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A Fire to Win: The Life and Times of Woody Hayes
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Product Description
First and foremost, Woody Hayes was a coach---and his achievements are stunning. While at Ohio State, he won five national titles, and thirteen Big Ten Conference championships, made eight Rose Bowl appearances, and earned two national Coach of the Year awards. Moreover, Hayes’s lifetime coaching record, 238--72--10, puts him in the first rank of college coaching immortals. No other coach won more games in a shorter period.
Countless interviews of former players, assistant coaches, and friends shape the image of Hayes and his career, which spanned the mid-1940s to the late 1970s during a tremendous period of change in American society. A Fire to Win is an honest and revealing biography of Hayes, a man who ranks in the pantheon of football coaches.
---The Columbus Dispatch
“A sympathetic yet evenhanded examination of a modern coaching giant.”
---Booklist
“Insightful and comprehensive biography.”
---The New York Sun
“Contradictions, of course, are what make Hayes fascinating. And Lombardo delves into those contradictions with a cell biologist’s eye for detail and a landscape painter’s eye for perspective.”
---Chicago Tribune
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #119214 in Books
- Published on: 2006-09-19
- Released on: 2006-09-19
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 304 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Legendary Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes died in 1987, but his legacy lives on. Lombardo presents Hayes' youth in rural Ohio as the cornerstone of the values that would guide him all his life. Education was critical to Hayes' family, and it was the call to teaching that eventually led to coaching. Lombardo follows Hayes' career from his first high-school job--from which he was dismissed for being abusive to his players--to small Denison University to Miami of Ohio and finally to Ohio State. Hayes' volatile, on-field personality--in his last collegiate game, he punched an opposing player, leading to his almost immediate dismissal--stood in sharp contrast to the scholarly, empathetic, and generous man who was revered by players and associates. Lombardo explores these contradictions without delivering any conclusions, but even Hayes seemed unable to control his demons, let alone understand them. Typical of sports biographies, there's a bit too much then-they-played narrative, but on balance, this is a sympathetic yet evenhanded examination of a modern coaching giant. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the Author
John Lombardo, a sportswriter based in Chicago, is the author of Raiders Forever: Stars of the NFL’s Most Colorful Team Recall Their Glory Days. Lombardo lives in Winnetka, Illinois, with his wife and two daughters.
Customer Reviews
Mediocre
I received the book for Christmas and read it in the span of about 4 hours. It sheds little new light on an enigmatic man who arguably was one of the best coaches in college football. I was very disappointed with the editing; too many grammatical and typographical errors. In some cases nouns and pronouns were in contrast and sentences did not have subjects or predicates. Also, the author designated Miami University (Oxford, OH) teams as the Indians. Prior to changing the name to the RedHawks, Miami's teams were called the Redskins for decades. I have not found one reference to their being called the Indians. A volume on such a noteworthy figure should strive for accuracy.
Good book but not great
I am an Ohio State Buckeye Football fan and found the book to be interesting, but not in the top 20% of books that I've read. There are a few other books about Woody, but I have not read them. The author could have interviewed more former players and colleagues of Woody. Most interesting is how Woody originally got the Buckeye head coaching job and the discussion of his life immediately after his firing.
A broad brush look at Coach Hayes
Mr. Lombardo seems intent on being overly objective in his book by always finding a way to knock Woody even when paying him compliments. Some examples:
1. Woody was no racist and had black players on the team...but no black QB came aboard until well after other Big 10 teams. (So what? Does that dismiss the civil rights work he supported? Why does that need to be mentioned multiple times?)
2. Woody was well read and very knowledgable about topics but was not a scholar because he didn't deeply explore areas that did not fit his political/cultural beliefs. (So he wanted Woody to read Marx and Mao? Give me a break with this.)
I scatched my head at these and related passages. The book ends strong with Lombardo quoting from various players and coaches about the legacy of this great man and coach.
However if you are a true Buckeye fan I caution you against expecting too much here. The author has consolidated information from various sources but has not effectively added enough of his own input to truly paint a vivid picture of the coach (for my taste).
Perhaps I'm too spoiled by McCullough and Kearns-Goodwin biographies. While Woody doesn't merit their attention, Mr. Lombardo's effort does not reach their standards of taking the primary sources and writing a text that leaves you thinking you've met the man in the flesh. I wish I had.
