Tony Dungy's words and example have intrigued millions of people, particularly following his victory in Super Bowl XLI, the first for an African American coach. How is it possible for a coach--especially a football coach--to win the respect of his players and lead them to the Super Bowl without the screaming histrionics, the profanities, the demand that the sport come before anything else? How is it possible for anyone to be successful without compromising...

High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty. Now, as Coach Rake's "boys" sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old games, relive the...

The town on Naponee is barely a speck on the state map. It's most famous citizen and favorite son is a high school standout. Sid Malone, who went on to playbig-time football at the University of Nebraska. "Suicide" Side graduated with a heroic nickname, his left knee held together with spit and thumbtacks, and the stigma of having testified against his alma mater before an NCAA investigation committee.

Freddie Steinmark, an underdog on the field, faces the most difficult challenge of his life after leading his team to a championship season.

A drama of forced high school integration in Alexandria, Virginia in 1971. After leading his team to fifteen winning seasons, white football coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by African-American Herman Boone, tough, opinionated and as different from Yoast as could be. The two men overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions. A rousing celebration of how a town torn apart by resentment, friction and mistrust...

A high school football coach with a history of losing games faces not only the pressures from a group of fathers wanting him fired, but also the possibility that his wife can never have children. When he turns to God, will his prayers be answered?

aThe inspiring story of how a small town in West Virginia, steeped in the rich tradition of college football, struggled to cope with a devastating loss and restore their community after one of the worst disasters in the history of American sports. On the evening of Saturday, November 14, 1970, a chartered jet carrying Marshall University's football team, coaches and fans, was on its way home from a hard-fought game in North Carolina. Less than a minute...

"Trent Powers relocates his family from Anaheim to Arkansas to take over as head coach of the Denton Pirates, a high school football team powered by a volatile but talented running back named Billy Lowe. Billy comes from an extremely troubled home: a trailer park where he is terrorized by his unstable mother's abusive boyfriend. Billy takes out his anger on the field, and it's not long before he crosses a line. Instead of punishing him, though, Trent...

Having gained unprecedented access to late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, as well as the coach's personal notes and files, Joe Posnanski spent the last two years of Paterno's life covering the coach, on (and off) the field and through the scandal that ended Paterno's legendary career. Posnanski was with Paterno and his family as a horrific national scandal unfolded and Paterno was fired. Within three months, Paterno died of lung cancer,...

"The football team's coach goes missing before the final game! Can Martha save the day before the Wagstaff dogs end up in the doghouse?"--P. [4] of cover.