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The Class of Football: Words of Hard-Earned Wisdom from Legends of the Gridiron
Insightful, poignant, inspiring, and witty, The Class of Football is a heartfelt collection of hard-earned wisdom and life's lessons from the Hall-of-Fame induction speeches of the NFL's all-time greatest players. Compiled in conjunction with the Pro Football Hall of Fame, The Class of Football brings together sage advice from legends of the game whose knowledge, leadership, experience, and athletic prowess made them heroes on and off the field. George Halas speaks on history, Alan Page on justice, Gale Sayers on perseverance, John Madden on passion, Steve Largent on mentors, Mike Singletary on childhood, Michael Irvin on family, Marv Levy on philosophy, and Willie Davis and the rest of the great Green Bay Packers on Vince Lombardi. Each Hall of Famer reflects on his life and career and, even more important, addresses how and why he was able to arrive, once and for all, in Canton, Ohio. Motivating and gripping, these wise words from nearly five decades of Hall-of-Fame history will live on long after the cheering.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2008
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May 2, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “AT THE ENTRANCE TO IMMORTALITY… THEY CRY FOR ALL THOSE WHO DID NOT LIVE TO SEE THIS MOMENTOUS OCCASION”
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As a child... and as a young man… I… like countless other boys and men… dreamed of playing pro ball… and making the Hall Of Fame. As I rose through the amateur ranks the competition and camaraderie provided a fuel that nothing else in my life could replace. When a war… and other obstacles in life short circuited my lifelong dream… I wound up in sales… and to me being in sales was the next best thing to being a pro ballplayer. It was competitive… people kept score… no one limited you but yourself… there were awards… plaques… even “Super-Bowl-Sales-Rings”. And it’s for these reasons that even though at first blush… this would seem like a book solely for sports fans… it definitely is not… it is sooo much more… and the target audience is vast. The biggest part of my dream to be a Hall Of Famer… was not for my own glory… it was for the opportunity to thank my Dad on a stage viewed by the whole world. To thank him for not only being the greatest Dad in the world… but for being my best friend. And you know what? This awe inspiring book… culled from the National Football Leagues Hall Of Fame recipients… and their presenter’s induction speeches… are endowed with the same loving sentiments. These big, burly, athletic marvels… thank their Dads… their Moms… their wives… their kids… and the coaches that might have thought they were forgotten from many decades ago. More of these ageless heroes and superstars… break down in tears during their speeches than don’t. The ratio of criers to non-criers… isn’t even close!
Men and women… boys and girls… who dream of sports immortality… are only a fraction of the people who I wholeheartedly recommend this book to. Salespeople of any product… are again only a small percentage of the people who I urge to read this book. Any large company who wants to motivate their employees should buy this book and hand it out at their kickoff meetings. Small companies should hand it out to all their employees because they need to be leaner-and-meaner-and-more-competitive than the bigger guys. Every son or daughter should buy this book for their Father or Mother… and every Father or Mother who didn’t get this gift from their son or daughter… should buy it for them.
These speeches are less about football and more about life… society… and G-d. Mike Singletary said: “I THINK HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT WE NEED TO LET PEOPLE KNOW, LET OUR KIDS KNOW, LET OUR SPOUSES KNOW, HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE TO US. DON’T KEEP IT A SECRET. BECAUSE THAT DAY, MY LIFE BEGAN.” Ollie Matson said: “WHEN A MAN WANTS TO DO SOMETHING AND HE HAS WORKED DILIGENTLY, HONESTLY, AND SINCERELY, AS I DID, YOU CAN’T BEAT HIM. THERE HAS TO BE A WAY.” Mel Blount said: “WE HAD THE KIND OF PARENTS THAT AMERICA IS THIRSTY FOR TODAY, PARENTS WHO ARE COMMITTED, PARENTS WHO WANT TO SEE AND WILL INSTILL IN THEIR KIDS THAT THEY STRIVE TO BE THE BEST.” One of my personal favorite quotes in this “spine-tingling” book was also by Mel: “IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU COME FROM; IT MATTERS WHERE YOU ARE GOING. THAT IS WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUCCESS AND FAILURE.”
I openly admit to the vast GOODREADS that I had to wipe away tears a number of times during this book… as so many passages made me think of what I wish I could say *again* to my departed parents… such as when Dan Marino’s son said: “IN THE SAME WAY THAT MY GRANDFATHER IS MY FATHER’S HERO, MY FATHER HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY HERO, AND IN THE SAME WAY, I HOPE MY CHILDREN WILL LOOK UP TO ME ONE DAY.” At the end of Michael Irvin’s speech he echoed what my Dad told me… and what I told my son: “YOU TELL EVERYONE OR ANYONE THAT HAS EVER DOUBTED, THOUGHT THEY DID NOT MEASURE UP OR WANTED TO QUIT, YOU TELL THEM TO LOOK UP, GET UP, AND DON’T EVER GIVE UP.” Bruce Matthews said: “MY DAD TAUGHT ME ABOUT DOING WHAT WAS RIGHT NO MATTER WHAT THE COST, NEVER QUITTING, AND WHAT IT MEANT TO BE A MAN OF INTEGRITY.”
Ron Mix said: “THE PRESIDENT SAYS, LOVE YOUR COUNTRY. THERE IS A GREAT MUCH TO LOVE ABOUT IT. IT’S A COUNTRY THAT PROTECTS OUR FREEDOM AND ALLOWS US TO RISE AS FAR AS OUR CAPACITY TO WORK AND OUR DESIRES WILL CARRY US.”
I have barely scratched the surface of the poetic… hard scrabble… feelings of the heart… imbedded in this remarkable collection… of what makes the potential of life in this country… not just on the gridiron… so upwardly limitless. I firmly believe that every person… regardless of their station in life… will be touched and inspired by reading this book.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a child... and as a young man… I… like countless other boys and men… dreamed of playing pro ball… and making the Hall Of Fame. As I rose through the amateur ranks the competition and camaraderie provided a fuel that nothing else in my life could replace. When a war… and other obstacles in life short circuited my lifelong dream… I wound up in sales… and to me being in sales was the next best thing to being a pro ballplayer. It was competitive… people kept score… no one limited you but yourself… there were awards… plaques… even “Super-Bowl-Sales-Rings”. And it’s for these reasons that even though at first blush… this would seem like a book solely for sports fans… it definitely is not… it is sooo much more… and the target audience is vast. The biggest part of my dream to be a Hall Of Famer… was not for my own glory… it was for the opportunity to thank my Dad on a stage viewed by the whole world. To thank him for not only being the greatest Dad in the world… but for being my best friend. And you know what? This awe inspiring book… culled from the National Football Leagues Hall Of Fame recipients… and their presenter’s induction speeches… are endowed with the same loving sentiments. These big, burly, athletic marvels… thank their Dads… their Moms… their wives… their kids… and the coaches that might have thought they were forgotten from many decades ago. More of these ageless heroes and superstars… break down in tears during their speeches than don’t. The ratio of criers to non-criers… isn’t even close!
Men and women… boys and girls… who dream of sports immortality… are only a fraction of the people who I wholeheartedly recommend this book to. Salespeople of any product… are again only a small percentage of the people who I urge to read this book. Any large company who wants to motivate their employees should buy this book and hand it out at their kickoff meetings. Small companies should hand it out to all their employees because they need to be leaner-and-meaner-and-more-competitive than the bigger guys. Every son or daughter should buy this book for their Father or Mother… and every Father or Mother who didn’t get this gift from their son or daughter… should buy it for them.
These speeches are less about football and more about life… society… and G-d. Mike Singletary said: “I THINK HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT WE NEED TO LET PEOPLE KNOW, LET OUR KIDS KNOW, LET OUR SPOUSES KNOW, HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE TO US. DON’T KEEP IT A SECRET. BECAUSE THAT DAY, MY LIFE BEGAN.” Ollie Matson said: “WHEN A MAN WANTS TO DO SOMETHING AND HE HAS WORKED DILIGENTLY, HONESTLY, AND SINCERELY, AS I DID, YOU CAN’T BEAT HIM. THERE HAS TO BE A WAY.” Mel Blount said: “WE HAD THE KIND OF PARENTS THAT AMERICA IS THIRSTY FOR TODAY, PARENTS WHO ARE COMMITTED, PARENTS WHO WANT TO SEE AND WILL INSTILL IN THEIR KIDS THAT THEY STRIVE TO BE THE BEST.” One of my personal favorite quotes in this “spine-tingling” book was also by Mel: “IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU COME FROM; IT MATTERS WHERE YOU ARE GOING. THAT IS WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUCCESS AND FAILURE.”
I openly admit to the vast GOODREADS that I had to wipe away tears a number of times during this book… as so many passages made me think of what I wish I could say *again* to my departed parents… such as when Dan Marino’s son said: “IN THE SAME WAY THAT MY GRANDFATHER IS MY FATHER’S HERO, MY FATHER HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY HERO, AND IN THE SAME WAY, I HOPE MY CHILDREN WILL LOOK UP TO ME ONE DAY.” At the end of Michael Irvin’s speech he echoed what my Dad told me… and what I told my son: “YOU TELL EVERYONE OR ANYONE THAT HAS EVER DOUBTED, THOUGHT THEY DID NOT MEASURE UP OR WANTED TO QUIT, YOU TELL THEM TO LOOK UP, GET UP, AND DON’T EVER GIVE UP.” Bruce Matthews said: “MY DAD TAUGHT ME ABOUT DOING WHAT WAS RIGHT NO MATTER WHAT THE COST, NEVER QUITTING, AND WHAT IT MEANT TO BE A MAN OF INTEGRITY.”
Ron Mix said: “THE PRESIDENT SAYS, LOVE YOUR COUNTRY. THERE IS A GREAT MUCH TO LOVE ABOUT IT. IT’S A COUNTRY THAT PROTECTS OUR FREEDOM AND ALLOWS US TO RISE AS FAR AS OUR CAPACITY TO WORK AND OUR DESIRES WILL CARRY US.”
I have barely scratched the surface of the poetic… hard scrabble… feelings of the heart… imbedded in this remarkable collection… of what makes the potential of life in this country… not just on the gridiron… so upwardly limitless. I firmly believe that every person… regardless of their station in life… will be touched and inspired by reading this book.
August 7, 2012
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11322091
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11322091
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews