The Opening Kickoff: The Tumultuous Birth of a Football Nation

by Dave Revsine

It’s America’s most popular sport, played by thousands, watched by millions, and generating billions in revenues every year. It’s also America’s most controversial sport, haunted by the specter of life-threatening injuries and plagued by scandal, even among its most venerable personalities and institutions. At the college level, we often tie football’s tales of corruption and greed to its current popularity and revenue potential, and we have vague notions of a halcyon time--before the BCS, power conferences, and huge TV contracts. Perhaps we conjure images of young Ivy Leaguers playing a gentleman’s game, exemplifying the collegial in collegiate. What we don’t imagine is a game described in 1905, not today, as "a social obsession--this boy-killing, man-mutillating, education-prostituting, gladiatorial sport."
     In The Opening Kickoff, Dave Revsine tells the riveting story of the formative period of American football (1890-1915). It was a time that saw the game’s meteoric rise, fueled by overflow crowds, breathless newspaper coverage and newfound superstars—including one of the most thrilling and mysterious the sport has ever seen. But it was also a period racked by controversy in academics, recruiting, and physical brutality that, in combination, threatened football’s very existence. A vivid storyteller, Revsine brings it all to life in a captivating narrative.

Genres: Sports, Football, Nonfiction, History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Dave Revsine is the lead studio host of the Big Ten Network. He has been with BTN since its inception in 2007. He is the host for the network’s pregame, halftime and postgame coverage for men’s basketball and football, including its Emmy Award-winning football pregame show.

Hired from ESPN, where he spent more than a decade as an anchor and play-by-play man, Revsine has reported from numerous Rose Bowls, Final Fours and National Championship football games. He was named one of the top sportscasters of the decade by Sports Illustrated in 2009.

Revsine is also an accomplished writer, having served as a columnist on espn.com and btn.com. His work has also appeared in the New York Times. He lives in Oak Park, Illinois, with his wife, Michele, and their three daughters. The Opening Kickoff is his first book.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure – I received an advance copy of this book via First Reads.

I am not normally one who pays much attention to the Author’s Notes intro, yet this one grabbed me and pulled me into the book right away. At that point I was hooked, and did not want to put the book down. While I like and appreciate college football, I would not consider myself a devotee. Yet this story captivated me. It brought to life for me an era that I knew virtually nothing about. I was fascinated with the path of football from something that only slightly resembled the present-day game into what we now consider to be football. The insight into characters that I had heard of (such as Walter Camp and Amos Alonzo Stagg) as well as ones that I had never heard of (such as Pat O’Dea) was extremely revealing. The background of the founding of the University of Chicago was fascinating. I could go on and on with the stories and wonderful information that I gleaned from this book. It just made me hungry for more.

I was quite impressed by the amount and thoroughness of the research that must have gone into this book. Yet it amazes me how well written it is. It is footnoted like a scholarly paper (probably better than most), yet it reads like a well-written novel. Mr. Revsine has pulled off a significant literary accomplishment. Every paragraph was packed with insight, information, and/or quotes. Yet I never felt as if I was reading a collection of facts. I was reading a story that I was thoroughly enjoying. Even his little side jaunts into such areas as the background of Yellow Journalism and Muckraking were extremely informative, and seemed to help, rather than hinder, the flow of the story.

As you can tell from my other reviews and ratings, I am not one to heap false praise upon a book. Yet, I consider this to be one of the best-written books that I have ever read. I didn't have to “work” my way through the information that it presented. Rather the information flowed to me as I enjoyed reading it. If I had to raise a complaint, it would be that there wasn't enough. For example, I only got a little taste of the background of the Rose Bowl and insight into Southern football. I would have loved to have more of that, especially if it was as well-written and thoroughly researched as what was included.

Any fan of football should love this book, and even its detractors can learn from what is presented here. The complaints about football today, especially college football, are not anything new. It is amazing how, as Mr. Revsine quotes, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

[Glenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting, but felt like he was working on two different books - one about Pat O'Dea and Wisconsin football and another about the early Ivy League. Good writing, but being from Texas I was curious about what was going on in the South (he did touch on the far west)

[Jarrod S · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title promises the story of college football's nationwide birth near the turn of the century. Instead, it mostly focuses on the biography of Pat O'Dea, a UW-Madison player. The two are not as related as better CFB histories (see Derrick White's Blood, Sweat, and Tears), leaving both sections incomplete.

The O'Dea sections are very well-researched and give some color to an under-covered part of CFB history, but are not enough to illustrate larger trends in the game. Likely due to the focus on primary sources directly stemming from O'Dea and Revsine's background as a television personality, the story is intensely personal, which presents an interesting narrative arc, but not one applicable to larger forces in the sport and nation.

The sections covering the actual history of the era (key turning points, national trends, structural and economic issues, etc.) are inchoate. At times, Revsine points to better scholarly sources, summarizing other research in a paragraph or two. There needed to be more of this at every point of the book. At other times, Revsine mentions but then flatly ignores issues of class and race, which are essential to understanding this era of American society, sports included. Without sounding too harsh on a television host attempting a sweeping history, perhaps this subject would've been better covered with a more experienced historian.

This is especially evident in the book's thesis statement, which is that CFB's at the turn of the century were the same issues at the time of publishing (2013). This is an interesting premise and self-evident in the introduction, but it is not enough for an organizing argument. What does this similarity reveal about the game's current issues and popularity? How did those in the past attempt to reform these issues, and how did those attempts fare? What can we learn from the game's enterprising pioneers, on and off the field? There is now more than 12 decades past Pat O'Dea's career in Madison, yet these issues-player compensation, tension between academics and athletics, the danger of play, conference realignment- are still dominating headlines. This book is a missed opportunity to add context to those headlines and a broad understanding of college football's formative era.

For those reading this review wanting other recs, Gaither's Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Sinful Seven by Spencer Hall, Jason Kirk, Alex Kirschner, and Richard Johnson are two excellent histories.

[Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice synopsis of the first few decades of growing college football fandom for a sport whose popularity was mostly relegated to the Northeast, more specifically the Ivy League, and a few Midwestern outposts like Michigan and Wisconsin. Of course there was a discussion about the infamous 1905 meeting between Teddy Roosevelt and the power factions in the various schools that led to the formation of the NCAA, that has also been described in depth in other books. However, this book provided a lot of uncharted territory in regards to Michigan and Wisconsin in the 1890s-early 1900s, as well as some of the Ivy League teams. Also, its best asset was a bevvy of game action photographs that I thought never existed from the 1880-1905 period.

The only drawback this book had was a considerable focus on Pat O'Dea, a star athlete who played for Wisconsin who was revered for his kicking exploits (shows how much the game has changed since). The book spent a good 1/3 of its material on him, and I think there were many other stars that could have been discussed with that space.

Otherwise, a great read on a subject that has not been touched on too much.

[Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I get the feeling Revsine started this as a Pat O'Dea biography and it turned into something else. In spite of some flaws - I was rolling my eyes for the afterword, the focus is entirely on the East Coast and Midwest for more or less the entire book - I was still very entertained. Well written and researched, and very readable.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet Patrick O’dea one of footballs best player no one has heard about. This is a must read for any college football fan or, for that matter, any sports fan. Dave Revsine tells the history of American college football in a way the reads like a novel, along with a surprise ending. The reader will read remarkable football stories and see how the sport has evolved into what it is today. This is a story about the development of signal calling, plays by numbers and the first no huddle offense. This is a story about a sport that was racked by controversy in academics, violence of the sport, and recruiting.

Mr. Ravsine has done an exceptional amount of research and has a way of keeping the reader interested in the narrative.

Not so surprising the reader quickly finds out that many of the controversies are similar to that of today.

In compliance with FTC guidelines, please disclose in your review that you received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very well-written and thoroughly researched book about the early years of football. Stories about the players and game changers grab the reader's attention from the first page. The history of the game parallels some of the same issues addressed in present day NCAA football, proving that some things never change.

I also enjoyed asking my football- expert husband trivia questions about the game that I learned from the book. I highly recommend The Opening Kickoff to anyone with an interest in sports or just a great read.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I received a free copy from Goodreads for book review.

[Paul Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

The theme is quite compelling: college football has ALWAYS been fraught with scandal about academics and money, even from the very beginnings in the late 1800's. The content itself is also compelling: college football from 1890-1915, focusing primarily on Wisconsin and their superstar kicker Pat O'Dea. You'll get a kick out of learning about the differences in rules and scoring. But the actual writing itself ... admirable for a book by a broadcaster... but you'll enjoy the experience no more than your love for the content. (This is a frequent risk with sports books, which is why I gravitate to books about sports subjects I love - kind of like bad pizza still being pretty good.)

[Josh K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My experience with the topic "football history and the making" was very low at the time. Until I had ran into this. My knowledge now about this, is about more than I would have imagined. The author, Dave Revsine has done a outstanding job with his descriptions and details about the characters, the setting, and the plot. I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in football and anyone that is willing to learn more about it.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, but somewhat plodding, re-telling of the early history of college football particularly at Wisconsin.

[Jarrod Showalter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title promises the story of college football's nationwide birth near the turn of the century. Instead, it mostly focuses on the biography of Pat O'Dea, a UW-Madison player. The two are not as related as better CFB histories (see Derrick White's Blood, Sweat, and Tears), leaving both sections incomplete.

The O'Dea sections are very well-researched and give some color to an under-covered part of CFB history, but are not enough to illustrate larger trends in the game. Likely due to the focus on primary sources directly stemming from O'Dea and Revsine's background as a television personality, the story is intensely personal, which presents an interesting narrative arc, but not one applicable to larger forces in the sport and nation.

The sections covering the actual history of the era (key turning points, national trends, structural and economic issues, etc.) are inchoate. At times, Revsine points to better scholarly sources, summarizing other research in a paragraph or two. There needed to be more of this at every point of the book. At other times, Revsine mentions but then flatly ignores issues of class and race, which are essential to understanding this era of American society, sports included. Without sounding too harsh on a television host attempting a sweeping history, perhaps this subject would've been better covered with a more experienced historian.

This is especially evident in the book's thesis statement, which is that CFB's at the turn of the century were the same issues at the time of publishing (2013). This is an interesting premise and self-evident in the introduction, but it is not enough for an organizing argument. What does this similarity reveal about the game's current issues and popularity? How did those in the past attempt to reform these issues, and how did those attempts fare? What can we learn from the game's enterprising pioneers, on and off the field? There is now more than 12 decades past Pat O'Dea's career in Madison, yet these issues-player compensation, tension between academics and athletics, the danger of play, conference realignment- are still dominating headlines. This book is a missed opportunity to add context to those headlines and a broad understanding of college football's formative era.

For those reading this review wanting other recs, Gaither's Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Sinful Seven by Spencer Hall, Jason Kirk, Alex Kirschner, and Richard Johnson are two excellent histories.

[Marc Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covered some incredibly interesting and relevant material but the author spent an inordinate amount of pages recounting the life and career of Patrick O’Dea, star kicker for Wisconsin. I’m not sure what Dave Revsine’s connection to this forgotten great was but I couldn’t figure out why so much space was allotted for him when there was so much that interested me aside from a star kicker from Wisconsin.

[Monte Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very entertaining book on the beginnings of college football from 1890-1915. It weaves the general story of college football around a story of Pat O'Dea who was hailed as the greatest kicker in football. It tells all the sordid history of buying players and other problems associated with the game from the beginning. You learn how the rules were changed and why. I think you will find that many of the same problems we have today have been around since the games beginnings.

[Barry Pfaff · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute phenomenal book. Every lover of college football should read this. At only 231 actual readable pages, it is short enough to read in less than a week, but packed with enough information to want more. Would love to see Mr. Revsine write a volume two, picking up from the end of this book thru maybe the sixties.

[Sugarpuss O'Shea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is more a biography of Pat O'Dea than it is about the "Birth of a Football Nation." While I understand that Mr Revsine needed a hook to tell the story of early college football, I was highly disappointed that his focus was so Pat O'Dea/Wisconsin-based. I was looking for the story of how football spread from Harvard-Yale-Princeton to the nation as a whole. I didn't get that here.

[DH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Really brings to life the games and controversies of the early years of college football. Resvine makes clear the way that personalities, fandom, and money combined to shape the entertainment collasus that dominates American sports today.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book isn't sure what it wants to be but I really enjoyed learning about early college football history.

[Timothy D Dolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting read. The story of Pat O'dea was one I didn't know before this book. The fact that Wisconsin played such a big role in the birth of football was pretty cool.

[Lauren Nurzia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome

[Brent Soderstrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through GoodReads first read program.

I learned a lot about college football which I never knew before from the book. Revsine cover college football from 1890-1915. The emphasis of the book, however, is on football in the Midwest with a special focus on the University of Wisconsin, which was one of the powers in the Midwest during that time period, and one particular player, Pat O'Dea. O'Dea was the first real superstar in college football. He did amazing things as a kicker setting many records that still stand. O'Dea was from Australia and had played rugby. He took those skills and used them in the college game to help Wisconsin become a dominant force along with Minnesota and the University of Chicago. The eastern schools such as Princeton, Harvard and Yale dominated the game during this time period while the Midwestern schools slowly caught up.

Revsine covers the history of the sport while it was growing which oddly enough covered many of the problems that still plague the game today such as eligibility, payment of players and recruiting. Money ran the show back then as it does today.

I learned a lot from this book and enjoyed it.

[Ian Loree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dave Revsine did a good job dramatizing historical football games (most notably the Princeton-Yale game that acts as the book’s introduction) and outlining fascinating historical details such as the evolution of the game’s rules, President Roosevelt’s involvement, the game’s relationship with the growing newspaper industry, the relationship between East and West, and the conflicts of the nascent Western Conference. It was also fascinating to learn about early players’ relationship with illegal payments and boosters, and the austere dedication to amateurism in our current context of the NIL revolution.

Unfortunately, it suffers from a lack of focus - too much attention is given to Pat O’Dea who, while certainly a star at the time, did not deserve to take up such a large portion of the book (I found how he arrived at Wisconsin to be quite unnecessary for the overall narrative, for example) and as a Michigan fan I felt that team was given the short shrift compared to its contemporaries in Chicago and Wisconsin. I also would have appreciated if the book was told more in chronological order to easier track the game’s evolution.

[Christiane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really less about the history of all college football and more the history of Midwestern football and the eventual Big Ten Conference. To this end, it focuses on one of the greatest football players of all time: Patrick O'Dea, who played for Wisconsin. By juxtaposing his story with the rise of football in the region, the author chronicles the shifting grounds of what "amateur" really meant, whether we should compensate athletes, the handwringing of administrators and journalists concerning the obsession of institutions with the sport, and of course, the massive amounts of money the game made for the university. Truly, there's nothing new under the sun. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the origins of college football and wants to marvel at how nothing ever changes.

[Kbullock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and well researched. The author explains why some of the most revered figures of football's early history, including Walter Camp and Amos Alonzo Stagg, were considered to be jerks by pretty much anyone outside their respective fan bases. They also shared responsibility for much of what was wrong with early football, including the grisly death toll.

The author disputes the widely held belief that Teddy Roosevelt "saved" football through his intervention in 1905. I haven't read deeply into the other side of the argument, but based on the information presented in this book, it appears that the most important reforms in football happened after the 26th President left office.

[Kate Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating read, showing that there was, really, no "golden age" of college football. Even in the early 20th century, the sport dealt with the same issues we struggle with today - whether to pay players, eligibility requirements, how to determine the best champion, greed/profitability over athlete welfare, the role of an educational institution in athletics, etc. A little more Wisconsin-centric than I would have liked...but what are you gonna do. Except mock Bucky, forever and ever.

[Illinichele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really happy when I won this arc because much of my undergraduate research was spent on the early days of football. The point that is so interesting for me is how the game had its corruption in the beginning so the ncaa was formed to make it safer and less corrupt but today's game mimics the same problems. This book is a touchdown!

[Patrick Macke · Rating 4 out of 5]

easily could have been titled: "the story of Patrick o'dea, early gridiron star for the university of Wisconsin" ... wonderful story that reveals that not much has changed in 125 years of college football - rabid fandom, big money, cheating, great players and something that would be sad to live without

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun an interesting book about the first generation of college football, and how it really wasn't that much different than today--i.e., it was all about money. It was particularly interesting to learn that my very full-of-itself alma mater was a leader in the commercialization of football in the 1890s and 1900s. Somehow we didn't get those stories during O week!

[Mark Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subtitle was misleading the author padded the pages with a blow by blow recount of games gone by it was a distraction. As far as the great kick by MR O'Dea ,if he (O'Dea) could drop kick my laptop through Bill Gates window ,then I would be impressed.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this, but it centers so much on Wisconsin and Pat O'Dea that I just quit caring somewhere around the middle.

[Gerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book...great read on football and its' early history. Surprisingly, not a whole lot has changed in 100 years. Great book!