The Glory Game: How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever

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The Glory Game: How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever

Author(s):

Frank Gifford, Peter Richmond

Label: Harper
Publisher(s):

Harper

Studio: Harper
Manufacturer: Harper
Binding: Hardcover
List Price: $25.95
Our Price: $17.13
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In 1958 Frank Gifford was the golden boy on the glamour team in the most celebrated city in the NFL. When his New York Giants played the Baltimore Colts for the league championship that year, it became the single most memorable contest in the history of professional football. Broadcast to an audience of millions, it was the first title game ever to go into sudden-death overtime. Its drama, excitement, and controversy riveted the nation and helped propel football to the forefront of the American sports landscape.

Now, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of "The Greatest Game Ever Played," New York Giants Hall of Famer and longtime television analyst Frank Gifford provides an inside-the-helmet account that will take its place in the annals of sports literature. Drawing on the poignant and humorous memories of every living player from the game?including fellow Hall of Famers Sam Huff, Andy Robustelli, Art Donovan, Lenny Moore, and Raymond Berry?as well as the author's own experiences and reflections, The Glory Game captures a magnificent moment in American sports history. It is the story of two very different cities and teams, filled with the joy, the disappointment, and the eternal pride of a day that will forever symbolize all that is great about sports.

Told with gripping immediacy, The Glory Game is an indelible portrait of the NFL's most transcendent hours?a winter version of The Boys of Summer, told by one of football's true legends.

Customer Reviews

The Glory Game by Frank Gifford

I ordered this book for my husband as a Christmas gift. He is enjoying reading it and is learning some things he didn't know about this part of football. I would recommend this book to any guy who is into football and its history.

No glory in this book

The only thing worse than the disjointed writing in this book is the seemingly nonexistent editing. How any self-respecting company could have published this mess is beyond me. Fortunately several fine accounts of this game have been written and I suggest you search them out.

A Must-Read Book for Everyone, Everywhere, Now and Forever

As a long-time follower of Peter Richmond's brilliant cultural commentary -- from the pages of GQ to his countless NPR appearances -- I was thrilled to relive the details of this legendary game through his and Gifford's extraordinary retelling. This book is a must for sports fans, nostalgia buffs, lovers of American history and readers looking for a compelling read: if it's not in The Glory Game, it's not part of NFL history.

A stirring account of a milestone game and the people who played it

The 1958 NFL Championship Game is among the most documented, analyzed, and discussed sporting events in history. It is widely regarded as the end of one era in professional sports, and the beginning of the "modern" era. But leave it to one of the key participants in this game, Frank Gifford, to finally put the definitive stamp on that game and the people who played in it.

Gifford has always struck me as a humble and classy man, and I really believe that those qualities are exhibited in this succinct - yet very descriptive and entertaining - account. Even though he is predisposed to favor his Giants team, on the whole he is very even-handed in the narrative. Mr. Gifford also excels at conveying the game through the thoughts of the surviving Giants and Colts. It is that combination of perspective and narrative that engages the reader and adds even more color to the story. Many of those players - notably Art Donovan of the Colts - are outright hilarious.

Mr. Gifford also does well in describing what the life of a professional football player was like in those days. He effectively conveys that the players of that era were still deeply rooted in their communities, and even with a modicum of celebrity, were still scraping by to play a game they love. He also lets the reader peek behind the curtain into the locker room, the nightlife, and the sacrifices they had to make to keep playing. This helps add another effective layer of perspective into this seminal game.

Mr. Gifford notes in his introduction that David Halberstam was planning to write about this game before his untimely death, so he was writing this in Mr. Halberstam's memory. Tragic events and Mr. Halberstam's reputation aside, it is fortunate that Mr. Gifford turned out to be the one to write this book. It really had to be him, because no one else could do the proper justice to the account of this game, and no one else would have been able to get the honest perspectives of the other players. Mr. Gifford should also be commended for deciding to write this now; as with other historical accounts, it is important to do so while the participants are alive, so that their memories can be properly recorded.

Overall, this was a thoroughly engaging book and worthy to stand among the best of sports books in recent memory. I highly recommend it to all audiences, because it is one of the best and most enjoyable books I have read in this past year.

Glory and The Giff

With all his years of outstanding media work, it may have been easy to forget that Frank Gifford was an outstanding running back on some of the best New York Giants teams in the history of the NFL.

Gifford's account of the much-chronicled 1958 championship clash between the Giants and Baltimore Colts - though written under tragic circumstances - is an important addition to the history of pro football. Historian David Halberstam was killed in a 2007 car crash while being driven to a scheduled interview with Y.A. Tittle, as he was compiling material for a book on the game. Gifford took over the project and the introduction in this book is dedicated to Halberstam.

Drawing on the oftentimes humorous memories of every living player from the game - as well as his own reflections - Gifford not only honors Halberstam through the work, but captures this special moment in time from a gridiron perspective. This is a tremendous look back to a game that reverberates with power and glory on any given Sunday some 50 years later.

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