Pro Quarterback: My Own Story

by Johnny Unitas, Ed Fitzgerald

Autobiography of Johnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts - one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play in the National Football League.

Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the 1960’s there were really only two superstar quarterbacks, Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas. Both were incredible leaders and were winners. They were gutsy, generally called their own plays and were not afraid to take a calculated risk. Even on third and short the defense could not crowd the line for fear of being the victim of a long pass.
This is the story of Johnny Unitas up until 1965, after he had several successful seasons. It is both personal and professional, he talks about his childhood, college career, breaking into the pros and what he does to achieve and maintain stardom. He is constantly going over the playbook, watching film, practicing and talking football. His descriptions of Raymond Berry and the dedication he had to being a wide receiver are revealing. There were many faster and shiftier than Berry, yet there were none with his skills for getting open and catching any ball that came near.
It is clear from this book that Unitas was a very humble man. He gives great credit to his teammates and explains how his success starts with the performance of the offensive line. Modern books by sports stars tend to concentrate on the tell-all and not about the subject at hand, how football is played. This book is in the old school, it is about Unitas and his life as well as the details that need to be mastered in order to be successful as a pro quarterback.

[Morgan Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is probably written more toward a teenager or younger person but it provides and interesting insight into profession football in the late 50’s and early 60’s. It is a great snippet of how things were before the million $$ contracts of today’s league. I enjoyed this perspective on football and on life!

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good for people who really like football and like to read biographies about peoples lives. Johnny Unitas tells his story about how he made through high school and got into Louisville University (wich used to be a very small school back when he was in college). Then once he had gotten into the professional football league he talked about his struggle for the first couple of years to stay put on one team. He was a back up for the first couple of years wich really set his mood as upset and irritated.
But when one season the first string quarterback got hurt Johnny stepped in and led the Baltimore Colts to a pretty good season he just stuck as the starting quarterback and never left it. Once he has been in the starting position he tells about the strategies and what he does to do his best in the game. So I gave this book a four out of five stars because at times it was not very detailed and it really was just not interesting. But I think someone who is really a fan of football would love this book.