War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest
By (Author) Michael Rosenberg
Little, Brown & Company
Grand Central Publishing
3rd December 2009
United States
General
Non Fiction
Sporting events and management
Political activism / Political engagement
796.332097309046
Paperback
384
300g
Ohio state football coach Woody Hayes had such pronounced hatred for his rival, Michigan, he refused to buy gas in the state. In Ohio, this made him a hero but in 1969, when his protege Bo Schembechler took over Michigan's coaching job, Hayes' hatred would fuel the most bitter and legendary rivalry in sports. It lasted 10 years and led to the coach's tragic, televised downfall. Rosenberg follows this rivalry as it progressed and intensified on and off the field. Not only does he bring behind-the-scenes insight into Big 10 football in the Hayes era but he also provides unique cultural perspective. He sees Hayes' downfall not just as the end of an era but as the death of a generation. Hayes' violent temper couldn't survive in the media-dominated 70's and Schembechler and Michigan's pioneering marketing machine thrived. For theatre, tension and cultural resonance, no other coach-to-coach relationship in the history of American sports can match Hayes and Schembechler - they built Hall-of-Fame careers both with and against each other. Rosenberg brings new information, enlightening reportage, and impeccable writing to this incredible American story.
MICHAEL ROSENBERG is a sports columnist for the Detroit Free Press as well as a featured columnist at foxsports.com, making him one of the best-read sports writers in the country. Rosenberg's work appears in the 2005 edition of Best American Sports Writing and he has received numerous awards for his work.