Steel City Rivals
Steel City Rivals

Author: Steve Cowens

Publisher: Kings Road Publishing

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 1857828178

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A double-sided flip book exploring the divide between fans of Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday Football rivalry is a common factor anywhere in the world where the sport is played, but some take it far more seriously than others. In Sheffield, the traditional capital of Britain's steel manufacturing industry, there is no greater tribal divide than between fans of Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. The two clubs' supporters berate each other with a venomous passion, their long-running feud intense enough to divide families and workplaces from 1889 to the present day. But why? How does a natural rivalry that, in the 1960s, saw supporters from both clubs going to Hillsborough Stadium (Wednesday's ground) one week, then Bramell Lane (home to United) the next, turn to such enmity? In this history, authors Cowens (a United supporter) and Cronshaw (Wednesday) leaven their insider knowledge and fan anecdotes with a dark humor and bitter fascination with football violence. The struggle for supremacy between red (United) and blue (Wednesday), between "blade" and "owl", is absolute. To the people of Sheffield, Britain's fourth largest city, it’s never just a game.

Steel City Gridirons
Steel City Gridirons

Author: David Finoli

Publisher: Towers Maguire Publishing

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 460

ISBN-13: 9780977042913

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A veritable smorgasbord of pigskin pleasures. Stories from the high schools, the colleges, the pros, and the earliest days of the game as it has been played in Western Pennsylvania. Covers 1890-2004 season. Includes photos, charts, interviews, analysis and opinion.

When Pitt Ruled the Gridiron
When Pitt Ruled the Gridiron

Author: David Finoli

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2014-12-24

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 1476617503

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Between 1929 and 1937, Hall of Fame coach Jock Sutherland took the championship program at the University of Pittsburgh that was built by his mentor Glenn "Pop" Warner, and won five of the nine national championships the school now claims. While a successful period, it was also controversial: Sutherland enjoyed the support of a group of wealthy boosters named the Golden Panthers, who helped him secure the services of the best players western Pennsylvania had to offer. While they made sure the players had what they needed, the school also made sure they had enough money to be comfortable. Critics accused Pitt of employing what amounted to professional athletes in a college sport. These accusations not only embarrassed the school administration, but led to the end of their dynasty and its coach. This book tells the exciting tale of their championship run, and describes how their downfall began what has since been a continual academics versus athletics tug-of-war at the school.

You're Going Home in a F*****g Ambulance
You're Going Home in a F*****g Ambulance

Author: Cass Pennant

Publisher: John Blake

Published: 2022-08-18

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 178946191X

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In his latest book, bestselling author Cass Pennant takes an engaging and unparalleled look at some of the most volatile and violent scenes of fans following their football clubs to have unfolded over the past five decades, and examines the lengths to which many will go to put one over their local rivals. Here is history that also examines everything from the changing face of football violence, to who gets involved - and why. It looks, too, at how the' firms' operate, both home and away, and at the effects of the football establishment's often counter-productive attempts to contain hooliganism on the psychology of supporters. Has the war on hooliganism been successfully stamped out? Can it ever be won? This remarkable and informative book gives a frank examination of football violence to show how different inter-club and inter-regional rivalries have evolved - and features many first-hand accounts of incidents that make chilling reading. It builds up to provide the most comprehensive look behind the match-day madness and the activities of some of British football's most notorious hooligans, to give answers as to why these games are so important to supporters. The history of such infamous 'firms' as the ICF, the Bushwackers, the Headhunters, and the Red Army has never been fully documented . . . until now. You're Going Home in a F*cking Ambulance is an eye-opening study of a problem that refuses to go away, by a writer who knows his subject inside-out.

Pittsburgh’s Greatest Teams
Pittsburgh’s Greatest Teams

Author: David Finoli

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2017-10-30

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 1439663130

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Pittsburgh is synonymous with winning. From the Penguins and Steelers to the Pirates and Panthers, the Steel City knows championships. There must be something special in the water to make Pittsburgh so particularly gifted with its sports teams. The most famous teams in the city's history would most likely be the 1970s Steelers, known as the Steel Curtain for obvious reasons, and the Penguins who raised the Stanley Cup five times. Names such as Lemieux, Crosby, Roethlisberger, Bradshaw, Clemente and Stargell are legends of American sport and members of Pittsburgh's most cherished franchises, but for every sports legend and multi-million dollar franchise, there are a dozen more talented players and long-past teams that have been forgotten to history; the Negro League's Crawford and Homestead Grays are too often overlooked in the city's sports history but were as talented as any team that has played there. Author Dave Finoli ranks the fifty greatest teams that won trophies, brought glory and lifted the hearts of Pittsburgh's devoted sports fans.

Race and Football in America
Race and Football in America

Author: Dawn Knight

Publisher: Red Lightning Books

Published: 2019-07-01

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 1684350689

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The “beautifully written” biography of the first African American player to be drafted by the NFL, “a must read for any sports fan” (Warren Rogan, host of the podcast Sports’ Forgotten Heroes). As the first African American to play quarterback, George Taliaferro was a trailblazer whose athletic prowess earned him accolades throughout his football career. Instrumental in leading Indiana University to an undefeated season and undisputed Big Ten championship in 1945, Taliaferro was a star when many major universities had no black players on their rosters and others were stacking black players behind white starters. George Taliaferro would later rack up impressive statistics while playing professionally for the New York Yanks, Dallas Texans, Baltimore Colts, and Philadelphia Eagles. His athletic prowess did little to prevent him from facing segregation and discrimination on a daily basis, but his popularity as an athlete also gave him a platform. Playing professionally gave Taliaferro more opportunity to use football to fight oppression and to interact with other important trailblazers, like Joe Louis, Nat King Cole, Muhammad Ali, and Congressman John Lewis. Race and Football in America tells Taliaferro’s story and profiles the experiences of other athletes of color who were recognized for their athleticism yet oppressed for their skin color, as they fought (and continue to fight) for equal rights and opportunities. Together these stories provide an insightful portrait of race in America. “A portrait of a young man who overcame the obstacles of racism, the military draft, and the death of his father. His vehicle for climbing over obstacles was athletic prowess and inner strength.” —Jim Baumgartner, College Football Hall of Fame