WotAGuy Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) If you have an interest in old-school football, check out "Instant Replay" by Jerry Kramer. Kramer was a guard on the 1960s-era Green Bay Packers, and the book is a daily diary of the 1966 season. Very interesting to read about football back in the day, to wit: Talking about the league eliminating "pep pills" from the locker rooms a few years before; A new sideline beverage from Florida called "Gatorade" a mixture of water, salt, glucose and "it tastes good" Getting an opportunity to see the "brand new" landmark Arch in St Louis Talking about his blacking out during the second half of a game after a concussion and not missing a subsequent practice A great insight into football back in the day, and the historical references above are amusing. Eye-opening is his reference to black players as "negroes" or "colored", and how black players had to use separate entrances to restaurants down south - Lombardi had the whole team use the back entrance. Also eye-opening are the descriptions of injuries and how archaic the treatment and recognition of them were. Check it out! Any suggestions for other good football books worth checking out? Edited February 4, 2012 by WotAGuy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 (edited) Instant Replay is an all-time fave… one of the first football books I ever read and maybe the earliest season diary-type book written by a pro athlete. Replay was published in 1967, a full three years before Jim Bouton's major league masterpiece, Ball Four. I was steeped in the Lombardi Legend from an early age and love the Packers mythology… going back before Lombardi to Curly Lambeau, Don Hutson, and Clarke Hinkle. Kramer was an outstanding player… a pulling guard in Lombardi's famed power sweep. He was a great player on a team of multiple Hall of Famers. In fact Kramer is considered by many to be the greatest player not in the Hall. He was a 5-time First Team All Pro, a 3-time Pro Bowler, 2-time Super Bowl Champion, and a member of the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team. Kramer also was a nice lens for human interaction, a guy with a good sense of humor who as an author, was pretty willing to share his views and relate some classic anecdotes. Check out Kramer's sequel to Instant Replay published in 1985, Distant Replay. Edited February 4, 2012 by San Jose Bills Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowery4 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Wow SJ had no idea he wasn't in the hall! Injustice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts