The glory game frank gifford

Suffice it to say that Pop Warner parents will want to armor their kids from head to toe upon reading it. Page Count: Publisher: Random House. Review Posted Online: Sept. More by Jeanne Marie Laskas. Please sign up to continue. Almost there! Reader Writer Industry Professional. Send me weekly book recommendations and inside scoop. Keep me logged in. Sign in using your Kirkus account Sign in Keep me logged in. Need Help?

Contact us: or email customercare kirkus. Frank partook of the electronic landscape for gossip long before TMZ made it an art form. And even that hotel room setup adds to the luster. Suzen did a Playboy spread and you had to sympathize with Frank's fall to temptation.

Kathie Lee Gifford, Frank's wife and a powerful figure in daytime TV, struggled to keep the marriage to Frank going despite the massive media circus and the marriage continues to the present day. Frank is now 83 years old. But Frank should not be forgotten. The son of an oilfield worker, Gifford did not have the grades to get accepted to USC. He eventually made it there. His strong delivery as a TV announcer proves he had no lack of intelligence. Gifford had all the right stuff, really proved himself a natural for the Big Apple spotlight.

His book, The Glory Game, continues in the vein of grace and modesty. He acknowledges David Halberstram would have been the man to capture the NFL championship game and all of the sociological implications-- the integration of American life through television and the rise of Frank's favorite sport.

Halberstram died in a car accident while pursuing the subject of football's rise from the championship game. But Frank's version makes a damn fine book, smooth and effortless as a crafty running back cutting through the line.

Oct 25, Kyle Winston rated it it was amazing. The New York Giants-Baltimore Colts National Football League Championship game is considered to be "the Greatest game ever played", being the first professional football game in the championship to go into sudden death overtime.

Hosted in Yankee Stadium, it housed more that 64, fans that went on to watch the Colts beat the Giants Frank Gifford writes this book, with help from sports writes Peter Richmond, as a halfback from the Giants who started and played in that game.

Gifford The New York Giants-Baltimore Colts National Football League Championship game is considered to be "the Greatest game ever played", being the first professional football game in the championship to go into sudden death overtime. Gifford takes the game and expands it beyond football, he goes on to explain what New York was like in those days, and what is was like playing football in New York City. Also he compares how people played back then, to how they play today, and uses examples such as celebrations and small things like when to call timeouts, spiking the ball, and penalty rules.

This book is ironic at times, because Gifford explains that he felt the game did not get interesting or that exciting until the fourth quarter, and overtime of course. Gifford also goes on to explain how and why the Colts deserved to win that game, and part of the reason the Giants lost was due to Gifford's two lost fumbles, that proved crucial that lead to Baltimore's scores. In the end, the author and his team lost of course, but because of what it consisted of, the time it was in, and the way people acted back then is what makes this game in this book, "The greatest game ever played".

This novel does a great job of not only explaining what went on that day of December 28, beyond the game, as well as explaining the players that Frank Gifford played with. The only fault with this novel, if it could even ever be considered that is the fact that Gifford has a pretty big bias in regards on how he tells the game and story, but how can he not because he played in that game and represented the New York Giants.

This serves as a small problem though because it is difficult to find a non-fiction novel or any type of story that does not have a bias, but it is a bias that proves the point it intends to convey. Lastly, with the help of Peter Richmond, Frank Gifford proves that in his eyes this was a great game and the way he describes it reassures his position. Apparently, Gifford was not the first player on that New York Giants team that had an idea to write about it.

Due to particular events and circumstances, Frank Gifford took over that idea and expressed their point. It has no official moral or idea meant to convey, but it does continue to enforce that this is the best football game ever. Jan 04, Tom Gase rated it liked it. I picked up this book on the championship game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants when I saw it in the bargain section. I was interested in it because it was suppossed to be author David Halberstam's last book, but he was involved in a fatal car accident in Menlo Park, CA while doing research for it.

In the very first chapter, Gifford tell I picked up this book on the championship game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants when I saw it in the bargain section. In the very first chapter, Gifford tells the reader that he is not Halberstam, and to not expect a very well-written book as good as Halberstam was producing. This is true. Gifford doesn't do too bad of a job, especially with his research, but the problem with this book was his bias.

Since Gifford was a player in the game, he doesn't write fairly for both sides of this great contest that would later be called the birth of the NFL as we know it.

Gifford often brings up "what ifs" about his team, the Giants. What if Gifford didn't fumble twice in the game, what if some of the Giants players were healtier, what if a crucial first down was given to the Giants, etc.

Well, what about the Colts? Why aren't they given any "what ifs"? If you have no idea who won this great game, the first televised game of NFL action ever, then this is a decent read. The one thing I really DID like about this book, was Gifford describing the life and times of the players when the game took place. Gifford's description of NY in was really good. I also liked Gifford's take on how nobody spiked the ball or did crazy celebrations back in his playing days.

Nov 24, Jan rated it really liked it. I am a little embarrassed to be giving this book four stars, because the story doesn't really quite flow and the ghostwriting is poor.

It suffers too much from the "old sports legend tells a few stories and no one really bothers to cobble those stories together. However, the stories that Gifford told actually worked for me.

This is a guy who is too old to have been a hero to my dad, talking about life becoming a celebrity from nothing, about how pro football really was a bunch of guys living from paycheck to paycheck who would get into a fight before the championship game about whether an injured player would get a share or not.

The picture he paints is amazing, and while I'm sorry the writing didn't hold up, because it read depressingly like a "jottings" column from a deadline sports columnist for a dying newspaper, the anecdotes and the sense of place that Gifford provides really made an impression of what it meant to be a member of the New York Giants or the Baltimore Colts in the s. So while I stand by my original assessment, at least I feel more like a jerk for actually saying so.

May 15, John Orman rated it really liked it. Frank Gifford's memoir of that game is not as exciting as being there, or even watching it on TV, but it is mighty close! The first title game to ever go into sudden-death overtime. The inside story is told by MVP and Hall of Famer Frank Gifford, who followed up his playing days with a long time career as a sports commentator, most notably on Monday Night Football.

That game was often referred to as "the greatest game ever played"--and it sure sounds like it when reading this book! Jun 18, Kristy K rated it liked it Shelves: biography-memoir , sports , 1st-person-pov. It was a very interesting and informative, albeit long and overly detailed read. The book focuses on the NFL championship game. The look into the players' lives and football culture as whole enlightens you to a world of football so different than today's.

However, I felt that the book could have been condensed. There is almost a play by play breakdown of each quarter and POV: 1st Person Genre: Autobiographical, Sports I started reading this book a while a go and just now got to finishing it. There is almost a play by play breakdown of each quarter and while certain plays effected and changed the course of the game, I felt the complete retelling was unnecessary. Sep 09, Nathan Cordero rated it liked it. This is a good book about the NFL championship game.

This game is considered to be the greatest football game ever played. Author Frank Gifford who really played in this game described well how the game went and each player in it. For those who saw the game they witnessed a great game and something to remember. The Colts ended up defeating the Giants It was the first game in NFL history to have an overtime. The game took place in Yankee Stadium. Gifford did a good job telling you about the Giant team that he played on.

What I disliked was that the book started a little slow and took time to get into the actual game. May 24, charlie rated it really liked it. This is not a brilliant book - but there is something overwhelmingly charming about Frank Gifford's narration. As a broadcaster, he was pretty "Jack Webb", but here we hear the passion he felt for the game of football, and the guys he shared the field with. I have heard about the "greatest game ever played' for my whole life - but knew very little about it - this book told me the whole story and put everything in perspective.

Jan 12, Catherine rated it it was ok. I'm glad that I had read the other book first. Best gave a more balanced account of the players, coaches and the game. Gifford focused on the Giants, as he should have, and gave a great account of all the clubs and bars in NY during the late 50's. I would have preferred less alcohol and more football. Mar 16, patrick Lorelli rated it really liked it Shelves: sports-biography.

Good story about the 58 title game from the giants side. Liked how Frank Gifford talked to players from both teams and his honesty in the book. Anyone who likes the history of pro football this is a good book to start. Mar 17, Elena rated it liked it. Very interesting story of the first NFL game to go into overtime.

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