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Gift for Ron: Friendship and Sacrifice On and Off the Gridiron
A Brian’s Song for a new generation … the moving story of a rare friendship between two pro football stars.
- GenresFootball
240 pages, Paperback
First published November 3, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 25, 2026
Everson Walls and Ron Springs are friends who struggled through work life together, with families and setbacks and victories. Their friendship endured for almost 30 years.
Ron had type II diabetes that began to destroy his body after his NFL career was finished. He eventually lost his right foot, his big and middle toe on his left foot, his hands drew in, withered and became stiff, his eyes were affected, because his kidneys, organs, and extremities were being destroyed by the sugar in his blood. His kidneys could no longer filter this poison from his blood. Resulted in dialysis for three years. Everson became a living kidney donor for his friend.
A very touching story about two men that became friends during their years with the Dallas Cowboys and remained so throughout their adult lives.
Mr Everson Walls, you did well and extended Ron’s life with your gracious gift. As you know, a gift is freely given without expectation of something in return. My college roommate donated a kidney to his brother in law five years ago and both are doing great. He is on the board of KDA, Kidney Donor Athletes now trying to educate and help others with living donor kidney transplants. I am very proud of him and you.
Ron had type II diabetes that began to destroy his body after his NFL career was finished. He eventually lost his right foot, his big and middle toe on his left foot, his hands drew in, withered and became stiff, his eyes were affected, because his kidneys, organs, and extremities were being destroyed by the sugar in his blood. His kidneys could no longer filter this poison from his blood. Resulted in dialysis for three years. Everson became a living kidney donor for his friend.
A very touching story about two men that became friends during their years with the Dallas Cowboys and remained so throughout their adult lives.
Mr Everson Walls, you did well and extended Ron’s life with your gracious gift. As you know, a gift is freely given without expectation of something in return. My college roommate donated a kidney to his brother in law five years ago and both are doing great. He is on the board of KDA, Kidney Donor Athletes now trying to educate and help others with living donor kidney transplants. I am very proud of him and you.
July 7, 2017
see this and a hundred other organ donation/transplant related books - many with reviews - at http://www.trioweb.org/resources/book...
July 24, 2011
Not the most well written book of all time, but let's be honest... for once, that wasn't the most important part of the book. Everson Walls is a football player after all, not a novelist, and it's he essence of this book that gives it its true meaning. And what a story. A tale of friendship and the ultimate personal sacrifice.....the ultimate act of selflessness....Everson tried to save his friend the only wy he could....by donating his kidney to him. But it's so much more than that. As he takes you on the twists and turns of his life, his background, his football career....all the moments and lessons and experiences that led him to end up making the bold and brave decision that he made. My only issue with his telling was that at times it veered off the path of him and ron and into a bit of an autobiography of his own career, which while immensely interesting to me as a Dallas Cowboys fan (two examples, his somewhat scathing views of Tom Landry at times, and also of Gil Brant and Tex Schramm and how they handled player contracts and the strike.....not the most favorable light cast on any of them) I'm not so sure that it really fit into the overall context of the story. But then again, who am I to tell a person how to write a story of their own life? Anyway, obviously this book was written before the terribly sad ending that we all know today.... that Ron didn't make it out of the coma, and that he passed away last year... so the book ends a bit more optimistically than it probably would have had it been written today. And as cruel and as unfair and sad as that harsh reality of life was and remains today, it can not.....DOES NOT.....over shadow what a wonderful thing that Everson Walls did for Ron Springs and his family, and all the amazing awareness for organ donation that their story inspired, both through the press coverage and through the forming of their foundation. A foundation I look forward to supporting. I know he has no regrets, and I wouldn't have them either. Everson Walls is a special person. A true blessing to human kind. I wish we had more like him.
June 22, 2012
Loved looking back at the time when I was craziest about the Cowboys. It's really interesting to see the inner workings of this team that I worshiped.
A little more self-serving than I expected, but overall a decent read.
A little more self-serving than I expected, but overall a decent read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews