From the school's inaugural season in 1906 through its national championship campaign of 1996, all of the most exciting stories are captured for the very first time in a single book. Included are tales about such great players as 1966 Heisman Trophy winner and current head coach Steve Spurrier and 1996 Heisman quarterback Danny Wuerffel. Fans can read about Florida's early successes in the 1920s, its first bowl team in 1952, the teams of Doug Dickey in the '70s and Galen Hall in the '80s, and, of course, Spurrier's amazing teams of the '90s, including the '96 national champs.
The University of Florida, the state's oldest and largest university, is recognized today as one of the country's most academically diverse public institutions. Though able to trace its history to 1853, the school did not begin its popular football program until the first few years of the 20th century. The program has had its share of scandals and embarrassments over time, but it has also produced two Heisman Trophy winners, a national champion, numerous players drafted into the professional ranks, and a visibility that consistently ranks the team in the top five in the country. Now attracting 85,000 fans to each of its home games, the Gators' football program has become a vital part of the University of Florida. When the team won the national championship in 1996, no one could have predicted such success just 90 years earlier. Fortunately, that fascinating journey through the last century has been captured in great photographs that include formal portraits of teams; action shots on the field; views of "The Swamp"; and snapshots of fans from every decade. These images tell the story of the birth and growth of a football team, a team that has brought enjoyment to millions and national recognition to the University of Florida.
The most beloved and decorated player in Florida history takes fans behind the scenes and into the locker room for one of the greatest eras in the annals of college football. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel, now retired from the NFL, has finally had the time to look back, reminisce, and share his thoughts about that magical time when he was referred to by some "as the greatest passer to ever play college football." Wuerffel gives his many fans a first-time reflection into a variety of topics, including his relationship with Steve Spurrier, his rivalry with Peyton Manning, and how his strong Christian beliefs shaped his football career. Along with award-winning sports columnist and coauthor Mike Bianchi, he replays the big games from each of his four magnificent seasons, talks about the quarterback controversies and quandaries, discusses faith and football, compares Spurrier and Bobby Bowden, and takes readers on a glorious trip that starts with a recruiting visit to Gainesville and culminates with an incredible national championship victory over Florida State in New Orleans. Danny Wuerffel's Tales from the Gator Swamp will take readers on a delightful journey back to the "good old days" of the 1990s, when Spurrier's funning and gunning and cunning style of offense revolutionized the Southeastern Conference. After reading this book, fans will understand why Danny Wuerffel collected as much admiration and as many accolades as perhaps any player in the proud history of college football.
LSU football, a program steeped in tradition, where the fan really does come from the word fanatic, has a rich history, from winning the 1958 national championship to a tremendous surge in the 1980s to its current place as a program back among the nation's elite. Award-winning sportswriter and Baton Rouge television personality Lee Feinswog captures the Louisiana flavor and why they say "There's nothing like Saturday night in Tiger Stadium," with a book filled with stories and anecdotes about football on the Bayou. From the tailgating to the loudest fans, LSU football is a culture unto itself.
This is no ordinary coloring book! With playful drawings, funny scenarios and fun-to-follow instructions, this book is not just for coloring, but for doodling, drawing, imagining and thinking!
From an award-winning sports journalist and college football expert: “A beautifully written mix of memoir and reportage that tracks college ball through fourteen key games, giving depth and meaning to all” (Sports Illustrated), now with a new Afterword about the first ever College Football Playoff. Every Saturday in the fall, it happens: On college campuses, in bars, at gatherings of fervent alumni, millions come together to watch a sport that inspires a uniquely American brand of passion and outrage. This is college football. Since the first contest in 1869, the game has grown from a stratified offshoot of rugby to a ubiquitous part of our national identity. Right now, as college conferences fracture and grow, as amateur athlete status is called into question, as a playoff system threatens to replace big-money bowl games, we’re in the midst of the most dramatic transitional period in the history of the sport. Season of Saturdays examines the evolution of college football, including the stories of iconic coaches like Woody Hayes, Joe Paterno, and Knute Rockne; and programs like the USC Trojans, the Michigan Wolverines, and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Michael Weinreb considers the inherent violence of the game, its early seeds of big-business greed, and its impact on institutions of higher learning. He explains why college football endures, often despite itself. Filtered through journalism and research, as well as the author’s own recollections as a fan, Weinreb celebrates some of the greatest games of all time while revealing their larger significance. “Wry, quirky, fascinating...This surely is one of the most enjoyable books of the college football season...Weinreb wrestles in captivating prose with the violence, hypocrisy, and corruption that are endemic to the sport at its most cutthroat level” (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland).
Former academic now veteran Deputy Sheriff Blevins Bombardi tries to solve a freakish murder of a cryptozoologist seeking the elusive Skunk Ape in a national forest in north central Florida. He is distracted, though, by struggles with his inner demons: heavy drinking, depression, suicidal thoughts, and torment from the recent murder of his wife for which he was responsible. Also, his daughter ran away two years before when her mother was killed and may have joined up with a vagabond cult that moves with the seasons around the country and is now camping nearby in Florida, and he has spent countless hours traveling from state to state trying to find her. In the meantime a category five hurricane rushes toward Florida in the unlikely month of February, the bears and monkeys (an odd piece of Florida history) in the national forest are mysteriously slaughtered by arrows, and politicians and evangelists join forces in a push to privatize all public lands. When a bizarre and perhaps severely mentally disturbed ex-con shows up insisting that Bombardi help him locate a former lover (who may be imaginary), the Deputy Sheriff may have to step far outside the law to restore any order to his off-balance world. All My Sins Remembered joins Ron Cooper’s previous novels as part mystery, part philosophical inquiry, and part tragi-comedy. Winner of a Florida Book Award. Praise for ALL MY SINS REMEMBERED: “Please meet Major Blevins Bombardi, a deputy in the middle-of-nowhere central Florida, a man unknowingly haunted by the first line of Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus. He’s part Spencer from Robert B. Parker’s detective novels, and part TV’s House. All My Sins Remembered is a fast-paced whodunit—or whodunabunchofthings—with a cast of secondary characters worthy of any swamp-dweller chronicle.” —George Singleton, author of Between Wrecks and The Half-Mammals of Dixie “Ron Cooper was born and raised on the edge of the swamp, and that curious upbringing shows through in just the right places. A mystery and love story to boot, All My Sins Remembered is a red-hot ball of iron marvel.” —William P. Baldwin, author of Charles Town and The Hard to Catch Mercy “Cooper combines philosophical reflection with a rural setting, working-class characters, an engaging storyline, and vernacular to create a rare, pleasurable experience for the reader…a lesson in what a good novel of ideas can and should achieve aesthetically.” —American Book Review “Ron Cooper has his own unique voice, and what a marvelous, darkly comic voice it is. He is an immensely talented writer.” —Ron Rash, author of The Risen and Serena “Cooper is a superb writer, and a daring one too.” —Steve Yarbrough, author of The Unmade World and The Realm of Last Chances “A prose style that snaps like garters.” —Fred Chappell, author of I am One of You Forever and Look Back All the Green Valley
