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Bert Jones and the battling Colts
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October 25, 2016
When I first learned that the Colts had left my native Baltimore two years before I was born, my initial glance of their history in crabtown was the Golden Age of Unitas followed by years of dreck until Indy. It wasn't until I learned a little more that I discovered the interesting mid-70s period of the Bert Jones-led division dynasty which did not produce a playoff win but was nonetheless exciting. It made me quite curious about this time in Colts history and I read as much as I could put my hands on. So when I discovered the existence of this book, I was pumped.
Sadly, it's not what I was hoping for. The first half of the book is mostly dedicated to rehashing the Colts history up through the 1976 season. Granted when the book was written, Wikipedia and the plethora of other football history websites didn't exist but still, it covered a lot of what I had already read and popped the air out of my expectant ballon that this would be 200 pages devoted to the Bert Jones era Colts. Once it gets to the team, there are some interesting backstories as to how they came together, but nothing I really didn't know from other sources, especially Vince Bagli's essential Sundays at 2:00 with the Baltimore Colts, the preeminent oral history on the team. Again not the fault of this book given when it was written but there were no startling revelations.
Still, it was neat to get some background on Bert Jones, as well as some of his teammates and be reminded once more that Joe Thomas had a great eye for football players and a head for being the bookkeeper of hell. Also cool to get some insight into the Jones-Marchibroda relationship. This team might have slipped through the cracks of football history but they're preserved well-enough here if you're looking for an intro. Still, probably best read by Baltimore Colts completists and no one else.
Sadly, it's not what I was hoping for. The first half of the book is mostly dedicated to rehashing the Colts history up through the 1976 season. Granted when the book was written, Wikipedia and the plethora of other football history websites didn't exist but still, it covered a lot of what I had already read and popped the air out of my expectant ballon that this would be 200 pages devoted to the Bert Jones era Colts. Once it gets to the team, there are some interesting backstories as to how they came together, but nothing I really didn't know from other sources, especially Vince Bagli's essential Sundays at 2:00 with the Baltimore Colts, the preeminent oral history on the team. Again not the fault of this book given when it was written but there were no startling revelations.
Still, it was neat to get some background on Bert Jones, as well as some of his teammates and be reminded once more that Joe Thomas had a great eye for football players and a head for being the bookkeeper of hell. Also cool to get some insight into the Jones-Marchibroda relationship. This team might have slipped through the cracks of football history but they're preserved well-enough here if you're looking for an intro. Still, probably best read by Baltimore Colts completists and no one else.
Displaying 1 of 1 review