My rating:

add to my books

The End of Autumn

by Michael Oriard

4.17 · rating details · 6 ratings · 0 reviews

Much of Michael Oriard's education took place outside the schoolroom of his native Spokane, Washington, during "slaughter practices" on high school football fields. He was taught to "punish" and "dominate," to rouse his school spirit with religion, and to "tough it" through injuries, even serious ones. At the age of eighteen he...more Much of Michael Oriard's education took place outside the schoolroom of his native Spokane, Washington, during "slaughter practices" on high school football fields. He was taught to "punish" and "dominate," to rouse his school spirit with religion, and to "tough it" through injuries, even serious ones. At the age of eighteen he entered Notre Dame and walked onto the football team, where studying hard was never harder. By his senior year, playing for Ara Parseghian's Fighting Irish, he was the starting center and co-captain of the team. After graduating, he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and head coach Hank Stram. There he learned what it meant to be "owned." He rediscovered the game as it was played by grown men with families who were still treated like children and who dreaded nothing more than the end of their football careers. And without their fully realizing the consequences, every hard tackle inflicted its injury, some gradually growing into chronic conditions, some suddenly cutting a player's career short and ushering him off the field to be soon forgotten. In this thoughtful narrative, Oriard describes the dreams of glory, the game day anxieties, the brutal training camps and harsh practices, his starry-eyed experience at Notre Dame, and the cold-blooded business of professional football. Told from the inside, the book leaves aside the hype and the pathos of the game to present a direct and honest account of the personal rewards but also the costs players paid to make others rich and entertained. Originally published in 1982, The End of Autumn recounts the experiences of an ordinary player in a bygone era--before ESPN, before the Bowl Championship Series, before free agency and million-dollar salaries for NFL players. In a new afterword, Oriard reflects on the process of writing the book and how the game has changed in the thirty years since his "retirement" from football at the age of twenty-six.(less)

Paperback, 368 pages

Published July 7th 2009 by University of Illinois Press (first published January 1982)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-10 of 10)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Dec 18, 2011

Oliver L. is currently reading it · review of another edition

Aug 10, 2011

Tim marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Aug 04, 2011

Rachel rated it

· review of another edition

May 17, 2011

Nate Kappes rated it

· review of another edition

Feb 23, 2011

Katie marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: academic-y-books

Jan 02, 2011

John Marr rated it

· review of another edition

Oct 04, 2010

Patrick rated it

· review of another edition

Sep 29, 2010

Karen Naughton rated it

Sep 18, 2009

Paul Schulzetenberg marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Mar 27, 2009

Ted rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: notre-dame, football

currently-reading

1 shelf

academic-y-books

1 shelf

football

1 shelf

notre-dame

1 shelf

Books by Michael Oriard

Bowled Over: Big-Time College Football from the Sixties to the BCS Era

Reading Football: How the Popular Press Created an American Spectacle

King Football: Sport and Spectacle in the Golden Age of Radio and Newsreels, Movies and Magazines, the Weekly and the Daily Press

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About The End of Autumn

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: The End of Autumn
avg rating	preview: The End of Autumn Goodreads rating: 4.17 (6 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7145245-the-end-of-autumn?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328829588m/7145245.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7145245-the-end-of-autumn?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The End of Autumn by Michael Oriard[/url]

The End of Autumn

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (1)

Popular Shelves

Books by Michael Oriard

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About The End of Autumn

The End of Autumn

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combine Other Editions (1)

Popular Shelves

Books by Michael Oriard

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About The End of Autumn

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (1)