In a time “when men played football for something less than a living and something more than money,” John Unitas was the ultimate quart...
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reviews
Aug 08, 2011
Steve
rated it: 
I learned more about John Unitas in this book than I have in my 17 years living in Maryland. Yes, I'm a transplanted New Yorker and a Miami Dolphins fan, so following the Colts was like following the enemy (...and for Marylanders today, following the Colts means following the enemy).
Wonderful read, and I really like how Callahan told Unitas' story through the eyes and words of his coaches, teammates, family and friends. You saw a simply man...no flash, no bravado, no ego...who could simply thro More...
Wonderful read, and I really like how Callahan told Unitas' story through the eyes and words of his coaches, teammates, family and friends. You saw a simply man...no flash, no bravado, no ego...who could simply thro More...
May 13, 2009
Tim
rated it: 
Every kid has (or ought to have) heroes. For me, Johnny Unitas was one of the first. Unitas first achieved fame as the quarterback for the NFL's Baltimore Colts when I was too young to know football was, helping lead the Colts to the 1958 NFL championship in a game that is still called "The Greatest Game Ever Played." But by the time I was old enough to know what football was, there was no doubt who my favorite player was. Unitas ranked right up there with the astronauts.[return][retur
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Jul 14, 2008
Neal
rated it: 
Obviously, this rating is biased as I am a native Baltimorean just old enough to remember the waning heyday of the Baltimore Colts before Robert "Darth" Irsay took over the team. Johnny Unitas was past his prime when I became aware of football, but he could still generate some excitement on a Sunday afternoon and send my parents into hysterics with a long pass. Despite the fact that I didn't see Unitas play during his best years, the man cast a long shadow over Baltimore, choosing to m
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Mar 23, 2011
J.C.
rated it:
A really great story about a time when football was played for fun and not dollars. The only thing holding this book back was the fact that it read like a really long human interest story for a newspaper that was peppered with a bunch of shorter human interest pieces in order to justify it as a book. I get really frustrated by reading newspaper men who can't break from their journalistic tendencies, the need to get every fact checked, site ever source. It gets old, just tell the story already
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Apr 27, 2008
Brett
rated it: 
I thought the book was very good and gave good insight into Johnny U. And obviuously he is one of the all-time greats at QB, there are a ton of men from my grandfathers generation that will tell you he is the greatest they ever saw. But I've been a little surprised to study him and see how little his teams really won. They did win a championship game that is considered to be perhaps the greatest game ever played. But that was a function of the way the game was played and that they won (if it
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Jan 07, 2011
Todd
rated it:
Callahan does an excellent job with Unitas's childhood and early years with the Colts. Perhaps because of Unitas's reticence, the record of the latter years of both his career and life seems underdeveloped and incomplete. The book is well-written and thoroughly enjoyable. The quick bios of each of the key Colts was very well done, though I would have appreciated more detail on Raymond Berry's life. If you are a football fan, this is a must-read.
May 26, 2009
Bigdaddrock
rated it: 
Great memories of a great player and a bygone era of football. Did not like the writer's style. Poorly done.
Aug 27, 2008
Ron
rated it:
I enjoyed reading about the NFL before it became a really big business. Johnny U played in the Colts-Giants that is generally credited with the beginning of the ascendancy of the NFL. But Johnny U played in the era when the players still had to have other jobs in the off-season. The book does a good job showing what a great leader Johnny U was on those Colts teams. It is a bit uneven in its coverage of his career with some years getting very short shrift. But overall a worthy read for anyone int
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Dec 17, 2009
Al
rated it:
Easy Read, well researched and full of what pro football was like in the 50's and 60's. Utilizes a lot of stories and direct quotes from players and coaches. The book centers around Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts. If you want an insight into any of the following
1) what football was like then,
2) the type of people that played it,
3) Johnny Unitas (the best Quarterback ever)and how he conducted himself as a leader on and off the field
4) Colt History
You More...
1) what football was like then,
2) the type of people that played it,
3) Johnny Unitas (the best Quarterback ever)and how he conducted himself as a leader on and off the field
4) Colt History
You More...
Apr 27, 2007
Jo
rated it:
This is either a no star or a 10 star depending on how old you are and how much you loved Johnny U. It is not only his story but the story of the Baltimore Colts in the 1950s and 60s. It is written in a very matter of fact style which apparently was the way Johnny talked. In the beginning he played for 14,000. and fun. To this day the Baltimore Ravens color guard carries a flag with number 19 at all home games.
Nov 14, 2007
Butch
rated it:
Callahan not only gives us Johnny U, he gives us that unforgettable -- and irreplaceable -- Colts team that stole a city's heart and helped change the NFL forever. Gino, Lenny, Jim Parker -- they're all there to tell us about the bloodied, bow-legged quarterback and leader they followed into history.
Dec 16, 2009
Tim
rated it:
cool look at the life of a legend...the fact that wile in college he was playing at the other team's stadium, lost the game, and still got a standing ovation from the other team's fans...today that alone is enough for a cheesey movie , but i don't think johnny u would have wanted that.
Jan 24, 2008
Brian
rated it:
Great book, I'd recomend this to anyone who has the slightest interest in sports. The players of that time period seem very different than players today. Their stories completely fascinated me. Prior to this I knew very little about Johnny U.
Oct 22, 2007
The best QB that ever played the game. Too bad I wasn't alive when he played. My grandfather was a Baltimore Colts season ticket holder, after they left town he never rooted for another team again. Johnny U was of course his hero.
Jul 08, 2009
Paul
rated it:
A bit too much on everyone else on the Colts. I'm a Unitas fan, not a Colts' fan. That said, my admiration for a man like Unitas, who came out of the same area I did, grows with each chapter.
Jul 13, 2008
Patricia
rated it:
I enjoyed reading this book. Great history of the NFL coupled with lively stories and quotes about the game and by the men who played it when the NFL wasn't the big business it is today.
Nov 03, 2008
Mark
rated it:
This is by far the best football book i have read so far. If you are a football fan i reccomend this book to anyone.
Feb 09, 2012
Jan 31, 2012
