Namath: A Biography

by Mark Kriegel, Scott Brick (Narrator)

The first major biography of the sports hero who embodied the fantasies of a generation.

In between Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan there was Joe Namath, one of the very few sports heroes who transcended their game. The son of a Hungarian immigrant, Namath left the steel country of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, for the Deep South, where he played quarterback for Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama. Almost four years later, he signed a $427,000 contract with the New York Jets that changed football forever, transforming a crude, violent game into show business. Namath became the most glamorous athlete in America -- his fame nurtured by the age of television, the point spread, and the sexual revolution. His hair, his draft deferment, and his white shoes became symbols for a generation. But it was his guarantee of victory in Super Bowl III that ensured his legend.

In the tradition of Richard Ben Cramer s Joe DiMaggio, David Maraniss s A Life of Vince Lombardi, and Nick Tosches s Dino, Mark Kriegel details Namath s journey from steeltown pool halls to the upper reaches of American celebrity -- and beyond. He renders Namath as an athlete and a man, a brave champion and a wounded soul. Here are Namath s complex relationships with pain and fame plus his appearances in pantyhose ads, on The Simpsons, and Nixon s Enemies List. Namath is not just for football fans, but for any reader interested in the central role of sports in American culture.

Genres: Sports, Biography, Football, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir

1 pages, Audio CD

First published August 19, 2004

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

In short, punchy sentences Kreigel tells the bittersweet story of Namath’s sad childhood, his astonishing football career, his endless attempts to turn fame into money, and his melancholy retirement.

The story begins in the mean streets of a western Pennsylvania steel town, moves to the tough grounds of Bear Bryant’s Crimson Tide and then on to New York where we watch money began to leak into sports via television and the many tentacled monster that was MCA. At the heart of this story sits David Abraham “Sonny” Werblin, the dark-hearted talent promoter who clawed his way to the top of MCA, grabbed television by the balls and squeezed until there was nothing left for the television stations to do but to go down-market with more glitz, more controversy, more exhibitionism and more scandal. (For those of us too young to remember, this trend accelerated into the 70s and 80s. It was as unstoppable as the earth’s rotation no matter how many dumb-dumb William Buckleys stood athwart its axis shouting “Stop!”, because it was driven by money.) This is one source of the bifurcation of American politics, which both the rich and our enemies leverage to the hilt these days.

Despite the stink of the money back-story, Kreigel manages to hit some pretty high notes throughout, particularly when talking about the games:

For example:

“Namath—the first player to be named as an Orange Bowl MVP—didn’t pick up his trophy. Instead, he limped to the losers’ locker room with Bryant, where the assembled press momentarily suspended deadline work to applaud him. The gesture was lost on Joe; the defeat hurt him more than his ravaged knee. ... Victory might be a virtue, but Namath endowed defeat with nobility. His performance was a thing of undeniable beauty, an act of defiance to thrill the millions numbed by all those [television program] package deals from Wagon Train to The Munsters. This was for a generation suckled on canned laughter, for people who confused theme songs with anthems, for whom the ending was already known. …. F*ck your Vast Wasteland. What Joe had done was real.”

Joe cared what his mother and his father thought of him; but of what other people thought, he seemed to care little. He drank and womanized, he hung out with gamblers and gangsters. His love of glitz and money led to his slow isolation from his teammates.

No, Namath was nothing special in terms of morals (more on Elvis’ white trash side of the continuum). But he was incredibly talented, and he had guts.

Kriegel:

“He was trying to elude time as much as he was any tackler. Namath could take shots, but only so many. With no means of escape, he had only one recourse, a single, slightly masochistic form of revenge. He had to keep getting up. This was best done with a smile. Don’t let them know. That was the heart of this hustle.”

The book was also a wonderful look back at some terrific pro football games of yesteryear. The author’s play-by-play for some of these games is riveting. You can hear the crunch of the contacts when the defense hits the line. You can hear the cheering when Joe hits Maynard with a perfect bomb. The write up of the “Heidi” game was brilliant.

For me, this book brought back warm memories of long weekend afternoons in front of the television with the wood stove going, football on the television, and my Dad in the La-Z-Boy, sipping a cold beer.

Those were the days.

[B. R. Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid sports bio. Namath's people came to America in the early 1900s from Hungary and settled in Beaver Falls, PA. (The Hungarian name Nemet became Namath.) His father worked hard at the local steel mill. Joe was the youngest of four sons and an adopted daughter and they all lived in a working class neighborhood. Joe was a natural athlete with great hand-eye coordination and he excelled at baseball, basketball and football. He also had massive hands which contributed to his ball handling abilities. His HS football coach was an excellent teacher and taught him the fundamentals of QBing. Joe was a bit of a hustler, hung out at the local pool hall and was not much of a student. A HS girlfriend did much of his homework. His SAT scores were low and not good enough for most colleges. (I'm surprised no one took the test for him.) His grades and test scores were not good enough for Maryland so he headed south to Alabama and came under the tutelage of Bear Bryant. As different as they were they actually had a good relationship. He had three great years at Alabama that ended with a heroic effort in the 1965 Orange Bowl, a 21-17 loss to TX. Four yrs later he would return to the Orange Bowl and his New York Jets team would upset the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl 3 (perhaps the most famous of all Super Bowls). The following yr he played in his final playoff game. He lost more NFL games than he won, he threw way more interceptions than TDs and he probably hung on a little too long. But when he was on the man could hurl a football. The strong arm with the quick release. He could also take a beating on the field and at times he did. The book covers his football career, the competition between the NFL and AFL pre-merger, Sonny Werblin (an interesting man), his drinking and womanizing, Bachelors III, Noxzema & Farrah, CC & Co, his failed marriage etc. "Baby Joey" is now 74 and I believe he currently resides down in FL. He is probably more responsible than anyone in turning pro football into show business, for better or for worse. He was one of a kind. You can't help but like the guy with his smile, charm and easy ways. 3+ stars.

[Carol Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tremendously exhaustive and detailed look at the cocky renegade quarterback who led the Jets to victory in Super Bowl III and whose rebellious, laid-back charm perfectly epitomized the impact of the turbulent Sixties in the world of sports.

Joe Namath is unique among sports legends. Like Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle, he was adored by multitudes, many of whom had no idea how talented he was or how much suffering he endured off the playing field. But unlike Mantle and Ruth, Joe in private was actually a very different man from the hero of the public eye. The author works patiently with hundreds of friends and family members to reveal the real truth about Joe, which is far more compelling than the easy legend of endless victory, endless charm, and endless sexual conquests.

Joe's image was that of an easy-going good-time guy who loved bending the rules and teasing authority figures. A whole generation of aging, alcoholic sports writers hated him for being a cocky know-it-all who "guaranteed" victory over the other team. They saw him as a creepy long-hair who undermined the values of conventional masculinity. In actual fact Joe was a very disciplined, private man who endured an enormous amount of pain and kept his emotions in check, not because he was pursuing a paycheck but because that was his understanding of what a man did.

The boozed up clowns in the press box wanted an icon of Sixties decadence they could hate. (Because they could never confront their own decadence, natch!) So they invented the idea of Broadway Joe, the decadent good-looking guy who breaks the rules and sneers while he gets away with it -- just like Jamie Lannister only sexier! But the irony is that the real Joe Namath was closer to Ned Stark -- the battered warrior who refuses to back away from what he thinks is right even when his enemies are sacking him on every play.

As a kid I knew Namath had bad knees and played hurt but until I read this book I had no idea what that really meant. Joe's ability to tolerate unbearable pain game after game, year after year, is impossible not to admire and even revere. At the same time, Joe's problems with alcohol become a lot easier to understand when you realize the level of sheer physical discomfort he had to live through every single day, minute, and year of his life. And when you watch him in old age, desperately trying to hustle gullible senior citizens on cable TV, you have to ask, what happened to Joe? What happened to Joe's money? He sacrificed so much and ended up like this? Why? Was it worth it?

I took off one star because the book ends around 2004 and doesn't really explain what Joe has been up to the last fifteen years -- and how his money problems have driven him back onto TV in the most demeaning circumstances possible. Also, Kriegel as a writer is nothing special. His style runs to sentimental sports writer cliche, like saying Joe is "the strong silent type" or that his ability to take punishment is "in the blood."

It's in the blood? Why not just put on a Hungarian accent in honor of Joe's roots, and go completely Bela Lugosi and say, "the blood IS the life, Mr. Namath!"

[Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a thoroughly researched and intriguing look into the life of a man who is an icon in the world of sports and marketing. There was nothing particularly radical or pioneering about Joe Namath. He was a very talented athlete, but also a flawed one. He made the leap from man to legend by guaranteeing victory in a Super Bowl, but this aparently was done as much to shut up an annoying heckler than due to supreme confidence on Namath's part. The Jets victory in Super Bowl III was mostly a result of their superior defense, some good breaks, and just enough big plays on offense to pull out a fairly dull game. But the prediction made by the man who played the most prominent position for his team established a legacy that would only become enhanced by time. As a testament to greatness during a period of turbulent change as the stuffiness of the 50's gave way to the revolution of the 60's and the "have your cake and eat it too" excess of the 70's, Joe Namath was a product of fortuitous circumstance. To his credit, like Frank Sinatra he did things his way and this ultimately turned out to be very lucrative for him. As a man, he comes off as an amiable drunk who is not particularly loyal to those who stood by him and those he fought alongside with. Mostly he is loyal to the protection of his legacy, particularly the revenue it generates, and to his children. He has made good money by living on his past but knows better than to live in it. Joe Namath's greatest accomplishments were backing up a prediction with the help of players he was isolated from who were alienated by the double standard put in place for him, and living a bachelor lifestyle that created an image he was able to capitalize on. By the end of the book he is a heartbroken (left by his wife) alcoholic loner rather than a carefree alcoholic surrounded by hangers on but not necessarily true friends. His life goes on, making his living autobiography a work in progress. As for the bio adeptly written about him by Mark Kriegel, I found it be engaging and informative. Longtime football fans will especially enjoy it, particularly Jets fans looking to relive past glory.

[Tim K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty comprehensive biography from childhood to post career. A gutsy athlete and ‘good time Charlie’ who’s is a symbol of 60’s youth rebellion and the product of NFL’s coming of age. Ultimately injuries and a wife who thought to use Joe’s celebrity to spring board her career has left him a hobbled and a lonely man. A well written and entertaining book for its length.

[carl theaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a young teenager and just getting interested in the gridiron
games I asked my Dad about the football player on the TV with
white shoes. He said "That's Joe Namath", and I said, "I'm going root for him."

Author Kriegel explains that during Joe's retirement that's what everyone
does when they see him-- tell him what they were doing at some memorable
point where Joe affected their lives.

I went out and bought some track shoes that were white, and wore them for
all my sandlot football games.

This bio is certainly thorough, with 50 pages of notes to back up the story.
It's as well researched as the tales of real historical figures, say Thomas
Jefferson.

Kriegel starts at the arrival of Joe's Grandparents from the old country
and continues from there. The high school quarterbacking runs a little
long for me, but that might be because I was interested in getting to
the era where I 'met' him as a QB for the Jets.

You do get a lot of insights into Joe's personal life, the bordering on
hoodlum sorts of friends, his cagy negotiaing, the right guy in the
right place at the right time for marketing a personna and its
impact on the AFL-NFL.

Though at 440pages, there's already enough to read, but a few
things seemed missing, some input from a fan, (say me,) no
comments from Buddy Ryan who was a Jets defensive coach
for the Super Bowl 3, wonder if Buddy had already crossed
Kriegel somewhere else along the line? And the big games
lack some drama when retold. Perhaps Kriegel was trying
to make the book less football and more main stream?

If you have an interest in Joe, it's a good read, and if
in football or his personna at all, it's still worth a go long!

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big football fan, although not a huge Joe Namath fan. But this book was pretty intersting reading and seemed very complete and balanced. Enjoyable.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. This is a long book chock full of details. I really enjoyed learning about Namath growing up and how he became a great quarterback. I had no idea he was a great baseball and basketball player, too. He was naturally gifted. I didn’t like his boozing, rule-breaking and womanizing. What a crappy life to live.

[Bookmarks Magazine]

The divided opinion about Namath seems driven as much by its subject as by its author. Critics extol the coverage of Namath's early career, but when the story turns post-football, many reviewers flinch. It is as if they can't reconcile their memories of Broadway Joe with the drunken, luckless-in-love man he became (sadly demonstrated last year on live television when an inebriated Namath twice told ESPN's sideline reporter Suzy Kolber that he wanted to kiss her). Kriegel, a former sports reporter, goes heavy on play-by-play breakdowns

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe Namath was a high school star in every sport that involved a ball and was pursued by over 50 colleges and universities to play football while also having received a lucrative professional baseball contract offer. The University of Alabama and Paul "Bear" Bryant won the rights to Joe mostly due to a poor showing on a college entrance exam. Other than his absentee father, Bryant was the first male figure that Joe respected.

As a Jets rookie, Namath received a lucrative contract some thirty times what veteran players were receiving at the time. In the end, his professional win|loss record was not that impressive but he did hold a number of records including passing for over 4000 yards in a season. A season that only included 14 games as opposed to the modern-day schedule of 16 games. That record stood for more than a decade.

Growing up I recall watching Joe "Willie" Namath lead the AFL New Jets to victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl. Prior to the game Namath guaranteed victory over the Colts an eighteen point favorite in the game.

In spite of my father denouncing Namath and his lifestyle outside of football, I was smitten with his swagger. Joe was everything I was not supposed to emulate. He drank, he opposed authority figures and he viewed women as a conquest.

In today's vernacular Joe Namath was a "playa"

[Stephen Dittmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kriegel's narrative is extremely well written and researched. He presents an honest review of Namath's life up until the year of publication, 2004. He interviews former teammates who have less than complimentary remembrances of Namath, and he is critical of Joe when he needs to be. As the book is 20 years old, it really only takes us a year beyond the Suzy Kolber sideline interview, so there is some innate curiosity as to how the past couple decade have unfolded. I know Joe published an autobiographical book recently and that might fill in some gaps. From a sport management academic standpoint, we need to discuss Namath's influence on sports marketing more than we do. In many ways, we paved the road for Jordan, Magic, and Bird, and even Mean Joe Greene and his Coca-Cola commercials.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting -- well researched. The writer picked out info from other reporters private notes. Lots of things about Namath I didn't know (like he was around when the U of Alabama was integrated).

[Bret Eubank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember when Namath was tipsy on MNF hitting on Suzy Kobler? Welp, this book tells the story of how Joe ended up that way--and much more. Engrossing read with plenty of details-on and off the field.

[Steve Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about the life and times of one of the all time quarterback greats.

[Mark Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great biography on Broadway Joe. Must read for fans.

[Tom Sparrenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broadway Joe comes to light through the pages of Mark Kriegel's biography. From the early years all the way to his post football career, the full picture is included of Joe Namath.

[Ben Kendrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute Legend. "Once a Tiger, always a Tiger."

[Steve Kimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broadway Joe was every kid’s hero in the 68/69 football season. This book is a great read that gives you the opportunity to relive Joe Namath’s career.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kriegel's book opened my eyes about Joe Namath in writing this biography. Growing up in Upstate New York, we didn't get all the stories about Namath and his partying, womanizing and his special treatment given to him while his Jets teammates were held to different standards. I admired his talent, especially given his medical handicap, to win lead the Jets to the Super Bowl III title and keep the Jets competitive for a few years. But by reading Kriegel's work, one has to wonder what Joe Namath could have been with a set of healthy knees and a tamer, more responsible lifestyle. Throughout the biography, I felt Kriegel did a wonderful job of balancing the highkights of Namath's life, his football career and the events that followed his retirement from football. It is balanced with the events of life -- joyous events like his love for his daughters, the love of family, and countered by his addiction to booze, blondes and bars and a lifestyle that seemed wonderful, but often tainted the image that many of us had growing up with #12. In his book "The Paolantonio Report," Sal Paolantonio called Joe Namath the most overrated quarterback in the history of the NFL. After reading Kriegel's work, I am inclined to agree with Paolantonio. I am glad things are better for Broadway Joe, and there is merit to Kriegel's statements that Namath changed the way business in pro football is conducted and how the game is played -- merit that may have warranted his place in Canton. He had a good career, he got into the Hall of Fame, and he has a Super Bowl ring. Can you image what he could have done with healthy knees and a different lifestyle. This is an excellent book for those wanting history on Namath, the early AFL, the NFL merger and the "games" people play in schmoozing, coddling and protecting "big ticket players" like Namath.

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exhaustive biography of the first "modern" athlete, Joe Namath came from the milltown of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania to become the NFL's highest paid player and a pitchman for everything from aftershave to typewriters. He led the New York Jets to victory in Super Bowl III in 1969, proving that the AFL could play with the traditional NFL and anointing the Super Bowl as a social and mercantile holiday in the United States; (the two previous Super Bowls were routs). Namath was a golden boy jock who excelled at baseball and basketball, too, but got to the University of Alabama and Bear Bryant on his football skills. Hobbled since high school with bad knees, Namath played 13 seasons in professional football with every ailment you can think of and played well beyond what he should have. This is a very American story and should be made into a movie. Great line from the book: "The old NFL guys thought this [the commercial aspect of pro football as it emerged in the 1960s:] was still about football." Namath was the first really anti-hero athlete who partied hard, played around with women as a happy bachelor and kept his hair long. He was first called "Broadway Joe" after a Sports Illustrated cover in 1965, and the name was used derisively by his teammates--at first. I'm sorry I mostly missed the Namath era, only really remembering him as a sitting on the bench for the Rams.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent enough biography of Namath, but one that leans a bit too heavily on short, flashy sentences ("He tossed it to Sauer. Touchdown. That's how Joe did it: it was in the blood") and previously published accounts of Namath's gridiron exploits (e.g., pieces in Sports Illustrated, Paul Zimmerman's fantastic The Last Season of Weeb Ewbank, Rick Telander's Joe Namath and the Other Guys, etc.). And sometimes Kriegel doesn't even get it right when he's using a very easy-to-read printed source, such as when he writes that Weeb Ewbank shipped a past-his-prime Don Maynard to Philadelphia. If he'd bothered reading Zimmerman's book carefully, or even pulled up Maynard's profile on Wikipedia or thefootballcube.com, he'd see that the legendary wide receiver was traded to Don Coryell's St. Louis Cardinals. Nevertheless, the interviews with Namath's myriad of ex-friends are spot-on, and the portrait of the quarterback that is presented here seems reasonably accurate. It's probably for the best that Namath--a secretive and rather odd individual--chose not to speak with Kriegel, since it seems unlikely that he would have been very forthcoming. The most interesting part of the book concerned Namath's married life, off-Broadway career, and bizarre divorce (his wife left him for a plastic surgeon who, in her words "wasn't a jock" and "had such a cool ponytail").

[Scott Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Few athletes generate as much of a legendary aura as Joe Namath. The Guarantee, Super Bowl III, the swinging reputation, the pantyhose commericals...all of those still make the man Joe Namath as famous now as he was 40+ years ago as a Jets Quarterback. The book does provide some insight into those stories and legends. Namath was the superstar football player who was a trend-setter in many ways. The star treatment, the constant publicity, and the public battles w/ substance abuse (in his case, alcoholism...especially later in life)...there is no denying his talent (hard to believe that he actually played at Bama...under the Bear, and was one of the Bear's favorites). The writing style of this book would not pass muster in most writing classes (the author is a columnist on Fox Sports (I don't think his style as good as Peter King's...or even other columnists on Fox Sports). Still, you read this, and you wonder a couple of things...how important Super Bowl III was to Namath and football (his pro career outside of Super Bowl III was not all that grand)...how overrated he was at times...and you wonder what he could have done with a little more focus, a little less partying, and modern medical advances in knee repairs.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kriegel delivered exactly what I was hoping for in a bio of Joe: insight into the man and an understanding of what "Broadway Joe" meant in the world of professional football, sports and American culture. The authors delivers a good balance between the action--the games, the partying, the relationships--and the context for that action. Joe's role in Bear Bryant's legacy? Check. The AFL-NFL merger? Check. The Super Bowl? Check. Modern sports marketing? Check. The book hits the important events while presenting a portrait of the man that seems honest and ends up--to me--be very affecting. Neither a mash note nor an expose to Joe Namath, Kriegel presents a life without apology or soul-gazing.

If you ever had an inkling that you might want to know more about Joe Namath the man and the football player or just have an interest in the modern world of the NFL and how we got here, "Namath" is one I'd recommend for you.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I came across when I was looking for somehting else. I had forgotten I'd read when it first came out. In my teens and early 20's JOE willie Namath was the man. His guarantee of a Jets victory over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III changed the games course. Remmeber he played for the upstart AFL and it was the 1st victory for the new league. Namath signed for a then huge sum of 400,000 dollars. You wont find him in many record books since injuries and probably a pretty active night life kept him from setting all kinds of records and seriously shortened his career. The book captures the essence of the man and his courage to play when he could barely walk. He was one of the 1st players to show the show biz style of sports, it is a great portrait of the man.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe Namath is not my favorite football player but I enjoyed listening to this book. It was not the biography of Joe that is really so interesting, but Joe Namath's years in football were a pretty exciting time. The author goes into wonderful long descriptions of the founding of the AFL, the founding of the Jets, race and football, gambling and football, TV and football, rise of the big salaried athlete, and athletes and commercial endorsements. But Joe was interesting too. He and I are the same age so much of the political and social world corresponded to mine. I hope my knees are in better shape. This was a great book for the fall football season.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will have to admit that sports biographies are still my favorite choice in reading. I was very impressed by this biography of Joe Namath. The author produced a well researched book that gave a lot of insight into an American Sports icon. For those of us who were just young enough not to have remembered seeing Joe play football, I enjoyed the details on each of his seasons that the author provides. Ultimately, the potrait shows how those who seemingly have everything, are usually defected in major areas. Namath is no exception to the phenomena.

[Brian Souter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a real worthwhile read . The author has done extensive research in all aspects of Joe Namath's life from early childhood on - everyone who had influenced and mentored him and ultimately how he impacted American football not only at the professional level but at the college level as well.
This is a no nonense biography, more about grit and pain and bad decisions than his youthful playboy lifestyle.
Personally I feel Joe Namath is an icon. And I believe that if you read this book you will think so too..."I guarantee it!"

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up wanting to be a quarterback like Joe Namath. He was an incredible talent. This book does a great job showing the influences and events that made him the player he was, from his small hometown to Alabama and then to New York City. And it's a very descriptive account of all the other aspects of Joe's life I didn't know. Alcohol can be a pain reliever, but then it can also be a pain creator, too. God bless you, Joe.

[The American Conservative]

'Given Joe’s stardom, Kriegel observes that “the only place for him to hit rock bottom” was on national TV. Namath went into rehab and sobered up, and Kriegel concludes the unfinished saga of Broadway Joe with the star “tanned, energized, healthy,” his “teeth … as white as his shirt.” Still super after all these years.'

Read the full review, "Super Bowl Superhero," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

What made this biography so good for me wasn't just the profile specifically on Namath himself, but the multifaceted look on the elements around him; notably the TV business that hitched its wagon around him. Thanks to Kriegel's work, I am reminded that truthfully, there's nothing new under the sun.