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Staubach: Portrait of the Brightest Star
Were it not so carefully documented, the remarkable football career of former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach would seem more fiction than truth. From his All-Star days as an Ohio schoolboy to All-American and Heisman Trophy-winning heights at the U.S. Naval Academy and from a four-year military stint to a decade spent leading America's Team to Super Bowl successes, the Pro Football Hall of Fame standout served as the gold standard for Sunday afternoon greatness.
269 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 5, 2020
Born in Dallas in 1980, I grew up hearing about the legend of Roger Staubach but missed out on seeing him live.
Showers biography does a great job of making Roger come to life detailing his high school athletic pursuits in Ohio, his Heisman trophy excellence at the Naval academy, and his iconic assent to becoming a Hall of Fame quarterback with America’s Team.
Thoughts that stood out to me:
Roger’s resilience in overcoming his academic setback his senior year of high school on his English exams which required him to spend a year at New Mexico Military Institute where he withstood homesickness and utilized the experience to prepare for Naval academy life and developed as a passer given his high school focused on running game.
In high school Notre Dame initially did not offer Roger a scholarship despite the fact he truly wanted to play there. After his success in all star games and during the year in junior college - Notre Dame came back to him with a scholarship offer and Roger turned them down partially out of loyalty to his commitment to the Naval Academy and partially out of resolve given Notre Dame didn’t show him loyalty during the harder times. This provides a glimpse into the loyal and fierce competitor he to this day.
I was truly surprised with how poorly Tom Landry handled the Monroe v. Staubach quarterback battles. In the landscape of DFW sports, Landry is often portrayed as unassailable but he stumbled on many occasions and lacked resolve before realizing what he had in Staubach. The concept of alternating starting QB every other game (and even every other play during one game) is preposterous. Landry must be given credit for creating a system that produced sustained high achievement - but Staubach may have been even better if he’d been under another coach that would have utilized his talents sooner without the prolonged indecision of whether he was truly a generational talent.
An side overview of Drew Pearson’s talents reminded me that it’s a shame he’s not inducted into the HOF. When you think of the most iconic plays in the 70’s - Drew is on the receiving end of the majority of them. I can only think he had the misfortune of being surrounded by so many other talented performers which has split the votes that he should have garnered.
Finally - it was interesting to see how Staubach as a celebrated performer still had to overcome many disappointments. He had a season of 16 interceptions, lost (or observed from the sidelines as the backup) several Super bowls, and endured many other difficult pivotal losses as well as the prolonged battled to finally gain the starting QB reigns of the Cowboys. In the end - we honor the achievements and the perseverance that led to scaling the mountaintop twice.
Truly a leader of leaders - I’m really glad I read this book and was impressed with how Stowers organized and paced it.
Showers biography does a great job of making Roger come to life detailing his high school athletic pursuits in Ohio, his Heisman trophy excellence at the Naval academy, and his iconic assent to becoming a Hall of Fame quarterback with America’s Team.
Thoughts that stood out to me:
Roger’s resilience in overcoming his academic setback his senior year of high school on his English exams which required him to spend a year at New Mexico Military Institute where he withstood homesickness and utilized the experience to prepare for Naval academy life and developed as a passer given his high school focused on running game.
In high school Notre Dame initially did not offer Roger a scholarship despite the fact he truly wanted to play there. After his success in all star games and during the year in junior college - Notre Dame came back to him with a scholarship offer and Roger turned them down partially out of loyalty to his commitment to the Naval Academy and partially out of resolve given Notre Dame didn’t show him loyalty during the harder times. This provides a glimpse into the loyal and fierce competitor he to this day.
I was truly surprised with how poorly Tom Landry handled the Monroe v. Staubach quarterback battles. In the landscape of DFW sports, Landry is often portrayed as unassailable but he stumbled on many occasions and lacked resolve before realizing what he had in Staubach. The concept of alternating starting QB every other game (and even every other play during one game) is preposterous. Landry must be given credit for creating a system that produced sustained high achievement - but Staubach may have been even better if he’d been under another coach that would have utilized his talents sooner without the prolonged indecision of whether he was truly a generational talent.
An side overview of Drew Pearson’s talents reminded me that it’s a shame he’s not inducted into the HOF. When you think of the most iconic plays in the 70’s - Drew is on the receiving end of the majority of them. I can only think he had the misfortune of being surrounded by so many other talented performers which has split the votes that he should have garnered.
Finally - it was interesting to see how Staubach as a celebrated performer still had to overcome many disappointments. He had a season of 16 interceptions, lost (or observed from the sidelines as the backup) several Super bowls, and endured many other difficult pivotal losses as well as the prolonged battled to finally gain the starting QB reigns of the Cowboys. In the end - we honor the achievements and the perseverance that led to scaling the mountaintop twice.
Truly a leader of leaders - I’m really glad I read this book and was impressed with how Stowers organized and paced it.
March 13, 2023
Roger Staubach is my football hero. There's never been a quarterback like him in the NFL. And I enjoy reading books about him.
Although this book was good, it's mostly a collection of anecdotes and reportage that had already been written at the time of publication. This is a good biography on Roger up until the chapters that chronicle his Cowboy years. Sort of ironic because if not for his Cowboys career, the world might not have been blessed to enjoy his talents. It's at this point the book takes on more of a reportage and recounting of the games in which he played. Nothing wrong with that. But the writing becomes more about the Cowboys and less about Roger as an individual as the book moves through those years.
At the end there is a short chapter about Roger's humor. It feels thrown in versus written in and could have been best spread throughout the book. The chapter also revealed a bit about the author since it seems that he didn't get Staubach's intelligent humor nor did many sports reporters covering him.
I rank this book as good but on the lower end of the scale for books written about Roger Staubach. But if you're a Staubach fan, as I am, you have to read all the books on him.
Although this book was good, it's mostly a collection of anecdotes and reportage that had already been written at the time of publication. This is a good biography on Roger up until the chapters that chronicle his Cowboy years. Sort of ironic because if not for his Cowboys career, the world might not have been blessed to enjoy his talents. It's at this point the book takes on more of a reportage and recounting of the games in which he played. Nothing wrong with that. But the writing becomes more about the Cowboys and less about Roger as an individual as the book moves through those years.
At the end there is a short chapter about Roger's humor. It feels thrown in versus written in and could have been best spread throughout the book. The chapter also revealed a bit about the author since it seems that he didn't get Staubach's intelligent humor nor did many sports reporters covering him.
I rank this book as good but on the lower end of the scale for books written about Roger Staubach. But if you're a Staubach fan, as I am, you have to read all the books on him.
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September 13, 2019I really liked this book. It's a great book for any football fans.
August 12, 2021
A great trip down memory lane!!
February 6, 2017
Nice overview of Roger's career.
March 2, 2016
If you are a Staubach or a Dallas Cowboy fan, this is a good read. It takes you back to his younger high school & college football years then through his Cowboys years to his retirement. Lots of stories of lots of teammates regarding those glory years of winning multiple playoff games and of course those Super Bowl memories.
March 13, 2025
Book has a few typos, misspellings and factual inaccuracies. For example, on p.96, the author relates an anecdote about kicker Toni Fritsch in the first paragraph. By the third paragraph on the same page, the kicker's name is written as "Fritch". On page 60, the Florida city is written as both "Pensacola" ,and "Pensocola".
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews