Mad Ducks and Bears

Mad Ducks and Bears
Author: George Plimpton
Publisher: Little, Brown
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2016-04-26
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 031632647X

George Plimpton's follow-up to Paper Lion, one of his personal favorites among his classic books -- repackaged and including a foreword from Steve Almond and never-before-seen content from the Plimpton archives. In Mad Ducks and Bears, George Plimpton's engaging companion to Paper Lion, Plimpton focuses on two of the most entertaining and roguish linemen and former teammates -- Alex Karras ("Mad Ducks") and John Gordy ("Bears"), both of whom went on to achieve brilliant post-football success. A more reflective, less madcap book than Plimpton's other work, Mad Ducks and Bears is no less truthful and searching. In this fond exploration of football's values and follies, Plimpton rejoins his two teammates to discuss their careers in this brutal but captivating game. The result is an astute exploration into the fascinating lives and motivations of the players at home, in the locker room, and on the field.

Mad Ducks and Bears

Mad Ducks and Bears
Author: George Plimpton
Publisher:
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2016
Genre: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
ISBN: 9780316379458

George Plimpton's follow-up to Paper Lion, one of his personal favorites among his classic books-now repackaged and including a foreword from Steve Almond and never-before-seen content from the Plimpton archives. In MAD DUCKS AND BEARS, George Plimpton's engaging companion to Paper Lion, Plimpton focuses on two of the most entertaining and roguish linemen and former teammates-Alex Karras ("Mad Ducks") and John Gordy ("Bears"), both of whom went on to achieve brilliant post-football success. A more reflective, less madcap book than Plimpton's other work, MAD DUCKS AND BEARS is no less truthful and searching. In this fond exploration of football's values and follies, Plimpton rejoins his two teammates to discuss their careers in this brutal but captivating game. The result is an astute exploration into the fascinating lives and motivations of the players at home, in the locker room, and on the field.

The Best of Plimpton

The Best of Plimpton
Author: George Plimpton
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Total Pages: 396
Release: 1990
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780871135032

Collects profiles, essays, articles, and short stories by the American sportswriter.

Paper Lion

Paper Lion
Author: George Plimpton
Publisher: Little, Brown
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2016-04-26
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0316284432

The book that made a legend -- and captures America's sport in detail that's never been matched, featuring a foreword by Nicholas Dawidoff and never-before-seen content from the Plimpton Archives. George Plimpton was perhaps best known for Paper Lion, the book that set the bar for participatory sports journalism. With his characteristic wit, Plimpton recounts his experiences in talking his way into training camp with the Detroit Lions, practicing with the team, and taking snaps behind center. His breezy style captures the pressures and tensions rookies confront, the hijinks that pervade when sixty high-strung guys live together in close quarters, and a host of football rites and rituals. One of the funniest and most insightful books ever written on football, Paper Lion is a classic look at the gridiron game and a book The Wall Street Journal calls "a continuous feast...The best book ever about football -- or anything!"

NFL 1965

NFL 1965
Author: David Kaiser
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2021-11-09
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1476686459

In the mid-1960s, when pro football eclipsed baseball as America's leading spectator sport, the NFL had the most exciting season in its history. The Eastern Conference Cleveland Browns were the champions in 1965 yet most of the action was in the Western Conference, where the reigning Baltimore Colts contended with the formidable Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. All three teams played two games apiece against the Detroit Lions, a power earlier in the decade, and the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams, who were becoming dominant in the league. In those days the NFL played a wide-open game--long touchdown passes, fumbles and interceptions kept fans on the edges of their seats through seven games each weekend. The league's deep bench included such players as Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas, Tom Matte, Bart Starr, Paul Hornung and Dave Robinson, rookies Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus, and key coaches Don Shula, Vince Lombardi and George Halas. A fantastic final weekend led to a one-game playoff for the right to face the Browns for the championship. Drawing on interviews with surviving players and executives, this book recounts the thrilling drama of the '65 season and places it in the broader context of NFL history.

Just Ducks!

Just Ducks!
Author: Nicola Davies
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2021-02-23
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1536221619

"Pitch-perfect throughout, enthusiastic and confident. . . . Positively ducky all around." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) The young girl in this story may live in the city, but outside her window there’s a river full of mallard ducks! She hears them as soon as she wakes up, and on the way to school she sees them upside down bobbing for food. Interspersed with fun facts, her enthusiastic commentary about her feathered neighbors — what they look like, how they behave, where they nest, where they sleep — pairs swimmingly with cheerful watercolor illustrations. Back matter includes an index and a note about ducks.

The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners

The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners
Author: Stan Berenstain
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 34
Release: 1985-08-17
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0394873335

This classic Berenstain Bears story is a perfect way to teach children about the importance of good manners! Come for a visit in Bear Country with this classic First Time Book® from Stan and Jan Berenstain. Mama has noticed that Papa, Brother, and Sister have not been using their good manners, so now it’s up to her to help get back on track. Includes over 50 bonus stickers!

When Lions Were Kings

When Lions Were Kings
Author: Richard Bak
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2020-06-10
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0814334288

An in-depth look at one of the most storied dynasties in Detroit sports history. During the 1950s, the Detroit Lions were one of the most glamorous and successful teams in the National Football League, winning championships in 1952, 1953, and 1957, and regularly playing before packed houses at Briggs Stadium. In When Lions Were Kings: The Detroit Lions and the Fabulous Fifties, journalist and sports historian Richard Bak blends a deeply researched and richly written narrative with many rare color images from the decade, re-creating a time when the Motor City and its gridiron heroes were riding high in the saddle. Representing a city at its postwar peak of population and influence, coach Raymond "Buddy" Parker and such players as Les Bingaman, Bob "Hunchy" Hoernschemeyer, Yale Lary, Joe Schmidt, Jack Christiansen, Jim Doran, Lou Creekmur, and Leon Hart helped sell the game to a country discovering the joys of watching televised football on Sunday afternoons and Thanksgiving Day. Quarterback Bobby Layne and halfback Doak Walker were celebrity athletes during this golden age of pro football—a decade when the game first started to replace its slower-paced cousin, baseball, as the national pastime. While the quietly modest Walker was a darling of Madison Avenue advertisers, the swaggering Layne became the first NFL player ever to grace the cover of Timemagazine. Along with detailed profiles of the players, coaches, and games that defined the Lions' only dynastic era, Bak explores such varied topics as the team's languid approach to desegregation, the wild popularity of bubble gum trading cards, and the staggering physical cost players of the period have suffered in retirement. When Lions Were Kingsis a lively portrait of the golden age of professional football in Detroit that will delight younger fans and inform die-hard followers of one of the NFL's oldest franchises.