Product Description

Four decades ago, Gale Sayers allowed his remarkable running ability on the football field to speak for him. Today, Sayers has a powerful and poignant message to pass along not only to athletes, but to everyone, and it's a message straight from his heart. Sayers, who grew up in modest surroundings in Omaha, Nebraska, chose to attend the University of Kansas, where he became an All-American halfback before being selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1965 draft. He later became the youngest man ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, at age 34. The story of Sayers's friendship with former Bears teammate Brian Piccolo, who died of cancer in 1970, was immortalized in the 1971 made-for-TV movie Brian's Song, starring James Caan as Piccolo and Billy Dee Williams as Sayers. The loss of Piccolo helped Sayers put his life in proper perspective. He later realized his serious knee injury was just a minor blip on the radar when it comes to life and death matters. Since leaving pro football, his enduring message to young athletes is to respect the game, give back to the community, and prepare for the future. Those are words he has lived by his entire life, and they make Sayers one of the most compelling sports memoirs in recent years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #285982 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-25
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

From Booklist
In 1971, a made-for-TV movie moved millions to tears: the friendship between two football teammates—both running backs, one white, one black—is put to the test and strengthened when one discovers he has terminal cancer. The movie was Brian's Song, and the story was real. The cancer victim was Chicago Bear Brian Piccolo, and his teammate was Gale Sayers, a Hall-of-Famer who would become known as one of the best running backs of all time. In this as-told-to autobiography, Sayers tells his own story, paying modest homage to his own career while looking back at professional football at a time when every player wasn't a millionaire. Without sounding preachy, Sayers imparts his message that players ought to respect the game, give back to the community, and have a plan for postfootball life, and he candidly expresses his opinion that many of today's players fall short on all of these scores. An appendix in which he assembles his All-Time Bears Team is sure to give Chicago fans something to talk about. An enjoyable memoir from one of the class acts of the NFL. Wilkens, Mary Frances

From the Inside Flap
The images still capture the imagination--Gale Sayers, the Kansas Comet, streaking down the sidelines en route to another touchdown as an All-American at Kansas. Hurtling past would-be tacklers as the electrifying running back of the Chicago Bears. Forming a bond with teammate Brian Piccolo that would become one of the most famous friendships in sports history.

In just seven remarkable seasons, Gale Sayers created an on-the-field legacy that made him the youngest man ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A knee injury early on could have taken him out of football, but instead Sayers persevered, setting records for rushing yardage and field goal attempts. A second knee injury in 1970 eventually forced the man who could seemingly outrun and outmaneuver any player to retire.

Although he was out of the game, Sayers was not out of opportunities, and went on to earn a masters degree, start his own computer company, and found the Gale Sayers Center, among other philanthropic ventures. More than three decades after his playing career ended, Gale Sayers continues to expand upon his standing as a true sports icon.

Written in collaboration with Chicago Tribune columnist Fred Mitchell, Sayers gives new insight into what has motivated Gale on and off the field, his friendship with Brian Piccolo, and his thoughts on football, past and present.

Detailing his playing days and punctuated by his enduring message to young athletes--respect the game, give back to the community, and prepare for the future--Sayers is one of the most compelling sports memoirs to come along in recent years. The words, memories, and personal photos of one of the NFL's all-time greatest players make Sayers a must-read for any serious football fan.

About the Author
Fred Mitchell's athletic claim to fame is that he scored more points in college than Gale Sayers--166 to 122. It's just that Mitchell's points came in a less spectacular manner as a kicker for Wittenberg University in the late 1960s. Mitchell has made a bigger name for himself chronicling the feats of other athletes over the past 33 years as a sportswriter covering the Chicago Bears, Cubs, and Bulls for the Chicago Tribune. Now the author of the "Around Town" column in the Tribune's sports section, Mitchell has written seven other books, including the nationally acclaimed Playing Through with Earl and Tiger Woods. Mitchell, who set an NCAA college division career scoring record at Wittenberg, is a member of the school's athletic Hall of Fame. He received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from his alma mater in 2000. Also a member of the American Football Association minor league football Hall of Fame, Mitchell lives in Chicago with his wife Kim and son Cameron.

Customer Reviews

A Poorly Written Autobiography
This book does not flow in chronological order, but it eventually covers all the necessary bases. Sayers leaves no holds barred in sharing his opinions on opportunites for minorities in sports and business, the war in Iraq, and the showboating that is prevalent in today's NFL.

The last 30 pages or so are devoted to brief career summaries of Sayers' All-Time Chicago Bears team, which contained lots of whiny remarks by the stars of yesterday. This is a book I should have checked out at the library.

football like it oughta be...
awesome...buy this book if you are a fan of old time football, back when men were men...it made me nostalgic for the way the game used to be played...no football fan will be disappointed by this book...plus, I read in the paper that all proceeds of sayers' book sales are going to the gayle sayers center, which is an after-school care program for Chicago's underprivileged youth...to me, that's unselfishness seldom seen in athletes today...

Informative and Insightful
I recently purchased the book for my husband, but I ended up reading it when he wouldn't stop talking about it. It was well written and really captured what goes on behind the scenes. It's a great gift for all the football fans in your life!