Bleachers by
John Grisham (F GRI) High school all-American
Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for
the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since
those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach
Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable
football dynasty." "Now as Coach Rake's "boys" sit in the bleachers
waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they
replay the old games, relive the old glories, and try to decide once
and for all whether they love Eddie Rake - or hate him. For Neely
Crenshaw, a man who must finally forgive his coach - and himself -
before he can get on with his life, the stakes are especially high.
Dairy Queen
by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (F MUR)
After spending her summer running the family farm and training the
quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old
D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the
reactions of those around her.
Gym Candy by
Carl Deuker (F DEU)
An award-winning author explores the dark corners of the heart of a
young football player as he struggles for success, in this novel
that tackles the issues surrounding the players decision to cross
the line.
Knights of the Hill
Country by Time Tharp (F THA)
In his senior year, high school star linebacker Hampton Greene
finally begins to think for himself and discovers that he might be
interested in more than just football.
Damage by
A.M. Jenkins (F JEN)
Austin Reid is a star of the high school football team and dates the
prettiest girl in the school. Everything would seem to be going
great for him. . . . So why is he suffering from depression?
Raiders Night
by Robert Lipsyte (F LIP)
What's it mean to think team? It means you don't talk team business
with anybody who isn't on the team. It means whatever happens inside
the team stays inside. It means you can only trust a brother Raider.
Any questions? At Nearmont High School, football stars are treated
like royalty, and Matt Rydek has just ascended to the throne. He's
got it all: hot girls, chill friends, plenty of juice to make him
strong, and a winning team poised to go all the way. If he can keep
his eye on the ball now, his future will be set. But when the team
turns on one of its own, should Matt play by Raiders rules, or
should he go long alone?
Roughnecks by
Thomas Cochran (F COC)
Once in a while you get a second chance. For Travis Cody this is one
of those times. His team, the Oil Camp Roughnecks, is facing the
Pineview Pelicans for the state championship. Travis will have
forty-eight minutes head-to-head with rival Jericho Grooms.
Forty-eight minutes to redeem himself for letting Grooms break him
on the play that cost the Roughnecks an undefeated season.
Forty-eight minutes to prove he isn't a quitter.
Second Stringer by Thomas Dygard (F DYG)
When Warren High's star quarterback is injured during the season
opener, Kevin Taylor takes over the position. There's only one
problem: Kevin has been used to watching the plays from the
sidelines, not leading them from the line of scrimmage. Page-turning
sports action and compelling personal drama make this another winner
from popular sports novelist Thomas Dygard.
Shooting Star by
Fredrick McKissack (F MCK)
Jomo Rogers, a naturally talented athlete, starts taking performance
enhancing drugs in order to be an even better high school football
player, but finds his life spinning out of control as his game
improves.
Nonfiction
Friday Night Lights
by H.G. Bissinger (796.332
BIS)
With frankness and compassion, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist H.G.
Bissinger's national bestseller chronicles the dramatic 1988 season
of the Permian Panthers--the winningest high school football team in
Texas history. Friday Night Lights shows how the town's single-minded
devotion to the team shapes the community and inspires (or shatters)
the teenagers who wear the uniforms.
Backyard Brawl:
Inside the Blood Feud Between Texas and Texas A&M
by W.K. Stratton (796.332
STR)
In Backyard Brawl, W. K. Stratton takes you through this
rivalry and its history, covering the years when the game was
postponed because the fans were just too violent, the branding of
UT's beloved steer, Bevo, by a renegade Aggie, the kidnapping of
A&M's beloved Reveille by boisterous UT students, the theft of UT's
cannon, Old Smokey, and its unceremonious dumping into the murky
waters of Austin's Town Lake, and the fistfights that broke out when
celebrating UT fans rushed A&M's nearly sacred Kyle Field after
Texas won the last-ever Southwest Conference title on the Aggies'
home turf. Stratton also relates the more serious side of the
rivalry, particularly the way both schools came together after
tradition turned to tragedy in 1999, when the A&M bonfire collapse
killed twelve students.
The Blind Side:
Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis (B OHE)
The young man at the center of this story will one day be among the
most highly paid athletes in the National Football League. When we
first meet him, he is one of thirteen children by a mother addicted
to crack; he does not know his real name, his father, his birthday,
or any of the things a child might learn in school - such as, say,
how to read or write. Nor has he ever touched a football. What
changes? He takes up football, and school, after a rich,
Evangelical, Republican family plucks him from the mean streets.
Their love is the first great force that alters the world's
perception of the boy, whom they adopt. The second force is the
evolution of professional football itself into a game where the
quarterback must be protected at any cost. Our protagonist turns out
to be the priceless combination of size, speed, and agility
necessary to guard the quarterback's greatest vulnerability: his
blind side.
Fields of Honor
by Sally Pont (796.332
PON)
The Miracle in Miami began when a small group of men returned to
Ohio after World War II. Some were old enough to coach football;
others were young enough to play, going to school on the GI Bill.
There, in a tiny community at Miami University of Ohio, the men, the
character, and the modern game of football were created. Sid Gillman
coached Woody Hayes, who coached Ara Parseghian, coached John Pont,
coached Bo Schembechler, coached Bill Mallory. This is the story of
the big, brawling family of men who formed college football. Written
by John Pont's niece, their interconnections, affections and
rivalries, their innovations, and their weaknesses are all
beautifully portrayed, combining football history and strategy with
family stories. Watching the Super Bowl and focusing on the
million-dollar ads, we yearn for the bravery and the loneliness of
the original players. Come back to a time when the helmets had no
face guards, when the men played without padding, and when strategy
and sportsmanship ruled the gridiron.
That
First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and
Set It on the Path to Glory by John Eisenberg (796.332
EIS)
Draws on research and interviews to chronicle Vince Lombardi's first
season as head coach of the Green Bay Packers professional football
team.
Twelve
Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who
Ruled Texas Football by Jim Dent (796.332
DEN)
Presents the true story of coach Rusty Russell and how he molded a
group of orphans from the Masonic Home in Fort Worth, Texas, into
one of the toughest high school football teams in the state.
Big
Games: College Football's Greatest Rivalries
by Michael Bradley (796.332
BRA)
Examines ten of the most well-known rivalries in college
football--including Harvard and Yale, Michigan and Ohio State, and
Army and Navy--discussing their histories, providing anecdotes about
notable games, and exploring the traditions of each school.
Meat
Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting
by Bruce Feldman (796.332 FEL)
An inside look into the football recruiting process of the
University of Mississippi that provides details on how head coach Ed
Orgeron and his staff recruit top players from high schools across
the country.
Biographies
Deacon Jones, Fran
Tarkenton, Vince Lombardi, Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Walter
Payton, Terry Bradshaw, Terrell Davis, Tom Landry, Marcus Allen, Tim Green, Michael
Irvin, Brett Favre, Jim Thorpe, Doug Williams, Mike Ditka, Tony
Dungy, Tim Tebow
