Rockne of Notre Dame: The Making of a Football Legend

by Ray Robinson

Overview

In a mere twelve years, Rockne's "Fighting Irish" won 105 games, including five astonishing undefeated seasons. But Rockne was more than the sum of his victories—he was an icon who, more than anyone, made football an American obsession.
The book gives us colorful descriptions of such Rockne teams as the undefeated 1924 eleven led by the illustrious Four Horsemen, and the 1930 squad, Rockne's last and greatest. A renowned motivator whose "Win one for the Gipper" is the most famous locker-room speech ever, Rockne was also football's most brilliant innovator, a pioneer of the forward pass, a master of the psychological ploy, and an early advocate of conditioning. In this balanced account, Rockne emerges as an exemplary and complex figure: a fierce competitor who was generous in victory and defeat; an inspiring father figure to his players; and a man so revered nationwide that when he died in a plane crash in 1931, at the height of his career, he was mourned by the entire country.
"A solid portrait of one of football's most solid figures."—The New York Times Book Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195157925
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/21/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	929,760
Product dimensions:	8.08(w) x 5.32(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Ray Robinson is a noted sports writer and magazine editor whose previous books include "Oh, Baby, I Love It" (which he wrote with Tim McCarver); Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig in His Time; Matty, An American Hero, Yankee Stadium: 75 Years of Drama, Glamour, and Glory and Pennants and Pinstripes: A History of the New York Yankees. He lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

"Robinson's life of legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne stands unchallenged as the definitive work on this icon of the Roaring Twenties. The author has created a lively story that almost makes readers feel that they are in the locker room as Rockne famously asks the team to 'win one for the gipper'....Robinson sets Notre Dame against the backdrop of religious bias in the form of Ku Klux Klan activities in Indiana in the 1920s and the role the Notre Dame football team played in trying to overcome that bias....This excellent biography is highly recommended for all public libraries."—Library Journal

"A solid portrait of one of football's most solid figures."—The New York Times Book Review

"A rousing tale of the Norwegian boy who made good among the Irish."—Dave Wood's Book Report

From the Publisher