose to success.

As for the baseball, the early connection between the two cities is more familiar as Kansas City was home to the Athletics in the American League.  In 1968, after a very acrimonious relationship between the city and A’s owner Charley Finley, the team moved to Oakland, where after the very brief honeymoon between that city and the team was over, the same type of attendance and financial problems still were present.  This was the state of the franchise even though the team won three consecutive World Series from 1972 to 1974, with players who were signed by Finley while still in Kansas City. That city was awarded an expansion franchise in 1969 to offset the loss of the A’s and while that team, the Royals, experienced the usual growing pains associated with expansion teams, they too became a good ball club and soon were battling Oakland for the Western Division title in the American League every year.

However, what really makes the book a fantastic read is how all four teams are connected to the civic and political issues of those times for both of the cities.  Both cities had to construct new stadiums for the teams. In Kansas City’s case, Municipal Stadium that housed the A’s was deemed too decrepit for the new Royals franchise, while Oakland had to build a stadium for both the Raiders and A’s from scratch.  Both cities constructed new sports complexes, despite protests from city residents about using tax money that could be better spent on things such as schools. Because these were not built in the respective cities, these were also seen as catering to the suburbs instead of the inner cities, where the population was mostly African American.  Both cities had the same types of problems addressing these issues. The connections between them were numerous, and Ehrlich covers them all, right down to the fact that both teams were awarded NHL franchises that failed as well. These sections were so well researched and written that this is the rare book that while the emphasis is on sports, the passages on other topics are even better reads.

One doesn’t have to be a fan of Kansas City or Oakland teams to enjoy this book.  History and sports buffs who enjoy reading about those topics from the 1960’s and 1970’s will love this book.  Highly recommended for those readers with those interests, as well as fans of those four teams.

I wish to thank University of Illinois Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book format read:
E-Book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

Kansas City vs. Oakland: The Bitter Sports Rivalry That Defined an Era (Sport and Society): Matthew C. Ehrlich: 9780252084492: Amazon.com: Gateway