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Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time, The: The Civil War, the Iron Bowl, and Other Memorable Matchups
College football is one of the most popular sports in the United States. Fans follow their favorite team with unfailing loyalty, and nowhere do the colors come out more fervently than when rivals face off. These games bring out the passion, the rituals, and even the rage of football fans across the country. Whether based on history and tradition, or proximity and local pride, college rivalry games have an intensity unmatched by any other sporting event.
The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All The Civil War, the Iron Bowl, and Other Memorable Matchups showcases the best of these competitions. Martin Gitlin details game highlights, the history behind the rivalries, and how the fans, players, and coaches have impacted the matchups. The fourteen top rivalries are covered, including the always-intense battles between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines, the great in-state rivalry between the Auburn Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the historic contests between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen.
In addition to capturing the action of the games, this book also covers the personal stories that heighten the passion and intensity of the rivalries—including pranks pulled over the years by opposing fans. With stats and series highlights detailed in each entry, and featuring historical and contemporary photographs throughout its pages, The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time is a must-read for every fan of college football.
The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All The Civil War, the Iron Bowl, and Other Memorable Matchups showcases the best of these competitions. Martin Gitlin details game highlights, the history behind the rivalries, and how the fans, players, and coaches have impacted the matchups. The fourteen top rivalries are covered, including the always-intense battles between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines, the great in-state rivalry between the Auburn Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the historic contests between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen.
In addition to capturing the action of the games, this book also covers the personal stories that heighten the passion and intensity of the rivalries—including pranks pulled over the years by opposing fans. With stats and series highlights detailed in each entry, and featuring historical and contemporary photographs throughout its pages, The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time is a must-read for every fan of college football.
354 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
About the author
Martin "Marty" Gitlin
298 books13 followersMARTIN (MARTY) GITLIN is a freelance book writer and journalist based in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to Diana, Princess of Wales (Greenwood 2008), he has written several history books for students, including works on the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, Battle of The Little Bighorn, and Stock Market Crash of 1929. He has also written biographies of NASCAR drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
Gitlin worked for two decades as a sportswriter, during which time he won more than 45 awards, including first place for general excellence from Associated Press. That organization also selected him as one of the top four feature writers in Ohio.
Gitlin worked for two decades as a sportswriter, during which time he won more than 45 awards, including first place for general excellence from Associated Press. That organization also selected him as one of the top four feature writers in Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 16, 2016
The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time: The Civil War, the Iron Bowl, and Other Memorable Matchups by Martin Gitlin (Rowman & Littlefield 2014) ( (796.33263). This is a collection of facts and essays describing several of the best known rivalries in college football. Obviously the most important of the bunch is the “Iron Bowl” when the state of Alabama comes to a grinding halt for an afternoon in November to determine whether Auburn or Alabama will hold bragging rights in Alabama for the next twelve months. Rumor has it that other important college football games are played throughout the nation on or about that same date, but I've seen no actual evidence of this rumor. My rating: 7/10, finished 11/22/14.
May 23, 2015
There are rivalries and then there are rivalries. What was known for decades as “The Red River Shootout” between Oklahoma and Texas was one of those intense clashes. The game each October is not anywhere near as good these days no matter what they call it now, but the game at one time was the stuff of legend. Those details and the battle between Texas and Oklahoma for football supremacy each year is covered in detail in the fourth chapter of The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time: The Civil War, The Iron Bowl, And Other Memorable Matchups.
Dating back to the first meeting in 1900 when Texas defeated Oklahoma 28 to 2 the chapter recounts the history of this clash up until 2014. Over 26 pages the rivalry is analyzed and discussed in great detail. Along with plenty of history and anecdotes passed down during the years there is the final score list of the 108 games played through the 2013 season. Also included at the end of the chapter is a listing of bowl appearances for each team that details the year, the opponent, and the final score of that game.
That same format of detailed history is used for the other 13 rivalries covered in the book starting with Ohio State vs. Michigan. After opening with that one, author Martin Gitlin takes readers onward through Alabama vs. Auburn, Army vs. Navy, Norte Dame vs. Southern California, Harvard vs. Yale, Georgia vs. Florida, Layette vs. Lehigh, California vs. Stanford, Florida State vs. Miami, Grambling State vs. Southern, Utah vs. Brigham Young, Oregon vs. Oregon State, and Clemson vs. South Carolina. Following all the detailed histories of the rivalries is a 12 page “notes” section of footnotes, a five page bibliography, and a 13 page index. A short one page author bio brings this hardback to a close.
An interesting book of facts and history with the occasional black and white photograph, the book covers 14 rivalries extremely well. A notable missing rivalry was the legendary and long standing Texas vs. Texas A&M clash that recently ended due to television dollars, gargantuan egos of administrators on both sides as a result of conference shifting by Texas A&M. No doubt other readers will be aware of other rivalries they feel should have been included. Whether or not these fourteen are the greatest rivalries of all time would also be up to some debate.
Designed for the hardcore fan, The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time: The Civil War, The Iron Bowl, And Other Memorable Matchups by Martin Gitlin is a well done historical accounting of some of the greatest moments ever in college football.
The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time: The Civil War, The Iron Bowl, And Other Memorable Matchups
Martin Gitlin
Rowman & Littlefield
http://www.rowman.com
August 2014
ISBN# 978-1-4422-2983-9
Hardback (e-book also available)
354 Pages
$40.00
Material was picked up to read and review after I spotted it on the new arrivals table during a recent trip to the Haggard Branch of the Plano Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015
Dating back to the first meeting in 1900 when Texas defeated Oklahoma 28 to 2 the chapter recounts the history of this clash up until 2014. Over 26 pages the rivalry is analyzed and discussed in great detail. Along with plenty of history and anecdotes passed down during the years there is the final score list of the 108 games played through the 2013 season. Also included at the end of the chapter is a listing of bowl appearances for each team that details the year, the opponent, and the final score of that game.
That same format of detailed history is used for the other 13 rivalries covered in the book starting with Ohio State vs. Michigan. After opening with that one, author Martin Gitlin takes readers onward through Alabama vs. Auburn, Army vs. Navy, Norte Dame vs. Southern California, Harvard vs. Yale, Georgia vs. Florida, Layette vs. Lehigh, California vs. Stanford, Florida State vs. Miami, Grambling State vs. Southern, Utah vs. Brigham Young, Oregon vs. Oregon State, and Clemson vs. South Carolina. Following all the detailed histories of the rivalries is a 12 page “notes” section of footnotes, a five page bibliography, and a 13 page index. A short one page author bio brings this hardback to a close.
An interesting book of facts and history with the occasional black and white photograph, the book covers 14 rivalries extremely well. A notable missing rivalry was the legendary and long standing Texas vs. Texas A&M clash that recently ended due to television dollars, gargantuan egos of administrators on both sides as a result of conference shifting by Texas A&M. No doubt other readers will be aware of other rivalries they feel should have been included. Whether or not these fourteen are the greatest rivalries of all time would also be up to some debate.
Designed for the hardcore fan, The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time: The Civil War, The Iron Bowl, And Other Memorable Matchups by Martin Gitlin is a well done historical accounting of some of the greatest moments ever in college football.
The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time: The Civil War, The Iron Bowl, And Other Memorable Matchups
Martin Gitlin
Rowman & Littlefield
http://www.rowman.com
August 2014
ISBN# 978-1-4422-2983-9
Hardback (e-book also available)
354 Pages
$40.00
Material was picked up to read and review after I spotted it on the new arrivals table during a recent trip to the Haggard Branch of the Plano Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015
September 16, 2016
This is a horrible, horrible, horrible book. I strongly encourage anybody with more than a passing interest in the subject matter to avoid it. It is so poorly written, I don't think it even belongs in the kids' section of the library.
College football is one of my passions and favorite subjects. However, this is the worst-written, -edited and -researched book I've read in this century, regardless of subject matter. If I could give a zero start rating I would. Perhaps the author thought nobody would care if he sloppily constructed a sports book, i.e., it's a sports book, who cares? Given that many college football fans are college-educated, he erred badly if this were his mindset.
It appears the author wrote this book over a weekend, cutting and pasting from different sources on the web, without subsequent fact-checking or editing for continuity. Did the publisher even read the galleys before printing this garbage?
Maybe this was self-published and not run through a professional editor. I can't conceive of any other way it got published in its present form. My seventh grade English teach would be appalled at the numerous grammatical mistakes, awkward sentence construction and confusing use of pronouns (they) when describing both teams in the same sentence.
The chapter about Lafayette-Lehigh is particularly egregious, including multiple instances of confusing switches in narration when talking about both teams in the same sentence and just bad, bad writing. I had to read several passages over and over to figure out which team he referred to in many places. The author would start talking about one team in a sentence, then switch to the other while referring to both teams as "they" so it appeared there was information directly contradicting points he had just made. It was a very frustrating and disappointing read as a result.
I was SO excited when I found this on the shelf at my local library, just in time for the start of the college football season. I could not be more disappointed in a book about a subject I love and about which it appears I know more than the author. If I ever meet Martin Gitlin, I'll give him a piece of my mind for writing so pathetically and confusingly about such a grand subject.
The chapter on my alma mater contains five blatant factual errors. I discovered many more errors in other chapters even though I didn't have the background knowledge or know the history of those rivalries.
If there is a publisher willing to print this garbage, perhaps it's time for me to write my long-conceived book about college football. YEEEEEECCCCCCHHHH!
College football is one of my passions and favorite subjects. However, this is the worst-written, -edited and -researched book I've read in this century, regardless of subject matter. If I could give a zero start rating I would. Perhaps the author thought nobody would care if he sloppily constructed a sports book, i.e., it's a sports book, who cares? Given that many college football fans are college-educated, he erred badly if this were his mindset.
It appears the author wrote this book over a weekend, cutting and pasting from different sources on the web, without subsequent fact-checking or editing for continuity. Did the publisher even read the galleys before printing this garbage?
Maybe this was self-published and not run through a professional editor. I can't conceive of any other way it got published in its present form. My seventh grade English teach would be appalled at the numerous grammatical mistakes, awkward sentence construction and confusing use of pronouns (they) when describing both teams in the same sentence.
The chapter about Lafayette-Lehigh is particularly egregious, including multiple instances of confusing switches in narration when talking about both teams in the same sentence and just bad, bad writing. I had to read several passages over and over to figure out which team he referred to in many places. The author would start talking about one team in a sentence, then switch to the other while referring to both teams as "they" so it appeared there was information directly contradicting points he had just made. It was a very frustrating and disappointing read as a result.
I was SO excited when I found this on the shelf at my local library, just in time for the start of the college football season. I could not be more disappointed in a book about a subject I love and about which it appears I know more than the author. If I ever meet Martin Gitlin, I'll give him a piece of my mind for writing so pathetically and confusingly about such a grand subject.
The chapter on my alma mater contains five blatant factual errors. I discovered many more errors in other chapters even though I didn't have the background knowledge or know the history of those rivalries.
If there is a publisher willing to print this garbage, perhaps it's time for me to write my long-conceived book about college football. YEEEEEECCCCCCHHHH!
Read
November 4, 2014This is a historical reference book for all college football fans! 14 major rivalries are discussed (Iron Bowl included) from their origins to 2013, highlighting coaches and players. The fact box for each event is a great snapshot of the series' records, etc. -Janice
December 27, 2014
I love the characterization of TX/OU (hateful) and FL/GA (large cocktail party- lots of jovial drinking) -- that made me laugh.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews