Product Description

He was the man who followed The Legend, exiled forever to his fate as the man in the shadow of Woody Hayes. He was fired from Ohio State in a stormy Thanksgiving controversy played out in national headlines--"Money, Sex, and Football: A Tale of Bungling and Chaos, Honor and Revenge," screamed one headline. Yet in terms of tenure, only The Legend himself had a better record at OSU. In his first year, Earle Bruce's Buckeyes narrowly missed the national championship in a one-point Rose Bowl loss. In his nine years, he was the best coach in the Big Ten and--more important--beat Michigan five times. He was a highly-recruited running back who fell in love with Ohio State the first time he saw Buckeye Stadium, which, he thought, must be one of the seven wonders of the world. After a career-ending injury, he began his coaching career in the Ohio high schools, his teams at Mansfield and Sandusky beaten only twelve times in nearly a hundred games. At Massillon, he was never beaten. Tampa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa were all stops in a long and varied career, remarkable for his consistent winning at every level. After he revived the Colorado State program and beat Oregon in the Freedom Bowl, the Associated Press wrote, "Good teams just seem to follow him around." Filled with the recruiting, the behind-the-scenes stories of the big games, the controversies both on and off the field--and the unforgettable presence of Woody--Earle is a story of toughness, honor, and independence. It is, finally, a coach's life at the pinnacle, conforming only to the code of the field itself, where movement is ruled by perseverance, pride, and gritty determination

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1225521 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 191 pages

Customer Reviews

A look at an intense coach
Earle Bruce had the difficult task of following a legend, Woody Hayes. His first season resulted in 11 wins and everyone thought the Buckeyes would become the dynasty of the 1980s. However, parity in college football became more and more of a factor and OSU didn't achieve the heights that many people thought. Still, Bruce was a very successful coach and proved he could at least beat Michigan more often than not. The only disappointment with the book was the fact that it couldn't go more into depth about Bruce's firing. I realize that must be because of legal ramifications but I think Buckeye fans would still love to know the complete story.

Buckeye and Football fans----take note
Fantastic writing with great stories and an insite into college football. Buckeye stories as well as player stories provide perspective to a coaches life.

Great read... can't put it down.