Dave Revsine's Blog

Check out my historical take on the O'Bannon case, as it appeared on the Wall Street Journal's Op-Ed page on August 12, 2014

The Opening Kickoff has received some very positive press in its first couple of weeks.

A few links:

Forbes Magazine calls The Opening Kickoff a "must-read book for fans of college football."

ESPN.com calls The Opening Kickoff "terrific."

A thrill to talk about writing with one of the all-time great sportswriters, John Feinstein

Exciting times - The Opening Kickoff is officially on sale!

The early feedback for the book has been fantastic.  It got some really nice press today in both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune.

More to come later in the week, I am told. 

Welcome - I'm glad you've stumbled upon the site.  There won't be all that much here until the weeks before the book's August 1st release, but I did want to share some early reviews.

My publisher did a giveaway on Goodreads, a fantastic social networking site for book enthusiasts, and the reviews have been incredibly positive.  You can read those here.

Captain Eugene V. Baker emphasized strenuous training methods with his men and instilled in them a desire not just to compete, but to win. This change set intercollegiate athletics on a new path, one that it continues to follow to this day. Baker is seated, holding the football. Walter Camp is standing with his arms crossed, over Baker’s left shoulder. (Courtesy Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library).

Pat O’Dea on the cover of the 1934 Wisconsin Homecoming program, the day O’Dea made his return to Madison.

Captain Phil King is standing in the center row with his left hand on his hip. William Ward, who scored the winning touchdown, is reclining in the front row, with his right arm on a teammate’s knee.

Later that season on this field, Wisconsin’s Pat O’Dea would unleash his record dropkick, variously reported at between 60 and 62 yards. (Courtesy Northwestern University Archives)

The 1899 Wisconsin football team. Pat O’Dea is in the middle row, fourth from the right as you face the photograph. Phil King is standing towards the back in the brimmed cap. Andrew O’Dea is seated in the front row, with the cap and the mustache. Given that the number of men in the photograph matches the number of men in the traveling party, it is possible that this picture was taken en route to the Yale game. (Courtesy University of Wisconsin Archives)