Red Grange and the Rise of Modern Football (Sport & Society) (Sport and Society)

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List Price: £16.99 (GBP)
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  • Author : John Carroll
  • Binding : Paperback
  • EAN : 9780252071669
  • ISBN : 0252071662
  • Label : University of Illinois Press
  • Languages : Original Language: English, Published: English
  • Manufacturer : University of Illinois Press
  • Number Of Items : 1
  • Number Of Pages : 296
  • Package Dimensions : 0.90 inches (Height) x 8.80 inches (Length) x 1.00 pounds (Weight) x 6.00 inches (Width)
  • Product Group : Book
  • Publication Date : 2004-07-31
  • Publisher : University of Illinois Press
  • SKU : ZA1-23835
  • Studio : University of Illinois Press

Red Grange was one of the certified heroes of an era that produced the anchors to any sporting hall of fame--Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Bill Tilden, Bobby Jones-- but Red Grange and the Rise of Modern Football is no simple exercise in hero-worship. A professor of history at Lamar University, John M. Carroll works to put Grange in perspective against the backdrop of an amazing era--the 20s--and tackle the Galloping Ghost's myth. Still, in Grange's case, the myth remains awfully impressive.A true superstar, Grange was a reluctant idol, letting his actions speak for him. In an era before big athletic scholarships, Grange paid for his education by delivering ice in the summer, a job which made him stronger than most of the defencemen he'd regularly bowl over. As a junior at Illinois, Grange secured his legend with an inconceivable performance against Michigan, running for four touchdowns in the first 12 minutes. Before the final gun sounded--Carroll recounts this and other games in glorious detail--Grange had added a fifth score on the ground, passed for a sixth, racked up a ridiculous 402 rushing yards on the day and cemented his reputation. Post college, his All- American drawing power and singular brilliance on the field virtually saved the struggling young NFL; Carroll is quite thorough in his examination of the fledgling league and its odour of "a dirty little business run by rogues." Yet, despite all the fame and celebrity, a flirtation with Hollywood and a respected post-playing career in the radio booth and various businesses, Grange never escaped his heartland unpretentiousness; he always seemed to know who he was and how he got that way. "I could run", he once said, "and that was the basis of any success I ever had." Because he ran so well, of course, that success evolved into full-blown legend worthy of Carroll's scrupulous and absorbing examination. --Jeff Silverman

- Amazon.co.uk Review

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