Walter J. Harvey - Footballs Most Wanted™ II: The Top 10 Book of More Bruising Backs, Savage Sacks, and Gridiron Oddities

Footballs Most Wanted II

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Footballs Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of the Great Games Outrageous Characters, Fortunate Fumbles, and Other Oddities, Floyd Conner

The Top 10 Book of More Bruising Backs, Savage Sacks, and Gridiron Oddities

Walter Harvey

Copyright 2006 by Potomac Books, Inc.

Published in the United States by Potomac Books, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Harvey, Walter, 1967

Footballs most wanted II : the top 10 book of more bruising backs, savage sacks, and gridiron oddities / by Walter Harvey.1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-57488-986-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. FootballMiscellanea. 2. Football playersAnecdotes. I. Title: Footballs most wanted 2. II. Title: Footballs most wanted two. III. Title.

GV950.5H37 2006
796.332dc22

2005028987

ISBN 1-57488-986-9

(alk. paper)

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute Z39-48 Standard.

Potomac Books, Inc.
22841 Quicksilver Drive
Dulles, Virginia 20166

First Edition

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Great rookie/freshman seasons

Famous names in American football

Milestone football numbers

Where football gets a lot of its expressions

Teams that challenged the 1972 Dolphins perfect season

Players the veterans called veterans

The rawest of raw coaches

Finding success in their second city

The greatest moments in the snow

Retired jerseys

The great football stadiums

From a tiny college to NFL stardom

Great end zone celebrations

Guys who just did not work out

College greatness does not equate to pro success

Late-round gems in the NFL draft

Nine greatand one not so greatfootball streaks

Players who inspire chants from the home crowd

The most-played college football rivalries

Lopsided college rivalries

Great moments of Monday Night Football

From the NCAA to NFL success

They should have stayed in school

NFL coaches returning to the college sidelines

Coaches who have taken the most colleges to bowl games

Arent these games supposed to be competitive?

Realwell, real obscurecollege bowl games

Cant anybody here figure out how to crown a national champion?

They lost to whom?

The NFLs top interceptors

The best college teams square off

Great football on the silver screen

The entire film should have been left on the cutting room floor

Fantastic football books

Famous wives/girlfriends

Football players as pitchmen

Long plays in NFL history

Coaches replaced by the all-time greats

Taking over when the great ones step down

What do they call them?

Players who own other teams

Great games that went beyond sixty minutes

High-scoring hijinks

Stadiums that served as homes away from home

Great come-from-behind wins

Twins in the NFL

Another selection of gridiron digits

College rivalry trophies

Wild things happen on Wild Card Weekend

College QBs who played elsewhere as pros

Memorable moments on Thanksgiving

Famous Hail Mary finishes

Special thanks go to Kevin Cuddihy, sports fan, editor extraordinaire, and really good guy. Without his guidance and suggestions, there would probably not be a Footballs Most Wanted II. A shout out is also due to the entire team at Potomac Books. I only wrote it they turned it into a book. Thanks also to Steve Herd, German Fragoso, Joe Bondi, Pete Woolley, Chris Roach, Bill Wingertzahn, and the immortal Chris Majkowski. Every morning on our email chains you leave me amused, enlightened, and at times befuddled. Plus youre the only group of people I know who can turn a discussion from Nikki Sixx to Thomas Pynchon in just six easy steps.

Lastly, thanks go to my beautiful wife, Larissa. When youre a Jets fan, like me, you never think good luck is on your side. But thanks to you, Larissa, I feel like Ive won the Super Bowl every day. It would take pages to express how much you mean to me, so Ill just say this: when I was so messed up, and had opera in my head, your love was the light bulb hanging over my bed. Thanks for lighting my way.

The popularity of football in America continues to grow and grow. The Super Bowl is the most-watched television program every year, and networks are falling over themselves trying to get a piece of the NFL television package. On the college side, today we have the BCS, which at least makes an effort to crown a legitimate national champion, and we still have the ever-popular Heisman Trophy, although the winners of that award dont always experience professional success.

Its not just on the field where football is king. How about the NFL draft? Remember when you just read about who your team drafted in the paper the next day? Because it wasnt that long ago. And as well see here, being a high draft pick is no sure thing, and you can find some gems in the later rounds. Then theres the silver screen, where weve been treated to some classics like the original The Longest Yard. Okay, in the interest of fairness, yes, there have been some football movie clunkers, like youll read here. Remember Gus the mule? No, well read on. Does being a football player help you score with beautiful women? Take a look at our list and judge for yourself. If youre a man, I guarantee youll have a little more respect for Bob Waterfield after you read this book.

You want to put the long hours in to become a football coach? Take a look at coaches who moved on from college to the pros, some successfully, and others with dismal results. And then we have guys like Pete Carroll, going back to school after coaching in the NFL. Thats kind of worked out pretty well for him, huh?

But as always, the play is the thing. And in Footballs Most Wanted II, youll read about some of the great plays, wildest endings, super teams, lopsided rivalries, controversial calls, and unbelievable comebacks.

So without further ado, lets send it back for the second half kickoff!

When teams look ahead to a new season, one thing that is always a great unknown is how much their newcomers will contribute. Sometimes, despite the importance of veteran leadership, a first-year player makes a big difference. Here are ten of the best breakout rookie/freshman seasons.