Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football Review

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Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football ReviewSHAKE DOWN THE THUNDER is a scholarly look at a sports phenomenon - the creation and early development of football at Notre Dame to 1941 and the hiring of Frank Leahy as coach. Much of the book is devoted to the politics within the university community among the coaches, administrators and influential alumni. It is also a story about the rise of Notre Dame football during a period when Catholics were striving for more influence politically and more acceptance in general in the United States.
The author makes much use of the private correspondence of Knute Rockne and paints a very unromantic picture of the great coach and some of his star players. Based on this book Lee Marvin or Robert Mitchum instead of Ronald Reagan are the best choices to play the part of George Gipp in a movie.
SHAKE DOWN THE THUNDER is more of a cultural history than a football story. It contains very little football action. The book is well-researched and shows how both the urge to overemphasize college football and the resulting forces trying to contain it have been in existence for a long time.Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football Overview

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Loyal Sons: The Story of the Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football's 1924 Champions Review

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Loyal Sons: The Story of the Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football's 1924 Champions ReviewJim Lefebvre's description of teamwork, sportsmanship and relentless perseverance exhibited by the team members of the 1924 Notre Dame football team in his book Loyal Sons far exceeded my expectations of what I thought was going to be an interesting historical read about four football players on horseback, a famous Coach, an undefeated season and an invitation to the Rose Bowl.
This is a great book about football...and so much more.
Jim captures the interwoven essence of strong character, devout families, hard work, integrity, selflessness and coachability that made this unpretentious team of young gentlemen "raise the bar" for those who followed.
Mr. Lefebvre's accounting of Knute Rockne and his coaching staff's ability to balance priority of education with a season of unprecedented athletic success and snowballing national recognition for Notre Dame revealed to me a non-compromising dynamic of Rockne's success.
Coach Rockne instilled in his players two important lessons: 1, sacrifice, dedication and hard work yield results; and 2, there is life after football
Don't miss the Epilogue.

Sparky Aldridge
Loyal Sons: The Story of the Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football's 1924 Champions OverviewWinner, Bronze Medal--Sports/Recreation/Fitness Category2009 Independent Publisher Book AwardsAward-Winning Finalist--Sports: Autobiography/Biography CategoryThe National "Best Books" 2009 AwardsFinalist--Sports Category2010 National Indie Excellence Book Awards"An engaging read.... Especially recommended for football enthusiasts with a passion for the history of the sport." ----The Midwest Book Review"Jim Lefebvre has scored big on both the research and the writing...a great read--whether you are a fan of Notre Dame, Notre Dame football, U.S. history, college athletics, or the human spirit." ---Denis Gullickson, author, Before They Were The PackersTheir photograph is legendary--among the most recognizable images in the history of American sports iconography. Yet who were these Four Horsemen of Notre Dame? How did they become Fighting Irish? What did they and their teammates accomplish under Coach Knute Rockne? And why did it matter?After all these decades, their story is finally told in Loyal Sons--in breathtaking detail that fully engages the reader. The first-ever book-length treatment of this famous team and its triumphant 1924 national championship season is a ground-breaking work of sports history. We learn how these sons of miners and merchants, grocers and doctors are drawn to the University of Notre Dame, and what they helped create once there. Follow along as the '24 Irish literally take the game of college football from coast to coast. Along the way, their flair, timing and teamwork earn for Notre Dame countless new followers, as the phenomenon of Rockne's "wonder team" sweeps the nation.Loyal Sons is a great football story--and so much more. It provides snapshots of American life in the 1920s and chronicles grand dreams, hard work, setbacks and challenges, serendipitous timing, motivation and spirit. Loyal Sons is a must-read for fans of college football history and a treasured keepsake for all those who cherish Notre Dame.

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The Gipper: George Gipp, Knute Rockne, and the Dramatic Rise of Notre Dame Football Review

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The Gipper: George Gipp, Knute Rockne, and the Dramatic Rise of Notre Dame Football ReviewNotre Dame was a very respectable football program before Knute Rockne became the coach. In the ten seasons prior to Knute being named head coach, Notre Dame's record under four different coaches was 66 wins, 7 losses, and 5 ties, for a winning percentage of .878, which is just shy of Rockne's .881 winning percentage over 13 seasons. Notre Dame had already burst onto the national scene with its historic win over Army at West Point in 1913, which featured quarterback Gus Dorais throwing the ball to end Knute Rockne in a historical display of passing proficiency which truly changed the way football was played from that day forward.
But it was the ascendancy of George Gipp as Notre Dame's star player and the promotion of Knute Rockne from assistant to head football coach that took Notre Dame football to the next level. When Rockne first became Notre Dame's coach, during Gipp's second varsity season in 1918, a typical crowd at a big game would be 5,000 fans at standing-room-only Cartier Field. In Rockne's final season, 1930, Notre Dame opened a new 54,400 seat stadium on campus and played Army at Soldier Field in Chicago in front of a crowd estimated at 110,000 fans. And, of course, as the fame of the Fighting Irish grew, so did the reputation of the University of Notre Dame which has sought since Rockne to achieve recognition and respect for its academic accomplishments while it nevertheless embraces the fame and the financial rewards that accrue to its football team.
The Gipper covers what is known of George Gipp's life growing up in Laurium, Michigan and all his exploits as a Notre Dame football player and sometime student. Ample coverage is given to Gipp's very sporadic academic pursuits as well as his expertise as a billiards player, card player, and gambler. And the author tries to sort the fact from the fiction of Rockne's "Win one for the Gipper" speech and Gipp's tragic death. As amazing as Gipp's statistics and performance as a football player are, I was even more amazed by how easily it apparently all came to him. He rarely practiced football, and normally reported for the season at the last minute, if not a week or two late. He was a talented baseball player who was actively sought after by multiple major league franchises and was the best pool shooter in Northern Indiana. He broke a leg near the end of his first varsity season, and scored a key touchdown in his final game, against Indiana, after suffering a dislocated shoulder and a broken collar bone.
In addition to providing a real education about two Notre Dame legends, The Gipper offers real insight into what college football was really like in its infancy. The lax academic standards, the Sunday pro games played under assumed names, players playing at West Point for four years after exhausting eligibility in All-American careers at other schools. The 1918 season that was almost entirely canceled due to a nationwide flu epidemic. Michigan's campaign to keep Notre Dame out of the Western Conference (forerunner to the Big Ten) and to blackball Notre Dame from playing Western Conference teams. All are covered here in an entertaining, easy to read presentation that fans of Notre Dame will love, and that all fans of college football history will appreciate.The Gipper: George Gipp, Knute Rockne, and the Dramatic Rise of Notre Dame Football Overview

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Bowls, Polls, and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy That Reign over College Football Review

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Bowls, Polls, and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy That Reign over College Football ReviewThanks to my profession, I know about Mickey Mouse. But I never knew about all the Mickey Mouse shenanigans in college football until I read this book. For example, the author writes about how, in the 1960s, the Notre Dame publicity director changed the pronunciation of quarterback Joe Theismann's last name so that it rhymed with "Heisman" -- even though the family had always pronounced it "thees-man."
But there's much, much more. Mandel uses his behind-the-scenes access and years of experience to shed light on some of the most controversial, confusing and downright Goofy topics in the sport. Specifically:
* The Bowl Championship Series, and how it works -- or doesn't!
* The often arbitrary and unfair way voters rank teams in the polls
* How the Heisman Trophy winner is picked, and when the system first jumped the shark
* How FireRonZook.com changed how coaches are fired
* Why Notre Dame occupies its holier-than-thou spot above all other teams
* The influence of the Internet on college recruiting
* Why the Big Ten has 11 teams
* The plethora of post-season bowl games, and their weird and wacky names
* The unpredictability of the NFL draft
* Why one school's tawdry scandals catch the NCAA's notice, while others gets off scott free
I devoured every page. As a Florida State fan, my soul has been tattered many times in the past few years, but it wasn't that long ago that the bowls and polls just loved us (just ask Notre Dame). To sum up. I think any college football fan will love this book. Mandel's affection for the game is obvious, and his stories are consistently enlightening, entertaining and funny.Bowls, Polls, and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy That Reign over College Football OverviewSI.com "College Football Mailbag" author Stewart Mandel tackles the ten issues that confound college football fans--with a new chapter on the 2007 season"An intricate tour through the ills of the college football world (and there are many), but still manages to take on a breezy, airy tone."----The Quad, NYTimes.com"Stewart Mandel writes about college football's major controversies with a wit and depth of knowledge that will impress even the most obsessed fans. And because he's both fair and objective, there is something in this book to infuriate nearly everyone."----Warren St. John, author of the bestselling Rammer JammerYellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania"In a book dripping with sarcasm, Stewart Mandel plays tour guide on an interesting ride through the college football nuthouse."----Bruce Feldman, author of Meat Market and senior writer for ESPN the Magazine"If you're confused by the world of college football, particularly the BCS and how the present polls are conducted, then I will recommend to you Bowls, Polls & Tattered Souls."----Football Outsiders"Presents history and insights on all aspects of the sport, from recruiting to the bowl system to why certain teams play in certain conferences. A great read for fans with thirty days or thirty years of experience."----Orlando SentinelIf your heart beats faster on Saturday afternoons as your team takes the field, this book will give you new insight into the fanaticism and chaos that characterize college football today. Stewart Mandel takes a provocative, hard-hitting look at the hot-button issues: the controversial BCS; the polls and their largely arbitrary rankings; the ego-inflating recruiting craze; cheating and recent scandals; the huge pressures and salaries heaped on coaches; the Heisman hype-fest; the NFL draft; the clunky conference expansions; privileged Notre Dame, college football's greatest juggernaut; and the proliferation of bowl games. You'll get behind-the-scenes insights on how the issues evolved and why some are almost impossible to resolve in a book that's as entertaining, passionate, and thought-provoking as the game itself.

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