Rites of Autumn: The Story of College Football
by Richard Whittingham, Roger Staubach

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Summary of Rites of Autumn: The Story of College Football

Welcome to "Rites of Autumn: The Story of College Football," the definitive history of college football, from Fielding Yost's "point-a-minute" Michigan Wolverines of 1901 to Bobby Bowden's undefeated 1999 Florida State Seminoles and everything in-between, before, and since. Here are Red Grange, Illinois's Galloping Ghost; Army's Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis, and Pittsburgh's Tony Dorsett. Here is that day in 1957 when Bud Wilkinson's 47-game winning streak at Oklahoma was ended by Notre Dame and the Game of the Century when Bubba Smith's undefeated 1966 Michigan State team played also-undefeated Notre Dame to a 10-10 tie. With hundreds of vintage photographs, dozens of primary documents, and a vivid text, "Rites of Autumn" brings back to life Johnny Rodgers running back a punt for a Nebraska touchdown against Oklahoma in their 1971 Game of the Century; Cal's four-lateral kickoff return for a touchdown-- "The Play" -- that defeated John Elway's 1982 Stanford team; and Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass that beat Bernie Kosar's defending national champion Miami team 47-45 on the last play of the 1984 Thanksgiving Day game.

In this extraordinary volume -- the companion to an equally extraordinary 10-hour prime-time television series -- are the stories of the first forward pass (1876; Yale vs. Princeton), the first huddle (Illinois, 1921), the invention of the flying wedge (Harvard, 1892), and the wishbone (Texas, 1968). Here, "outlined against a blue-gray October sky," are Notre Dame's Four Horsemen and George Gipp, the subject of Knute Rockne's most famous halftime speech, who once told his coach, "Aw, these pep talks are O.K., Rock, I guess, but I got two hundred bucks bet on this game and if you think I'm lying down out there, you're crazy." Here are USC tackle Marion Morrison before he became John Wayne, and the famous letter to Princeton coach Fritz Crisler written by a former student known, when he attended Old Nassau, as Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. In "Rites of Autumn" prize-winning sportswriter Richard Whittingham brings the most spectacular regular-season games to vivid life, from Jim Thorpe's Carlisle Indian School vs. Army in 1912 to USC's one-point victory over crosstown rival UCLA in 1967. Here are the great coaches, from Pop Warner to Knute Rockne to Eddie Robinson to Joe Paterno; the great African-American tradition, from schools like Southern and Grambling and from players like Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, and Jim Brown. And, of course, here are the great rivalries: Army-Navy, Texas-Oklahoma, Notre Dame-USC, and more. With sidebars on everything from Walter Camp's firstAll-America team to the history of the great Bowl games, conference and national championships, the Heisman and Outland Trophy winners, decade-by-decade all-star teams, and the greatest teams of all time -- all illustrated by an astonishing selection of more than 250 photographs -- "Rites of Autumn" is a spectacular achievement: the ultimate book for anyone who has ever spent an autumn Saturday following America's most passionately watched sport.

Timelines and photographs complement the text, providing a deep sense of how the sport has evolved. Moreover, the author uses a variety of sources, giving readers bits of poetry, fight-song lyrics, and famous or insightful quotes, along with play-by-plays and a lively narrative. Whittingham put careful thought into his selections, readily admitting the difficulty of winnowing down the lists, and he even includes notes on those that barely missed the cut.

As Whittingham summarizes, "The game itself--violent, tactical, demanding of skills, strength, and endurance--evoked the very essentials of classic drama: conflict, suspense, excitement, competition, triumph, and failure. It is hardly surprising then that it became such a fertile ground for the cultivation of legends." The roar of a crowd, the sense of place or destiny--all of the factors that have led to greatness are described, with statistical support, in this informative, oversized book. Rites of Autumn is for football fans everywhere. --Michael Ferch

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