Football for a Buck
The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
September 19, 2018 -
Formats
-
OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781666570199
- File size: 409443 KB
- Duration: 14:13:00
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
AudioFile Magazine
Narrator Joel Richards has a rich story before him, and he presents it in the perfect tone. That means that on rare occasion he imitates--appropriately--one of the many subjects interviewed. Most of the time he narrates with an interested and incredulous voice, using slight accents here and there. Jeff Pearlman has written a fascinating, comprehensive, and laugh-out-loud history of the short-lived professional football league of the 1980s. A catalyst amid the characters, players, coaches, and others is Donald Trump, one of the league's owners. Pearlman's exhaustive research and clean writing style and Richards's delivery provide a great listen for pro football fans, ardent or casual. M.B. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine -
Publisher's Weekly
Starred review from July 30, 2018
Pearlman (Gunslinger) wonderfully recounts the story of the spring professional football league that enthralled fans, frustrated the NFL, and withered to the dismay of the players who fought for the game they loved. The United States Football League played its first season in 1983 as a cadre of businessmen tried to cash in on the financial boom of televised football. Starring a smorgasbord of luminaries such as Jim Kelly, Herschel Walker, and Steve Young, as well as NFL has-beens and third-tier college stars, the USFL was far more than the joke that the NFL wanted to believe it was. In addition to providing a rough history of the short-lived league, Pearlman illustrates how hubris led to the league’s abrupt demise, as team owners—including a young Donald Trump, who owned the New Jersey Generals—began to believe the spring league could move to the fall and challenge the NFL’s supremacy, resulting in an antimonopoly case that virtually bankrupted the league in 1985 and led to owners abandoning their teams while players jumped to the NFL or faded into obscurity. Pearlman’s hundreds of interviews with former players and coaches shine a light on this almost forgotten league. This is an excellent book for football junkies, but it’s just as enthralling for a general audience.
-
Formats
- OverDrive Listen audiobook
subjects
Languages
- English
Loading
Why is availability limited?
×Availability can change throughout the month based on the library's budget. You can still place a hold on the title, and your hold will be automatically filled as soon as the title is available again.
The Kindle Book format for this title is not supported on:
×Read-along ebook
×The OverDrive Read format of this ebook has professional narration that plays while you read in your browser. Learn more here.