Flutie

by Doug Flutie, Perry Lefko

The famous Boston College quarterback, winner of the Heisman Trophy, owner of the record book for quarterbacks in the Canadian Football League, and National Football League All-Pro, recounts his life on and off the field. Doug reveals how he has demonstrated community spirit, charm, and the relentless drive that have been essential to his success as a smaller athlete in a big-man's sport. Includes a look at how Doug led the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs and captured the hearts of fans not only in Buffalo, but across America.

Genres: Football, Sports

244 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1997

Reviews

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I review, a little insight into Doug Flutie’s character as a person. In April 2020, a few weeks after COVID shut down most of Canada, my son was turning 6 and was sad he couldn’t have a birthday party. I messaged Doug Flutie and he sent a super thoughtful video to my son wishing him a happy birthday. He also showed off his trophy room in his house, including the Heisman. That’s just the kind of guy Doug is.

I’ve been a fan of Doug Flutie since his CFL days in the 1990’s. This book was a great read about his career as a football player (up to 1998 with the Buffalo Bills). He gives insight into the various leagues that he has played in. My favourite was his recollection of his time playing in Canada. He went from underdog to one of, if not the best, CFL player EVER. I’m glad this edition did include the last chapter about the Buffalo Bills, as he again proved he could not only make, but be extremely successful, playing in the NFL.

The only minor critiques I have of the book are that it could have included more pictures, and that sometimes it was a bit confusing to follow what year Flutie was talking about. Other than that, this was a great read!

[Joe Seliske · Rating 4 out of 5]

A somewhat reasonable account of the first three parts of Doug Flutie's football career; college. early NFL and CFL. I really don't like biographies that are written in the middle of a person's life or career. There is a big chunk of his career (return to the NFL) that is not covered in this book. Well done, but incomplete in my mind.

[Paul Matheson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned a bit about Flutie. The vast majority of the book covers his Time in the USFL.

[Wesley Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

An alright book. Run of the mill sports memoir that’s entertaining but doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It was cool to read about the journey through the different leagues on his way to the NFL.

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this a very long time ago, so hard to remember, but I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it without it actually blowing me away.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

a solid, workmanlike overview of flutie's career. most of the book up until his first season in buffalo, which is reported in the third person, is presented with doug's first person narrative intermixed with fairly detailed comments from a variety of parties who worked with doug (trump, darren flutie, don matthews, dave sapujunis, and more). this reads well/reads quickly. the last section, on buffalo, drags a bit and, without the remaining parts of flutie's surprisingly long nfl second act, it feels a bit incomplete. still, the co-author is canadian and the cfl material is excellent. recommended. the presentation of the book means flutie offers lots of opinion/commentary, as do others in the book, and you get few pure game recaps, aka the bane of athlete autobiographies. recommended

[Christine Comito · Rating 3 out of 5]

read aloud to Justin