Courage Beyond the Game: The Freddie Steinmark Story

by Jim Dent, Mack Brown (Foreword)

A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of 2011 title Jim Dent, the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The Junction Boys , returns with a powerful Texas story which transcends college football, displaying the courage and determination of one of the game’s most valiant players. Freddie Steinmark was an under-sized but scrappy young man when he arrived in Austin as a freshman at the University of Texas in 1967. Despite the pronouncement by many coaches that he was too small to play football at the college level, Freddie was a tenacious competitor who vowed to start every game as a varsity Longhorn. By the start of the 1969 season, Freddie was making his mark on the college gridiron and national stage as UT’s star safety, but he’d also developed a crippling pain in his thigh that worried his high school sweetheart, Linda. Despite the increasingly debilitating pain, Freddie continued to play throughout the season, helping the Longhorns to rip through opponents like pulpwood. His final game was for the national championship at the end of 1969, when the Longhorns rallied to beat Arkansas in a legendary game that has become known as “the Game of the Century.”             Tragically, bone cancer took Freddie off the field when nothing else could. But nothing could extinguish his irrepressible spirit or keep him away from the game. Although his struggle with cancer would be short-lived, Freddie’s fight would inspire the nation as well as thousands of cancer victims, earning him a special citation from President Richard Nixon. Today, a photo of Freddie hangs in the tunnel at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, where players touch it before games en route to the field. With this moving story, a Brian’s Song for college football, Jim Dent once again brings readers to cheers and tears with a truly American tale of resolution and bravery in the face of the worst odds. Praise for Courage Beyond the Game : “Dent (The Junction Boys, 2001) brings Steinmark to life through interviews with friends, teammates, and coaches, who confirm that he was every bit the All-American boy… Dent doesn’t oversell this inspirational story in the Brian’s Song mold. In the end, readers may feel they’ve met an extraordinary young man and, though it’s been 40 years since he died, mourn his passing.” -- Booklist “Jim Dent, dadgum him, keeps writing books I wish I’d written. Like The Junction Boys and Twelve Mighty Orphans , to name two. Now here he comes with another terrific effort, Courage Beyond the Game , the story of the most courageous kid to ever pull on a football suit. If you pick it up, it’s guaranteed to pick you up.’’ --Dan Jenkins, author of Semi-Tough and Dead Solid Perfect “Jim Dent is a world class story teller, and in Freddie Steinmark’s courageous and triumphant fight to be a man of substance, he’s found a tale worthy of his ample talents.  Dent will bring tears to your eyes, and Steinmark’s example will make you want to be a better person.’’ --Joe Drape, New York Times bestselling author of Our A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen “You will cheer and you will weep as you read Jim Dent’s irresistible rendering of one of the great real-life dramas in college football history. Dent has brought plenty of tough guys to life in his other books, but little Freddie Steinmark surely ranks as the toughest. Dent has brilliantly re-cast a Longhorn legend. I could not put Courage Beyond the Game down.’’ --John Eisenberg, author of That First Season : How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and set it on the Path to Glory , and Cotton Bowl Growing up with Dallas and the Cowboys in the 1960s ''Freddie Steinmark's story will inspire you and make you cry, and Jim Dent has told it better than anyone in Courage Beyond the Game . Jim's eye for detail and gifted writing will take you back to another place and time, and a new generation of college football fans will learn why Freddie lives forever in the hearts of those he touched in his brief life.'' --Richard Justice, lead sports columnist for The Houston Chronicle “Courage Beyond the Game is a wonderful book whose protagonist, the doomed University of Texas safety Freddie Steinmark, delivers just what the title promises. Veteran sports author Jim Dent infuses a narrative whose ending we all know with depth, tenderness, and unexpected insights. His Steinmark could have easily been a cardboard saint. Instead the Steinmark we meet is intensely human, inspirational, funny and utterly unforgettable. This was a book I couldn’t put down.’’ --Bill Livingston, Cleveland Plain Dealer sports columnist “Jim Dent once again proves his mastery of the way football felt and sounded in the days of Texas and the Southwest Conference. His inspirational portrait of Freddie Steinmark takes us back to a purer time.’’ --Mark Whicker, Orange Country Register sports columnist “Freddie Steinmark defined college football with his unquenchable thirst for life, unbridled sp...

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Football

304 pages, Hardcover

First published August 16, 2011

Reviews

[Laura Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid story and kudos to Jim Dent for being a wonderful storyteller. Freddie's story is similar to Brian's Song, the movie about Chicago Bear's Brian Piccolo. But this book was about a University of Texas football player in the late 1960s who played on a leg ravaged by cancer. it's a good book. Jim Dent is a good storyteller. My problem is this glorification of playing football through pain. Because this kid was 20 years old. He was in an environment that penalized one for getting hurt. So of course he was going to play football the best he could even though he was in severe pain. And I don't blame him for that. But I don't think we should glorify it either. Everyone knew something was wrong, but didn't care enough about Freddie to push him to get a REAL diagnosis. The trainer was just as bad if not worse than any of the coaches. It made me so freaking MAD. What I DO think was courageous was his attitude AFTER the diagnosis. He deserves all the credit for that.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true story about Freddie Steinmark, a scrappy kid that showed his determination and positive outlook at an early age. Due to his small stature, he always had to work extra hard. Freddie was signed by the Texas Longhorns in 1967 to play football for Darrell Royal. He quickly became a star as a defensive player, helping lead the team to a national championship in 1969. Throughout that year, he played with excruciating pain in his leg. He downplayed the ‘injury’, planning to deal with it after the season. He then found out it was actually bone cancer. In true Freddie fashion, he gallantly fought back but ended up losing the battle. Coach Mack Brown later had a huge picture of Freddie erected that players touch as they enter the field. It’s a sad but inspirational story. The movie about him is called My All American.

[Nelda Lyons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never met Freddie but I was 8 years old when he joined our church here in Austin. He, along with many other Catholic UT football players, lived in the parish rectory with (then) Father Fred Bomar. That era - funny enough - was very memorable for me. I wondered to myself "Why does Father Bomar's homilies always include football?" I have a tiny memory of Freddie Steinmark's presence, he was young and very attractive-looking and our parish was actively praying for his diagnosis and consequently his life as he battled bone cancer.

So at this time, they are filming portions of the book in our old church, now a facility building for Sunday school. I wasn't surprised by how Father Bomar appears to the reader; he sounds like a renegade priest but one must remember he was a young man himself then. Whatever he did, it was private; it did not affect our church or our matters. From a parishioner's perspective this book shows him in a harsh light, perhaps rightly so but what was for sure, was how much he loved Freddie Joe Steinmark. We all did.

UT football and its team was on fire in 1970. This book captures the free-wheeling 60s and the dawn of the spectacular era that was 1970 but one also sees how very devout Freddie was, how he loved serving God and his devotion and love to all his friends. He was big deal for small-town Austin, not for his celebrity but that magnificent spirit that everyone spoke of and still remembers of him. It was also a great multi-faceted love story: he and the Church, he and God, he and UT, he and football, he and his loyalty, he and his love Linda. It's a good clean read filled with lots of football detail (maybe a tad more than I cared for) of a bygone time.

[Wyatt D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freddie Steinmark was an undersized football player with a lot of potential if you ask Darryl K. Royal. Midway through his senior year he had no scholarship offers. His dad has always wanted him it go to Norte Dame and while his dad keeps calling schools to check on their interest in Freddie, all said he was too small. During that time, Texas is recruiting one of his teammates and as they are watching his friend's film, they noticed little Freddie. They both take a visit to Austin, Texas where coach Darryl Royal gives both him and his teammate full scholarships to Texas. Now I don't want to give anything away but you have got to try this book. It's a story of courage and will to succeed that you will hardly believe - but the best part is that it's all true. Be prepared for a teardrop or two because I cried and so will you.

[Dena Andjames · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the novel it basically covers an incredible story about a young man from Wheat Ridge, Colorado who accomplishes the unheard of by getting a division 1 scholarship to the University of Texas for football being only 5’9”. It describes how well of a really just a human being he was and how great he was to everyone even though he was very prosperous in the game of football. His humbility went a very long way with people so when shockingly, he came down with cancer, the world was devastated that such a great young man would have such bad luck. Despite this, due to Freddies nobility, humbleness, and bravery people around the nation heard his story and it brought courage to people’s lives and helped many overcome their illnesses.
Jim Dent really captures how Freddie was throughout the entire novel and makes it so that Freddie is really known as a very stand up young man. He does this by making the tone of the book very sincere; he makes Freddie really how one would want to see an “All American Boy”.
Specifically I really enjoyed how well the author portrayed Freddie by getting real life accounts from people that really knew Freddie because the people who really knew him are honestly the only ones who can tell his story.
One may want to read this miraculous novel because it really just gives you passion and hope because Freddie was really an underdog being as short as he was and no schools wanting him except for Texas and then when he was there he made the most of it and never got cocky because of his success.
I believe that the main themes of this novel are for one, the power of humbleness because Freddie is so humble throughout his life even when he is an incredible football player that when he loses the chance to play football due to cancer people still remember him because of the person he was. Another main theme in this book I believe is perseverance or really just the story of an underdog because it is such a powerful story in the way of Freddie trying to fight through his pain for his utter passion for the game and his teammates.

[Tom Gase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very good book by author Jim Dent and this one will make you cry a little. A story about a courageous young man, Freddie Steinmark, who played football well for the University of Texas despite being undersized. When reading this book think "Rudy meets Brian's Song." Very good descriptive storytelling of Steinmark's life by Dent, who also wrote the epic "12 Mighty Orphans" and "Junction Boys." This book talks about Steinmark's entire life but focuses on his days in high school and at Texas. I guess this has recently come out as a movie with Aaron Eckhart, but I had no idea. Been wanting to read this book for about four years and I'm glad I did. Good stuff and a must read for people who like to read books on college football. I didn't know Steinmark's story before reading this. Now I'm glad I know it.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

How is it possible to read another book about football? Well, it is possible if the book is written by Jim Dent and tells the story of a UT football legend. It is easy to feel like you know Freddie Steinmark and his UT team mates and girlfriend Linda Wheeleras they come through quite clearly in Dent's prose. I had forgotten that Happy Feller was on that team and that Texas Tech beat UT while I was at Tech. A little trip down memory lane---on the sidelines.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was one of the more interesting sports novels, but I did not like how the middle pictures had the ending. I knew it but it still felt wrong.

[James Person · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes confusing

It's a great story but goes back and forth between heroism and hedonism. Freddie and Fr. Bomar display the paradoxes of human nature.

[PJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, heart-wretching story about a courageous young man.

[Kenya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watched the movie on Netflix. I was crying by the end of the movie. He was so courageous. My All American was the name of the movie.

[Leslie Savoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story!

[Bea Lathrop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, it's about a football player but truly, it's about a decent and remarkable human being. I enjoyed this book.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freddie is diagnosed with bone cancer in his leg he has to have it amputated and his friends and family help him get better he is better in time to walk onto the field with his team when they are in the Cotton Bowl.

[Alan Livingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

In preparation for the soon to be released motion picture, “My All-American”, I wanted to re-familiarize myself with the details of the story of Freddie Steinmark, a story well-known in the time and place it occurred.

This is a well-written book that will help those unfamiliar with this young man to learn why he is rightfully a legend in University of Texas Longhorn lore. He was a critical cog in one of the best college football teams of the time, Darrell Royal’s 1968-69 team that won the national championship in 1969 with two thrilling games against Arkansas and Notre Dame. More than that, his is an inspiring story of will and determination in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, not limited to, but including his final battle with cancer.

Seeing the names again of all the players, including Freddie, took me back to those days when I was a 13-year old UT fanatic, a child who saw these college kids as heroic, larger-than-life men. I’d grown up listening to Longhorn games on the radio and going to see the freshman team play at TCU, the Yearlings versus the Wogs, as I recall. In 1967 we began an annual pilgrimage from Fort Worth to Austin for a game at UT’s Memorial Stadium. I vividly recall 1969’s Texas-Arkansas game in December (and I’ve got it today on DVD in case you want to see it and endure my play-by-play recollections). A poster of the winning touchdown hung in my room for years after. Among other positives of this book, Jim Dent did a masterful job describing that “Game of the Century” in Fayetteville.

Number 28 (Steinmark) was a key defensive secondary player and punt returner that amazed everyone with his fierce play and tenacity for such a small guy. 1968 was a great year for him, but 1969 saw questions arise in the crowds about why he seemed to be losing a step. Dent’s book is the description of what happened, first about who he was, then about how Freddie did his best to successfully hide what he thought was a nagging injury, and the sad ultimate outcome.

The perfect companion to Dent’s book is Steinmark’s autobiography, “I Play to Win”. It’s a five-star book in my “Read” list. I read it in high school, either shortly before or after Freddie’s death, and not long before I headed for Austin in 1974 for my own four years at UT. Believe any of us orange-bloods that Freddie’s memory is a prominent part of the history of our university, and of Darrell Royal and his illustrious football program of that day. Dent’s book contains a forward written by Mack Brown, another of our acclaimed coaches, who gives a nice account of how Steinmark’s honor continues to be kept alive even today.

I understand another book is what the forthcoming movie is based on, and while I’ve seen excerpts of it in my alumni magazine, I’m going to go with the two I’m focusing on here. I’ve bought another copy of “I Play to Win” to replace my high school copy now in the Gulf of Mexico. I’ll be re-reading it soon, before I see the movie. Even though I personally enjoyed the connection to Darrell Royal and Longhorn football and I thought I pretty much knew everything I could about the story, I learned a lot from Dent’s book, and discovered how much about Freddie I’d forgotten. Don’t let the football dissuade you from reading “Courage Beyond the Game”. This is a wonderful story with an appropriate title.

Like the tag line of the movie trailers and posters: Hope Never Quits.

[sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This young man went through hell and still played football
Loved this story.I also watched the movie.
I cried at the end.

[Ian Braun · Rating 4 out of 5]

#1 Jim Dent is one of my favorite author's and I always look forward to reading this latest effort. Courage Beyond the Game did not disappoint. I'm a big college football fan, but I had never heard of Freddie Steinmark. His story is inspirational - an undersized football player from Colorado he is offered only one scholarship - to the University of Texas. Freddie's attitude and effort along with his talent makes him the starting safety as a sophomore. Texas is one of the favorite's to take home the national title in Freddie's junior year. Throughout the year he is plagued by a constant and worsening pain in his leg. It is only after the season that Freddie discovers he has cancer and it has eaten away most of the bone in his leg. Freddie faces the news with courage and a positive mindset that is unbelievable. How Freddie Steinmark lives his life is a great road map to how life should be lived.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this from Santa and really enjoyed it. The first game I ever watched was the 1969 Texas vs Arkansas game and I caught my first glance of Freddie Steinmark on crutches at the Cotton Bowl. I was only 9, but I remember my parents and older brother talking about him. Reading about the era at my old age enlightened me to how things were at the University of Texas in the late 1960s. MD Anderson also saved my wife's life when she was 11, so I was also very interested in the those accounts in the book.

I usually shy away from non-fiction, but this was thoroughly enjoyed!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book with the story. It's sad to see such a great player succumb to cancer. Yet what is more amazing is how he played a whole season basically with a golf-ball sized hole in his bone and knowing that he didn't have long to live. The balance of the book was also good; between the football and the struggles. Would have been good if there were more record of Freddie's struggles. Nevertheless a good read.

[Priscilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the years I had heard the name Freddie Steinmark come up in Texas football conversations, but I really didn't know his story. With the movie coming out in October about his life, I decided to learn more about him. His faith, athleticism, determination, and courage are beautifully described in this book. Freddie Steinmark is now one of my heroes. Inspiring and sad all at the same time. Read with a box of tissues close by!! Hook 'em! \m/

[Sandra L. Toungate · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring story of courage

I grew up with the story of Freddie Steinmark - his name is still hallowed by those who lived for Texas football in the 60's and 70's. This story not only reminds us of the times but gives us a more in depth look at the legend and more importantly the man who was Freddie Steinmark.

[Daniel Ligon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written book about an incredible story (see the book's summary for an overview of Freddie Steinmark's life). As a college football fan in general and specifically as a Texas Longhorns fan, I particularly enjoyed "Courage Beyond the Game." The story transcends any one team, however. I think that anyone who enjoys watching or reading about college football would enjoy this book.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Dent tells a great inspirational story, the characters were well detailed and the storyline flowed wonderfully. The interesting facts that I picked up throughout the book still have me amazed; 300 players on a team, only lost 7 games in his career, 8 year winning streak, etc.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful remembrance of a very brave young man. I was a young girl in Austin, Tx when Freddie played for the Longhorns. My family was (and continues to be) big supporters of the UT football team. Such a story of courage and heartbreak. I will never forget Freddie.

[Marvin Longabaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding book - almost as good as Twelve Mighty Orphans.

[susanna meacham · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible story. I am do glad I finally sat down and read this book. Steinmark was truly an inspiration.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading about this outstanding young man. Look forward to sharing with my 8th graders!

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent biography of Freddie Steinmark's life and basis for the movie My All-American.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book of courage while fighting cancer.