Respectable Roughnecks: The True Story of a Forgotten Champion

by Brendon G Steenbergen

The 1960 Missouri Tigers football team entered the season with low expectations. But over the course of their incredible season, they set or broke nearly every record in school history en route to a controversial national championship run. Not only is this true story a record on on the field football accomplishments, but it also follows the story of Norris Stevenson and Mel West, the first two African-American players to ever play at Missouri.In the midst of all of this was a massive controversy between Missouri and their archrival Kansas Jayhawks who bent and broke rules in an effort to derail the Tigers' perfect season. This story details the gridiron struggles, the Civil Rights era battles, and the innerworkings of NCAA rulemaking. At the end of Missouri's incredible season, they encountered the Heisman Trophy winning Joe Belino's Navy squad in the Orange Bowl, backed by newly elected John F. Kennedy, cheering from the stands.Respectable Roughnecks captures the inspiring personal determination of Coach Dan Devine, his leadership and demand of excellence from his players and coaches, pushing and driving his team as they got closer and closer and the games got bigger and bigger.

Genres: Sports

247 pages, Paperback

Published March 31, 2024

Reviews

[Logan Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

We should claim that championship dammit

[Jessica Caldera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting and personal story that any Mizzou or college football fan would appreciate.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve grown up a Mizzou fan and live 30 minutes from Campus and knew shockingly little about this 1960 team. Thank you to Brendon for bringing this story to life for those of us that weren’t around to experience it. This is a must read for any Mizzou fan or college football fan in general. Things feel like they are on the upswing for Mizzou football as we enter 2025. Here’s hoping Eli Drinkwitz can take his place next to Dan Devine and Gary Pinkel as coaches that took the Tigers to a new level.

[Adam Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible look at an outstanding football team. Steenbergen makes you feel as if you’re in the room with the Big 8 faculty representatives as they decided kansas’s fate. With such meticulous research and detail, it feels as though this happened last year, not 64 years ago.

A must-read for all Mizzou fans and fans of college football history.

[MizzouTodd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Well-researched and well-written. It’s was fun to learn the details of the 1960 Tigers…a team that is revered by Mizzou fans. I always knew kU played an ineligible player but didn’t know the details of the situation - wow. The book brings Mizzou legends to life. Must read for all Tiger fans!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read for any Missouri Tigers 🐯 fan who wants to catch up on the history of the program and college football in general MIZ

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who bleeds black and gold, I loved this retelling of the 1960 Missouri Tigers football team’s victories.