AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2006 > September > 07 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USTitles worth chasing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This ain’t Oprah’s Book Club, but occasionally we’ll talk about the stack of reading material on my desk. Here are some suggestions for college football lovers to pass the time as they are riding to the game.
1) “Pure Gold” (Sports Publishing LLC) is probably the best inside look at Bobby Bowden and the Florida State program ever written. Steve Ellis of the Tallahassee Democrat and Bill Vilona of the Penscola News sat down with dozens of people close to Bowden, including Georgia coach Mark Richt, his sons Tommy, Terry, and Jeff, Sue Hall, his long-time secretary, and Billy Smith, the Florida state trooper who is always by his side. It’s compelling stuff.
2) “The Missing Ring” (St. Martin’s Press) is the story of how Alabama’s 11-0 1966 team was denied the national championship because of the politics of polling. The pollsters gave Notre Dame (9-0-1) the title that season despite a 10-10 tie with Michigan State. When it comes to Alabama football, nobody does a better job of research and reporting than Keith Dunnavant and this is another masterful job. Dunnavant goes back 40 years and talks to the key Alabama players of that era, who have not forgotten the pain. If you’re an Alabama fan, it still hurts today.
3) “Rammer, Jammer Yellow Hammer” (Crown Publishers). This one has been out a while but I’m just now getting to it. It is simply the best piece of work about fans and their passion for college football in the South that I have ever read. Warren St. John jumps into the subject with both feet, riding with the RV brigade that loyally follows the University of Alabama. If you have a friend from the North who doesn’t quite understand how we feel about football in the South, give him this book.
4) “Once A Vol, Always A Vol” (Sports Publishing LLC). No two living men have seen more Tennessee football than Haywood Harris and Gus Manning, who have worked for the school a combined 101 years in various capacities. They have interviewed a number great Tennessee stars who told their own stories in their own words. Peyton Manning wrote the forward.
5) “Orange Crushed” (Jefferson Press) tells the story of Tennessee’s ill-fated 2005 season when the Vols went 5-6. Darren Epps, who covers the team for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, gives some good behind the scenes stuff. Better read it quickly, though. If the Vols beat Florida next week, then 2005 will be a distant memory.
Comments
By Wozzo the Wonder Dog
September 7, 2006 07:29 PM | Link to this
“Frustration, Depression and Probation” a recent history of Tech football.
By John Morgan
September 7, 2006 08:42 PM | Link to this
I am a huge Vols fan and I just wanted to say that while it was painful, I truly enjoyed reading Orange Crushed. Epps seems to have given an honest portrayal of the season and the behind closed doors info seems to bring everything into light. He also seems to understand our frustration/admiration with Coach Phil. Sometimes it shows that he is a UGA man, but he seems to have tried to keep that under wraps. I’d recomend the book to anyone that loves/hates UT football.