Tim Grunhard: View from the Center: My Football Life and the Rebirth of Chiefs Kingdom

by Tim Grunhard, Carl Peterson (Foreword)

From one of the toughest players ever to strap on a Chiefs helmet comes a memoir of football life and finding home in the Chiefs Kingdom.

Tim Grunhard always felt he had something to prove. Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Grunhard wasn't initially considered a top recruit. But then-Minnesota head coach Lou Holtz liked what he saw in the young offensive lineman, and made a scholarship offer that carried over when Holtz took the job in South Bend.

Grunhard flourished under the Golden Dome, helping the Fighting Irish to the 1988 national championship before being selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 1990 draft.

Grunhard was a staple of Chiefs football in the 1990s, paving the way for Marty Schottenheimer’s physical running attack on the field and becoming a prominent member of the Kansas City community off the field.

The retired lineman shares behind the scenes stories from Chiefs Kingdom, from the unforgettable Martyball era and playing alongside superstars Joe Montana, Marcus Allen, and Derrick Thomas to the modern-day championship team led by Patrick Mahomes. It is an essential read for all Kansas City faithful.

240 pages, Hardcover

Published September 20, 2022

Reviews

[Matt Woodward · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Literary? Nope. Repetitive? You bet. Didn’t matter. Any book about the games and players of the chiefs from the nineties will receive praise from me. Loved it.

[Thomas Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally you do not hear about the Lineman in football. They are the unspoken heroes who protect the quarterback and open holes for the running backs. About the only time you hear about them is when they get a penalty. This book is about one of those lineman Tim Grunhard who played for the Norte Dame Fighting Irish and ended up being a 2nd round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 90's. He talks about growing up in a competitive family and the life lessons that he gleaned from football and life along the way and how at times they can entwine. One of those life lessons was the understanding that if you are not there, there will be always someone there to take your place. This led to him playing 120 NFL games in a row. This was about the time that Carl Peterson and Marty Schottenheimer were just coming in to help turn the team around. He talks how the organization was invested in giving back to community and encourage all the players to be involved and develop a kinship with the fans where the fans where there for the team and the team was there for the fans. He lists and talks about the 14 guys who had the most impact on his playing career and the 5 games that meant the most. I liked the story when the organization is talking to Lou Holtz about what kind of Player Mr. Grunhard was and he told them that if Tim did not know the playbook by the 2nd or 3rd game of the season that Lou himself would come wash their cars on the 50-yard line of arrowhead stadium. While there is no assumption that this will be a literary masterpiece i did find especially in the first part of the book were the author repeated himself a lot which made it slightly annoying. If you are a fan of football this should be a pretty good read. I would rate this book 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK sports book. KC Chiefs fans of the 1990’s will especially enjoy.

[Keith Zimmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Live the stories. Disjointed in places and repeats quite a lot. Still enjoyed and love Tim Grunhard.