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Paper Lion
In the mid-'60s, Plimpton joined the Detroit Lions at their preseason camp as a 36-year-old rookie quarterback wannabe, and stuck with the club through an intra-squad game before the paying public a month later. The result is a literary masterpiece about professional football that not only elevated the art of participatory journalism to an art form, but also remains one of the most insightful and hilarious books ever written on the game.
The Detroit Lions agreed to permit Plimpton-wearing Number 0-to join them for four weeks of training camp, and to culminate his apprenticeship by calling a series of plays in an intra-squad game in Pontiac Stadium. No holds are barred in this memorable, on-the-field look at football and how the professionals play it. Naturally, Plimpton didn't make it as a football hero; he barely affords himself a dignified account of his performance on the field, which is just as well. What remains is an enduring classic of professional football as it looks to a first-string writer trying out as a last-string quarterback.
The Detroit Lions agreed to permit Plimpton-wearing Number 0-to join them for four weeks of training camp, and to culminate his apprenticeship by calling a series of plays in an intra-squad game in Pontiac Stadium. No holds are barred in this memorable, on-the-field look at football and how the professionals play it. Naturally, Plimpton didn't make it as a football hero; he barely affords himself a dignified account of his performance on the field, which is just as well. What remains is an enduring classic of professional football as it looks to a first-string writer trying out as a last-string quarterback.
362 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
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About the author
George Plimpton
317 books101 followersGeorge Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, actor, and gamesman. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.
He was the grandson of George A. Plimpton.
He was the grandson of George A. Plimpton.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
March 10, 2021
An All-Time Classic.
This is an absolutely outstanding book. An all-time classic in sports literature and possibly the best football book ever written.
It broke so many grounds in 1968, by giving insights into how a professional football team, the Detroit Lions, prepared for their season, individual games and practices. Today all that information is captured in the HBO series “Hard Knocks“.
But those were simpler days when the referee would knock on your door and say you had 10 minutes before the game start; when they actually used a gun (hopefully without bullets) to indicate the beginning and the end of the first and second half.
As a longtime football fan and a young boy who used to go to the Philadelphia Eagles practices, this was a walk in my personal history. I actually could see some of my old football cards in my mind’s eye as the old-timers names came across the pages
It was absolutely outstanding and not for everyone. I highly recommend this book.
This is an absolutely outstanding book. An all-time classic in sports literature and possibly the best football book ever written.
It broke so many grounds in 1968, by giving insights into how a professional football team, the Detroit Lions, prepared for their season, individual games and practices. Today all that information is captured in the HBO series “Hard Knocks“.
But those were simpler days when the referee would knock on your door and say you had 10 minutes before the game start; when they actually used a gun (hopefully without bullets) to indicate the beginning and the end of the first and second half.
As a longtime football fan and a young boy who used to go to the Philadelphia Eagles practices, this was a walk in my personal history. I actually could see some of my old football cards in my mind’s eye as the old-timers names came across the pages
It was absolutely outstanding and not for everyone. I highly recommend this book.
April 7, 2014
I am an asshole. No really. I'm a total jerk-and-a-half. Look, trust me. I know what I'm talking about here. I checked this book out from the Berkeley Public Library about a year ago, and then left it on the BART train during my commute home. Berkeley Public has gone ahead and billed me for it too, but of course, I haven't paid them yet. Sure, I've meant to; and I did take a trip to the BART lost-and-found to see if it turned up there, but as far as actually mailing in a check. Naw. Didn't do that. What's the total worst thing about this is that the version I checked out was an original first edition hardcover, which now it's lost forever on the rails.
I can only hope that whomever snagged the thing instead of returning it to the library has actually bothered to read effete journalist George Plimpton's account getting the living snot tackled out of him in the Detroit Lions training camp. What's most striking about this book is how much big sports in America has changed from the still-working class feel of a Lions training camp held at a boarding school with players crammed into narrow dorm rooms. Where today's barons of industry pride themselves on their season tickets and Superbowl seats, Plimpton serves to report on the then rough-hewn world of sport for astonished Northeastern bluebloods of his time.
Before you dismiss this review as the work of a scofflaw who only got through 167 pages of it before losing it on the train, I had read this book once before. It was a beat-up, old paperback with Alan Alda in a Lions uniform, kneeling and looking all sensitive. Alda whined his way through a movie version of the book that I tried to watch on "Movies 'Til Dawn" a couple of times. The real Plimpton has a kind of playful awe at getting his bones crushed by 250 pounds of Dick "Night Train" Lane that Alda just doesn't capture with his more emo approach to the material.
Wrapping this all up, I just found out that Berkeley Public has a copy of James Baldwin's "The Devil Finds Work," a book I'm dying to read. I guess it's finally time go and pay that fine.
I can only hope that whomever snagged the thing instead of returning it to the library has actually bothered to read effete journalist George Plimpton's account getting the living snot tackled out of him in the Detroit Lions training camp. What's most striking about this book is how much big sports in America has changed from the still-working class feel of a Lions training camp held at a boarding school with players crammed into narrow dorm rooms. Where today's barons of industry pride themselves on their season tickets and Superbowl seats, Plimpton serves to report on the then rough-hewn world of sport for astonished Northeastern bluebloods of his time.
Before you dismiss this review as the work of a scofflaw who only got through 167 pages of it before losing it on the train, I had read this book once before. It was a beat-up, old paperback with Alan Alda in a Lions uniform, kneeling and looking all sensitive. Alda whined his way through a movie version of the book that I tried to watch on "Movies 'Til Dawn" a couple of times. The real Plimpton has a kind of playful awe at getting his bones crushed by 250 pounds of Dick "Night Train" Lane that Alda just doesn't capture with his more emo approach to the material.
Wrapping this all up, I just found out that Berkeley Public has a copy of James Baldwin's "The Devil Finds Work," a book I'm dying to read. I guess it's finally time go and pay that fine.
October 4, 2023
I read this book soon after it came out. I was in Grade 10 and still believed that reading books was inherently good. This book was clearly aimed at someone of the age and sophistication that I possessed at the time that I read it. Its value for the adult reader is negligible.
Plimpton presents NFL players as being entirely sympathetic. They appear as completely unpretentious in no way taken in by their celebrity. They are all aware that the carefree days in which they are able to earn a living by playing a game conceived for teenagers will soon come to an end and have no regrets.
Plimpton presents NFL players as being entirely sympathetic. They appear as completely unpretentious in no way taken in by their celebrity. They are all aware that the carefree days in which they are able to earn a living by playing a game conceived for teenagers will soon come to an end and have no regrets.
June 10, 2020
Brutally tedious read. I learned that the NFL in the early '60s was basically a bunch of dads playing pickup football.
May 5, 2022
I loved this book, looked at sport in a total different angle, a reporter goes into a pre-season training camp for an American Football NFL team, and basically lives the life of a NFL professional footballer, it gives clear, pure insight to what goes on behing close doors. All credit must be given to the Detriot Lions for allowing a reporter to pretend to be a NFL player, because in the early chapters you discover how difficult it was for the report to convince a professional sporting team to give him the chance to go undercover in a sporting team. You learn about the rituals that newcomers to the team have to do, like singing their college song at the dinner table in front of all the other players, you learn about the basic accomodation that players have to live in, you learn that being a professional sports person is not all about the glamour and glory, it is hard work, many players fail before they even get onto the pitch, many players that make it do not last long. This book gives a true account of all it takes to become a top sports person. The book is well written, the author does well to transform his experiences onto paper in a method and style that allows the reader to understand what he is experiencing. (I could not see a professional sports team in the year 2022, allowing a reporter to go under cover within their organizaton, they would be scared of what he/she would report), the author does not hold back in his wordings, a breathtaking read, much better than what I expected, no editorial errors, nice book cover, there are even pictures in side the book, as the report pretends to be a quarterback. A unique book in a sort of way. Really enjoyed it.
November 18, 2021
This book has probably been on a shelf with my name on it since I was in seventh grade rather than teaching seventh grade. That was about 30 years after it was released and had I read it then, I think it would have been a lot more engaging and inviting. Now, 55 years after its release, it can't quite match what it once was.
To begin with, the behind the scenes look, the up-close and personal engagement with sports and athletes would have been startling to people of the time. Now, with athletes sharing their thoughts, opinions, work out regimens and political platforms on social media, to say nothing of the multiple 24 hour sports channels covering everything on the planet and every detail of the biggest competitions, it's not hard to get a glimpse at the life of a professional athlete. So much of the book's impact at the time is muted to the point of being indistinguishable.
There's also the unfortunate and inescapable fact that the time and place look ugly from today's world. The casual anecdote of players assaulting an Asian man with epithets and theft only to be given a "boys will be boys" shrug is particularly jarring, as are the unspoken civil rights tensions between black players and their white coaches/teammates/journalist in their midst. Plimpton himself doesn't excuse or engage in the poor treatment of athletes of color, but he doesn't dwell on it much either, making it a clear exhibit of the time.
Still, Plimpton has a fine style that you rarely find in sports writing. His lyrical opining sometimes delivers great food for thought, but sometimes fits like an awkward cleat. His best moments are human ones, where he settles in with another athlete and you come to think about how human both the celebrity athletes and the every day journeymen are. Night Train Lane, Harley Sewell, and coach George Wilson are engaging and interesting. I felt a particular fondness for Lucien Reeberg who seems endearing and whose end is tragic, if little noted by anyone who wouldn't know this book.
In another dimension, I could be a sports writer. I love writing. I love sports. I would very much love to write with the depth and engagement of Plimpton (though, truthfully not about a game that's violence punctuated by committee meetings). Had I read this book as a kid, I might have focused more on it. Reading it as an adult, I'm not so much touched by the road not taken, but by the question of how I center humanity in what I write, whatever it is.
To begin with, the behind the scenes look, the up-close and personal engagement with sports and athletes would have been startling to people of the time. Now, with athletes sharing their thoughts, opinions, work out regimens and political platforms on social media, to say nothing of the multiple 24 hour sports channels covering everything on the planet and every detail of the biggest competitions, it's not hard to get a glimpse at the life of a professional athlete. So much of the book's impact at the time is muted to the point of being indistinguishable.
There's also the unfortunate and inescapable fact that the time and place look ugly from today's world. The casual anecdote of players assaulting an Asian man with epithets and theft only to be given a "boys will be boys" shrug is particularly jarring, as are the unspoken civil rights tensions between black players and their white coaches/teammates/journalist in their midst. Plimpton himself doesn't excuse or engage in the poor treatment of athletes of color, but he doesn't dwell on it much either, making it a clear exhibit of the time.
Still, Plimpton has a fine style that you rarely find in sports writing. His lyrical opining sometimes delivers great food for thought, but sometimes fits like an awkward cleat. His best moments are human ones, where he settles in with another athlete and you come to think about how human both the celebrity athletes and the every day journeymen are. Night Train Lane, Harley Sewell, and coach George Wilson are engaging and interesting. I felt a particular fondness for Lucien Reeberg who seems endearing and whose end is tragic, if little noted by anyone who wouldn't know this book.
In another dimension, I could be a sports writer. I love writing. I love sports. I would very much love to write with the depth and engagement of Plimpton (though, truthfully not about a game that's violence punctuated by committee meetings). Had I read this book as a kid, I might have focused more on it. Reading it as an adult, I'm not so much touched by the road not taken, but by the question of how I center humanity in what I write, whatever it is.
March 12, 2010
This is the dream of every guy who thinks they could be a professional athlete, Plimpton gets to live the life of one for one preseason. As you can imagine, it is a lot of work and getting to live your dream isn’t always the way you dreamed. The best parts of the book are Plimpton’s writing ability to give the reader the feel of being part of the team instead of a fan. Obviously the real life characters who stand out stand out b/c of their larger than life personalities which allows Plimpton a chance to showcase his writing ability. Any NFL fan or NFL historian should read this book b/c the NFL wasn’t always the cash cow that it is today, back in the 1950s they guys played football b/c they loved it and although it was good money it wasn’t the best money but it was probably the best opportunity for these guys to make money. It was just a different era for the NFL (an era that isn’t coming back) and Plimpton captures it for us.
September 25, 2016
The greatest football book ever written.
Essential reading if you love football.
I have always thought that there needs to be an updated version with new writers on current teams.
Essential reading if you love football.
I have always thought that there needs to be an updated version with new writers on current teams.
July 8, 2025
A surprisingly dull read that feels like a few long magazine articles strung together, stretched, and severely padded (pardon the pun) to reach book length – which it is. Plimpton provides an amusing “fish out of water” story – although the introduction is quick to inform us that it’s much more than that (it isn’t) – where the lanky, Harvard-educated non-athlete joins the Detroit Lions for training camp in the hope of playing a few snaps in an exhibition game. He provides no more insight into the game or the players than if he had joined a high school or college team. I guess if no one had played football or knew anything about it, one might gain some slim insight into the sport and the training camp. But even this feels watered down, as if Plimpton wasn’t telling us some of the rougher aspects for the sake of not offending his Sports Illustrated audience.
The first third feels mostly like summer camp. Things only pick up when Plimpton begins to speak with Night Train Lane, whose friendly advice actually teaches Plimpton (and the reader) a little about the game, both on the field and off, and whose personality and backstory made me wish I were reading about his life and experiences rather Plimpton's. I’m fascinated by Plimpton the person and the writer, but I would have found it far more engaging to read a book about his experiences with writers, artists, and the New York jet set, where he was a knowledgeable insider, rather than these kinds of silly “participatory” journalistic pop culture books.
Speaking of which, the introduction once again tries to claim Plimpton was on the cutting edge of a new style. He wasn’t. Nellie Bly was doing this seventy years earlier as she had herself committed to an insane asylum to write a firsthand exposé on the mental health crisis of the 1880s and attempted to replicate Verne’s around the world in 80 days narrative, while Jack London was doing immersive journalistic investigations fifty years earlier in The Road and The People of the Abyss, becoming a tramp in London and hopping rails in the US to get personal, firsthand accounts of the poor and migrant classes. Not to mention Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, as well as The Road to Wigan Pier, which engage in similar “New Journalism” techniques decades before the American movement. There was nothing much “new” in the “New Journalism,” as is evident in these kinds of books by Plimpton which lack the gritty courage and social importance of Bly, London, Orwell, et al. It’s just light fluff, not even entertaining or particularly relevant to modern readers, even those who enjoy football or appreciate Plimpton’s important work with The Paris Review.
The first third feels mostly like summer camp. Things only pick up when Plimpton begins to speak with Night Train Lane, whose friendly advice actually teaches Plimpton (and the reader) a little about the game, both on the field and off, and whose personality and backstory made me wish I were reading about his life and experiences rather Plimpton's. I’m fascinated by Plimpton the person and the writer, but I would have found it far more engaging to read a book about his experiences with writers, artists, and the New York jet set, where he was a knowledgeable insider, rather than these kinds of silly “participatory” journalistic pop culture books.
Speaking of which, the introduction once again tries to claim Plimpton was on the cutting edge of a new style. He wasn’t. Nellie Bly was doing this seventy years earlier as she had herself committed to an insane asylum to write a firsthand exposé on the mental health crisis of the 1880s and attempted to replicate Verne’s around the world in 80 days narrative, while Jack London was doing immersive journalistic investigations fifty years earlier in The Road and The People of the Abyss, becoming a tramp in London and hopping rails in the US to get personal, firsthand accounts of the poor and migrant classes. Not to mention Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, as well as The Road to Wigan Pier, which engage in similar “New Journalism” techniques decades before the American movement. There was nothing much “new” in the “New Journalism,” as is evident in these kinds of books by Plimpton which lack the gritty courage and social importance of Bly, London, Orwell, et al. It’s just light fluff, not even entertaining or particularly relevant to modern readers, even those who enjoy football or appreciate Plimpton’s important work with The Paris Review.
January 24, 2023
I just love George Plimpton.
January 4, 2013
Paper Lion is perhaps the first behind the scenes look at a pro football training camp. The excellent George Plimpton, first Editor in Chief of the Paris Review, wrote a series of pieces using "participatory journalism," a technique where he actually joined in the games he covered. In 1958 he pitched against National League all-stars in an exhibition baseball game at Yankee Stadium and wrote about it in his book "Out of My League." While on assignment with Sports Illustrated he stepped in the ring for three rounds with boxing legends Archie Moore and Sugar Ray Robinson. He trained as a goalie and took a turn between the pipes for the Boston Bruins in an NHL preseason game, writing about it in his book "Open Net." He also took turns golfing on the PGA tour ("The Bogey Man"), playing Pancho Gonzalez in tennis, playing world-class bridge, walking the tightrope as a circus performer, and more.
George joins the NFL's Detroit Lions for their 1963 preseason training camp trying to make the team, a 36 year old league rookie, as their "last string quarterback." The coaches know that a writer is in their midst, but the players, at least initially, do not. Plimpton formulates an elaborate story about having played quarterback the previous season in Canada for the "Newfoundland Newfs," but his cover is blown in one of several laugh out loud funny scenes the first time he attempts to take a snap from center and doesn't know where to put his hands.
Plimpton lives with the team throughout training camp, attends the meetings, studies the plays, participates in night raids on other players wearing `fright masks," and spends exhausting days with them on the practice field, notebook and pencil ever at the ready and often stashed when he is called onto the field. We meet legendary characters such as cornerback Dick "Night Train" Lane (who was married to singer Dinah Washington), middle linebacker Joe Schmidt (Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1973), and the incomparable Alex Karras, defensive tackle and actor (Blazing Saddles, Webster). Karras was on suspension that year (along with Paul Hornug) for gambling, but makes appearances in Paper Lion nonetheless through the hysterical stories of his teammates. The 1968 film version of Paper Lion does feature the reinstituted Karras, incidentally, who very nearly steals the show from star Alan Alda and launches his own screen career.
Plimpton has a gift for understatement. He enters the story with the uninitiated eyes of the average "everyman" allowing the reader to jump right in and experience everything "firsthand" through him. We are there with him when he finally takes the field in an intra-squad scrimmage in Pontiac Michigan before of thousands of Lions fans who wonder exactly who this new player is wearing the number "0" jersey. Plimpton actually ends up taking five snaps in the game, running each of the five plays he has learned, with hilarious results.
Paper Lion was one of the first glimpses behind the scenes into the world of NFL football, and it was a huge hit. Paper Lion is a fun and somewhat revealing read, but I am left wondering if pro sports of the early 1960's was really full of the innocent fun portrayed here, or if more incriminating things were left out as revealed in books which came out soon thereafter such as Ball Four by Jim Bouton (1970), which chronicled the rampant womanizing, alcohol, and drug abuse in the far less violent world of professional baseball. Plimpton briefly touches on the problems of alcohol and gambling, but I am left wondering what else could have been said.
Special Note: Alex Karras' own book about his playing days, titled "Even Big Guys Cry," is another terrific read. Even though it is out of print, it's stories of football legends "Champagne" Bobby Layne and Eugene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb are true gems that will have you rolling with laughter. If you can find it I highly recommend picking it up.
George joins the NFL's Detroit Lions for their 1963 preseason training camp trying to make the team, a 36 year old league rookie, as their "last string quarterback." The coaches know that a writer is in their midst, but the players, at least initially, do not. Plimpton formulates an elaborate story about having played quarterback the previous season in Canada for the "Newfoundland Newfs," but his cover is blown in one of several laugh out loud funny scenes the first time he attempts to take a snap from center and doesn't know where to put his hands.
Plimpton lives with the team throughout training camp, attends the meetings, studies the plays, participates in night raids on other players wearing `fright masks," and spends exhausting days with them on the practice field, notebook and pencil ever at the ready and often stashed when he is called onto the field. We meet legendary characters such as cornerback Dick "Night Train" Lane (who was married to singer Dinah Washington), middle linebacker Joe Schmidt (Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1973), and the incomparable Alex Karras, defensive tackle and actor (Blazing Saddles, Webster). Karras was on suspension that year (along with Paul Hornug) for gambling, but makes appearances in Paper Lion nonetheless through the hysterical stories of his teammates. The 1968 film version of Paper Lion does feature the reinstituted Karras, incidentally, who very nearly steals the show from star Alan Alda and launches his own screen career.
Plimpton has a gift for understatement. He enters the story with the uninitiated eyes of the average "everyman" allowing the reader to jump right in and experience everything "firsthand" through him. We are there with him when he finally takes the field in an intra-squad scrimmage in Pontiac Michigan before of thousands of Lions fans who wonder exactly who this new player is wearing the number "0" jersey. Plimpton actually ends up taking five snaps in the game, running each of the five plays he has learned, with hilarious results.
Paper Lion was one of the first glimpses behind the scenes into the world of NFL football, and it was a huge hit. Paper Lion is a fun and somewhat revealing read, but I am left wondering if pro sports of the early 1960's was really full of the innocent fun portrayed here, or if more incriminating things were left out as revealed in books which came out soon thereafter such as Ball Four by Jim Bouton (1970), which chronicled the rampant womanizing, alcohol, and drug abuse in the far less violent world of professional baseball. Plimpton briefly touches on the problems of alcohol and gambling, but I am left wondering what else could have been said.
Special Note: Alex Karras' own book about his playing days, titled "Even Big Guys Cry," is another terrific read. Even though it is out of print, it's stories of football legends "Champagne" Bobby Layne and Eugene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb are true gems that will have you rolling with laughter. If you can find it I highly recommend picking it up.
August 16, 2007
Excellent summer reading. Maybe a bit too technical at times for people with only a cursory knowledge of football, but I particularly liked those bits because it's interesting to see what stage the game had developed to in the 60s. When they talk about the Shotgun formation JUST being invented, it's really pretty alarming.
Of course the actual game is secondary to what's going on here. Plimpton's perspective allows for a vivid portrait of the league back then. It's pretty scary, to be honest. It seems to me most of the players' careers are cut short through injuries or illness, the most tragic of all is Reeberg, a young player who dies at 22 because he wouldn't disclose to a doctor a kidney condition, fearing it would hurt his chances at making the team.
The book is very funny and full of many of the ups and downs anyone who has been on a solid team knows all too well and probably misses. What stuck out to me though was life after football for these players. Plimpton goes back to his cushy Harvard-bred life, editting and writing. Not that he's exploited them or anything like that, it just made me sad that so many of these players who were so loved in Detroit had to struggle for a living after their bodies were shot to hell on the playing field. This is especially pertinent in today's league where people are still fighting for pension packages for these legendary players who paved the way for the huge contracts dished out today. Reading the additional bio notes included, you realize players back then couldn't be JUST football players. After football, they'd have many different careers, most players having more than one. They appear to be admirably well-rounded, hard-working individuals far from the image of the spoiled athlete so prevalent today.
Of course the actual game is secondary to what's going on here. Plimpton's perspective allows for a vivid portrait of the league back then. It's pretty scary, to be honest. It seems to me most of the players' careers are cut short through injuries or illness, the most tragic of all is Reeberg, a young player who dies at 22 because he wouldn't disclose to a doctor a kidney condition, fearing it would hurt his chances at making the team.
The book is very funny and full of many of the ups and downs anyone who has been on a solid team knows all too well and probably misses. What stuck out to me though was life after football for these players. Plimpton goes back to his cushy Harvard-bred life, editting and writing. Not that he's exploited them or anything like that, it just made me sad that so many of these players who were so loved in Detroit had to struggle for a living after their bodies were shot to hell on the playing field. This is especially pertinent in today's league where people are still fighting for pension packages for these legendary players who paved the way for the huge contracts dished out today. Reading the additional bio notes included, you realize players back then couldn't be JUST football players. After football, they'd have many different careers, most players having more than one. They appear to be admirably well-rounded, hard-working individuals far from the image of the spoiled athlete so prevalent today.
August 20, 2009
Paper Lion is a throwback to the days of the NFL before the NFL-AFL merger. Plimpton takes us on a ride through training camp for an NFL player. The gimmick, of course, is that Plimpton has next to no skill at all in the game of football. This becomes evident quite early on when Plimpton writes candidly about the last time he played, which was in some high school pickup games. He disliked it then, and there's nothing about the game that really seems to grab his fancy. What Plimpton, and thus the reader, takes away from his training camp experience is an examination of the routine and interpersonal relationships. Plimpton portrays the athletes as nervous, sometimes callous, but usually jovial and welcoming. In short, the athletes become real people. It's a good read for an examination of team chemistry.
However, Plimpton's experience is becoming dated. Not only does this occur pre-merger, but Plimpton also writes in a "gee-whiz golly" style that has just a bit too much reverence for what he's examining. He will occasionally analyze the sport with a journalist's eye, but too often he becomes just another fan, just happy to be hanging out with the athletes. When Plimpton talks of the hangers-on around the Lions' practice facilities, it is hard to tell where Plimpton sees himself. Although he's wearing the jersey, he clearly empathizes more with the children catching passes than his fellow quarterbacks.
For football fans desperate for an image of training camp, this can get you your fix until the next game is on. For people looking for a more candid examination of sports and the role of athlete, I would suggest instead Jim Bouton's excellent Ball Four.
However, Plimpton's experience is becoming dated. Not only does this occur pre-merger, but Plimpton also writes in a "gee-whiz golly" style that has just a bit too much reverence for what he's examining. He will occasionally analyze the sport with a journalist's eye, but too often he becomes just another fan, just happy to be hanging out with the athletes. When Plimpton talks of the hangers-on around the Lions' practice facilities, it is hard to tell where Plimpton sees himself. Although he's wearing the jersey, he clearly empathizes more with the children catching passes than his fellow quarterbacks.
For football fans desperate for an image of training camp, this can get you your fix until the next game is on. For people looking for a more candid examination of sports and the role of athlete, I would suggest instead Jim Bouton's excellent Ball Four.
November 9, 2016
Everyone has heard of George Plimpton.....that is if you read the articles in the sports sections...knows that George Plimpton enjoys getting hit, thrown, punched or kicked around if it's dealing in sports he is in the middle of it. (Maybe you know George Plimpton by his daughter who played Stef girl with the glasses in the movie The Goonies.)
Now this time we will hear more of George Plimpton.
Especially if you follow the roster teams of Detroit Lions and see that there is a new Backup Quarterback.
George found the perfect article to write...about a Football player that is trying to get into the Detroit Lions team and what it's like day-by-day.
The hitch? Non of the other players KNOW that he is just a reporter...they think that he really is a football player that is trying out for it.
Until the word let out that all he is, is a reporter trying to get a story. That's when the gloves REALLY come off. George Plimpton shows you, literally shows you how getting into the football team, Detroit Lions really like.
Made into a Movie called Paper Lion made in 1968 starring Alan Alda as George Plimpton. Actual Detroit Lions players also appear in this movie as well.
If you love sports, or love the Detroit Lions (one wonders why: Washington Redskins and the Chicago Bears for me!!!!!) then this is the book for you!!!
Now this time we will hear more of George Plimpton.
Especially if you follow the roster teams of Detroit Lions and see that there is a new Backup Quarterback.
George found the perfect article to write...about a Football player that is trying to get into the Detroit Lions team and what it's like day-by-day.
The hitch? Non of the other players KNOW that he is just a reporter...they think that he really is a football player that is trying out for it.
Until the word let out that all he is, is a reporter trying to get a story. That's when the gloves REALLY come off. George Plimpton shows you, literally shows you how getting into the football team, Detroit Lions really like.
Made into a Movie called Paper Lion made in 1968 starring Alan Alda as George Plimpton. Actual Detroit Lions players also appear in this movie as well.
If you love sports, or love the Detroit Lions (one wonders why: Washington Redskins and the Chicago Bears for me!!!!!) then this is the book for you!!!
December 31, 2015
Read this book is you want some insider info on what American football was like in the 1960's. Its got great stories, written succinctly in journalist style. George Plimpton is a lot like another author I like, A.J. Jacobs. They both undertake interesting challenges, like Jacobs' A Year of Living Biblically or The Know-It-All. In this book, Plimpton tries his hand at quarterbacking, and tries to cram the one hundred plays, the footwork, plus what his teammates are doing into his head. He writes about rookie initiation night and the hassling, different types of coaches, injuries, and life after the game. Plimpton namedrops great players and coaches like Bobby Layne, Night Train Lane, Jim Brown, Paul Brown, Dick LeBeau, etc. The book is really about how football inspires such loyalty and how the players played, not for the money, but for the camaraderie and the teamwork. A fun read for a football fan, even a novice one.
Quotes:
"Well, one of the nicknames for him is Tippy-Toes – hard to believe, I mean fellow standing still looks like he's sunk in the ground. But then he takes one step and you can spot that he's all springs and coils inside." Pietrosante on Alex Karras (page 181)
"That's a good number you're wearing," Williams said. "Johnny Olszewski's - Johnny O's." "It indicates my talent," I said." (page 218)
Quotes:
"Well, one of the nicknames for him is Tippy-Toes – hard to believe, I mean fellow standing still looks like he's sunk in the ground. But then he takes one step and you can spot that he's all springs and coils inside." Pietrosante on Alex Karras (page 181)
"That's a good number you're wearing," Williams said. "Johnny Olszewski's - Johnny O's." "It indicates my talent," I said." (page 218)
June 7, 2014
That Plimpton didn't realize the biggest part of his dream gives the last third of the book a feeling of anticlimax, but perhaps it is part of the book's charm. Players get cut all the time (and Plimpton takes us through that process) and not every story has a happy ending. (Of course, anyone looking at the photos in the center of the book can figure out what's up.)
The book suffers from a bit of bloat: we spend too much time with players' dormitory hijinx, and the Rookie Night section could easily be cut.
But it's a good, hard look at a more innocent time in the NFL, when a quarterback could toss passes to neighborhood kids after practice. At the time that Plimpton attended the Lions' training camp, the H-shaped goal posts were in the field of play, at the goal line; the AFL was just getting off the ground; and there was no generally accepted term for the quarterback sack. Plimpton worries at length about being tackled in the pocket, but never uses the S-word.
The book suffers from a bit of bloat: we spend too much time with players' dormitory hijinx, and the Rookie Night section could easily be cut.
But it's a good, hard look at a more innocent time in the NFL, when a quarterback could toss passes to neighborhood kids after practice. At the time that Plimpton attended the Lions' training camp, the H-shaped goal posts were in the field of play, at the goal line; the AFL was just getting off the ground; and there was no generally accepted term for the quarterback sack. Plimpton worries at length about being tackled in the pocket, but never uses the S-word.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2009
This is a pretty solid look at what it was like to play pro football in the early 60s. By today's standards, it's pretty quaint. I couldn't fathom an author today naive enough to think he can jump in and play professional QB without even pee-wee experience at the position. It's entertaining, though, and it kept my interest. Stephen Fatsis wrote a book last year about being a placekicker in training camp with a modern team, and I'm going to read that soon to see how it compares.
If you think back to the era of Mad Men, this is another reminder of how different things were just 50 years ago.
If you think back to the era of Mad Men, this is another reminder of how different things were just 50 years ago.
July 11, 2016
There is a reason this book is a classic. Plimpton's writing holds up well fifty years later. I grew up in Green Bay and my family contains many rabid football fans. His stories had me rolling with laughter. From forgetting his college fight song to wanting to run pass plays from the 1920's, Plimpton kept me turning pages. He covered everything from the varied personalities of the team and the sadness of being cut or career-ending injuries. I highly recommend this book for football fans and those who love them.
August 8, 2016
quest'uomo è diventato il mio eroe!! da giornalista a (quasi) QB di una squadra dell'NFL..
In più, adesso sono preparatissima sui Lions dei primi anni '60 :)
In più, adesso sono preparatissima sui Lions dei primi anni '60 :)
February 13, 2023
Como ya es tradición, antes o durante eventos deportivos importantes leo un libro sobre dicho deporte. Para anticiparme al Super Bowl, decidí leer Paper Lion. Me cautivó por su enfoque periodístico, pues es la crónica real de un reportero en los años 50s que llega al entrenamiento de verano de los Lions de Detroit a jugar la posición de QB por un mes. Conviviendo con sus compañeros de equipo, deja ver a las personas detrás de los cascos y describe la convivencia en un vestidor de NFL. Básicamente, es el precursor a Hard Knocks, la serie anual de HBO donde producciones enteras cubren el entrenamiento de verano de algún equipo.
En parte porque hoy en día se conoce más sobre las personalidades de los jugadores y la convivencia en el vestuario, el libro no trajo muchas impresiones nuevas para mí. El hecho de que haya estado en los años 50 podría haber sido más interesante si hubiera reverenciado más la época (me hubieran gustado más de dos párrafos en lo que pensaban los jugadores de la integración racial de EEUU y cómo les afectaba o sus impresiones sobre la recién sucedida Segunda Guerra Mundial).
De todas formas, el libro es un trabajo periodístico decente que deja en claro las diferencias entre el fútbol americano de hoy (desde el complejo económico y sociocultural que es la NFL hoy en día hasta la dieta, el atletismo o el rendimiento deportivo de los jugadores) y fue una buena coincidencia que leí el libro al final de una temporada en la que el equipo de Hard Knocks fueron los Detroit Lions.
En parte porque hoy en día se conoce más sobre las personalidades de los jugadores y la convivencia en el vestuario, el libro no trajo muchas impresiones nuevas para mí. El hecho de que haya estado en los años 50 podría haber sido más interesante si hubiera reverenciado más la época (me hubieran gustado más de dos párrafos en lo que pensaban los jugadores de la integración racial de EEUU y cómo les afectaba o sus impresiones sobre la recién sucedida Segunda Guerra Mundial).
De todas formas, el libro es un trabajo periodístico decente que deja en claro las diferencias entre el fútbol americano de hoy (desde el complejo económico y sociocultural que es la NFL hoy en día hasta la dieta, el atletismo o el rendimiento deportivo de los jugadores) y fue una buena coincidencia que leí el libro al final de una temporada en la que el equipo de Hard Knocks fueron los Detroit Lions.
March 16, 2025
Yes, the material is a little dated. But the insights into the practice life of a pro football player back in the day is still engaging and even fascinating at times. Plimpton wrote in a style that played well to the material and even though he was a Harvard man, you never feel he's looking down at his subject or holding himself above his teammates. I respect the approach he took would recommend this book to anyone wanting to peal back the curtain on pro football players at a time when it was truly a blue collar sport.
November 30, 2025
Just great sports writing. Let’s the football anchor the writing rather than absorb the narrative entirely. Instead, the most important elements come from the human stories and silly anecdotes born out of his time with the team. I do also think it’s interesting that we’ve almost come full circle in terms of this level of access to sports teams with social media these days (e.g. hard knocks or all or nothing documentaries).
March 7, 2025
As a huge fan of the Detroit Lions and good ole-fashioned bro-downs, Paper Lion was incredible. It was like a time capsule into a different era of professional football, like Hard Knocks before Hard Knocks
March 8, 2025
I ended up zooming through the rest of this book. It's not a trope, but I can't stand when something is considered "good" because it was innovative. This definitely could've been cool to read 30 years ago, but even then might have felt like a slog. If your incredibly into relatively unknown football shenanigans at a time when the sport really wasn't taken all that seriously by the players this might be the book for you?
April 19, 2020
A very interesting read, from the perspective of a journalist who trained with the Detroit Lions as a backup QB in the 60s.
June 12, 2020
This was a great read originally.
Glad it was reissued. Thanks Caitlin!
Glad it was reissued. Thanks Caitlin!
March 25, 2021
Great sports book.
July 4, 2017
Great fun.
October 25, 2016
I got this book for my sports-nut son to read, or to have on hand when he needs a book for a school reading project. I read it to make sure it would be appropriate for him (7th grade). I feel like it was. It wasn't really my thing, but it was okay. I was struck by several things that have changed since it was published. George Plimpton as a sports-writer? Probably wouldn't happen today. I don't know about him all that much, but my sense is that this would be an odd juxtaposition in the context of modern sports writing. A pro team using a private school as a practice venue probably wouldn't happen today either. Matters of safety and equipment have vastly changed since Plimpton wrote this. Vastly. One might wonder at the latent or blatant misogyny and racism depicted in the book, as compared to what exists today and how much/little things have changed. The sense of football as a career and a sport seems to have evolved quite a bit over the course of time. My reading device couldn't handle the recorded material embedded in the digital version I read, so I missed out on that, though I don't think I missed all that much. It was a fine enough book, probably much more appreciated by sports enthusiasts than myself. I read plenty of reviews that called the book "formative" in one way or another for many readers. I hope my son will find it meaningful when he gets around to it.
July 2, 2011
Plimpton traces his own experiences in Lions training camp at the end of the franchise's golden era in the early 1960s. I remember this book on my father's shelf when I was a boy and when I asked him about it recently, he began to recite scenes from memory - clearly it made an impression on him as a young sportscaster. It's well-written and made me wish Plimpton had been more of a contemporary. The stories capture an NFL long since past, where training camps, drafts, and gameplans were more simple activities. Given the complexity and money in current pro football, it is striking to read about the small distances between fans and players, the lazy nature of the business, and informality of gameplanning. Yet, it seemed that about 90% of what Plimpton discusses about football strategy, violence, professionalism, and myth some 50 years ago still echoes throughout the sport today. In some ways it suggests the game is more timeless than one might think, or perhaps less optimistically, a game that is more rooted in basic human instincts than many care to admit. A great sports read and a must-read for any football fan.
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