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Giants Among Men: How Robustelli, Huff, Gifford, and the Giants Made New York a Football Town and Changed the NFL |  | Author: Jack Cavanaugh
Publisher: Random House
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy Used: $2.59
as of 9/7/2010 10:17 PDT details
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Seller: cbobooks
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 512983
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 6.5 x 1
ISBN: 1400067170
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.33264097471
EAN: 9781400067176
ASIN: 1400067170
Publication Date: October 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
From the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, when basketball’s Boston Celtics were piecing together a run for the ages, when Montreal’s Canadiens were in the midst of notching a record-setting five straight Stanley Cups, and when the New York Yankees were the once-and-future kings of the diamond, one team boosted the NFL to national prominence as none other: the New York Giants.
In Giants Among Men, Jack Cavanaugh, the acclaimed author of Tunney, transports us to the NFL’s golden age to introduce the close-knit and diverse group that won the heart of a city, helped spread the gospel of pro football across the nation, and recast the NFL as a media colossus.
Central to Cavanaugh’s narrative, and emblematic of the Giants’ bond with their followers, was a hard-nosed future Hall of Fame defensive end named Andy Robustelli. A World War II combat vet, a graduate of Arnold College, undersized and nearing age thirty, Robustelli nevertheless anchored a Giants defensive unit so ferocious that they were the first team to inspire crowds to chant “Dee-fense!” But Robustelli and the Giants were a hit on the gridiron, playing in six NFL Championship Games in eight seasons between 1956 and 1963, the most remarkable aspect of this team was perhaps its relationship to the fans. These Giants were largely composed of ordinary joes who were equally at ease hobnobbing with Gleason and Sinatra at Toots Shor’s as they were rubbing elbows with working-class rooters on the IRT en route to Sunday games in the Bronx–like many of their fans, nearly all Giants players worked second jobs off-season to make ends meet. But the Giants of this era didn’t merely affect the fans’ relationship to the game; they changed the game itself. The team launched the careers of future head-coaching geniuses Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi, as well as those of a galaxy of stars and future Hall-of-Famers including Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Emlen Tunnell, Roosevelt Brown, Y. A. Tittle, Charlie Conerly, Rosie Grier, and Pat Summerall. The Giants teams of this remarkable era were tagged with the soubriquet “Mara Tech” (for the Mara family, who had owned the franchise since its inception)–due to the number of players and coaches who later found success in the boardroom, the broadcast booth, and behind the bench.
Filled with historical and cultural insight and vivid portraits of larger-than-life characters and indispensable everymen, Giants Among Men transcends nostalgia and sports trivia to faithfully depict a watershed era for both football and the American nation.
Praise for Jack Cavanaugh’s Tunney
“Impressively researched and richly detailed . . . a long-overdue portrait of a fascinating fighter.”
–Sports Illustrated
“A winning tale . . . Jack Cavanaugh brings Tunney, Dempsey and the fight scene of the Roaring Twenties back to life.”
–Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“[A] sprawling new biography . . . The boxing scenes are spun gold.”
–The New York Times
“Filled with vivid characters from one of boxing’s most glamorous eras, this tale goes fifteen rounds and delivers plenty of punch.”
–Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“One of the primary elements to the greatness of this biography is Cavanaugh’s ability to plumb the confusing depths of celebrity in America.”
–The Denver Post
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
 NOSTALGIC AT IT'S BEST August 20, 2010
COOL JEWEL (MACEDONIA, OHIO USA)
JACK CAVANAUGH DOES A WONDERFUL JOB WITH THIS BOOK. FROM THE LATE 50'S TO EARLY 60'S THE GIANTS WERE THE POWER IN THE NFL EAST. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THEY LOST 5 CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES. I MUST ADMIT THAT THEIR OPPONENTS CETAINLY WERE POWER HOUSES (COLTS, PACKERS AND BEARS. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A BROWNS FAN AND REALLY ENJOYED THEIR GREAT RIVALRY. THIS BOOK COVERS MANY OF THE GREAT PLAYERS AND COACHES WHO WERE PART OF THAT GREAT ERA. THEIR DEFENSE WAS ONE OF THE ALL TIME BEST. THE FEARSOME FOURSOME ALONG WITH HUFF, TUNNELL AND LYNCH CRUSHED MOST OPPONENTS. THE OFFENSE WAS ALSO POTENT BUT NOT GREAT UNTIL THEY OBTAINED TITTLE AND SHOFNER TO GO WITH GIFFORD, WEBSTER AND ROTE. THE COACHING WAS OUTSTANDING LEAD BY JIM LEE HOWELL AND HIS ASSISTANTS LOMBARDI AND LANDRY. A TEAM OF LEGENDS. THE BOOK REHASHES EACH SEASON ALONG WITH THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. THE PLAYERS AND COACHES INTERVIEWED TAKE THE READER BACK TO THAT ERA FOR A GREAT NOSTALGIC TRIP BACK IN TIME. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ALL GIANTS AND FANS WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH THIS GREAT FOOTBALL ERA. A MUST READ.
Giants Among Men: How Robusteli, Huff, Gifford and the Giants Made New York a Football Town and Changed the NFl January 30, 2010
LLJ
Purchased this book for my husband who has been going to Giant home games for over 40 years with his family. He thought it was great as did his family.
 Giants Among Men June 28, 2009
Philip J. George
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
As an NFL fan growing up in New England as there was no other team playing football in the 1950s i rooted for the NY Football Giants and to read about the boys of my youth brought back many memories and recollections. what an excellent football remembrance.
GIANT'S AMONG MEN May 22, 2009
Paul Ruopp
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
FOR THE LONG TIME NY GIANT FAN IT IS THE BEST DE JA VU READING THERE IS!
A great look at a golden era of the National Football League January 16, 2009
Steve 1967 (Midwest, USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a great book! The 50's and the 60's were the time the NFL really came of age, and many people have forgotten that the Giants were among the best teams of the era. It seems when most people mention teams of the 50's and 60's the Baltimore Colts and the Green Bay Packers are the only two that are referenced. But the Giants played in 5 NFL Championship games between 1956 and 1963. And of course, they played in the "Greatest Game Ever Played" - the 1958 game vs. the Colts that went into overtime and really put the NFL on the map.
What also really makes this book interesting is the personal stories and the personalities that made up the Giants of that era. Author Jack Cavanaugh gives us the background and histories of Giant stars Andy Robustelli, Y.A. Tittle, Charlie Conerly, Frank Gifford, Sam Huff and others to give the reader a feel for what that era was like, living in the NYC area and a feel for the game and lifestyle. These guys were all big stars, especially in NY, but most lived the family life, had kids and worked regular jobs in the off-season. Its hard to imagine today's NFL stars - so many arrogant and selfish - live their lives so humbly; yet its guys like the Giants mentioned above that had a big part in making the NFL what it is today
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
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