Paul Brown: The Man Who Invented Modern Football

by George Cantor, Bill Walsh (Foreword)

The first full-length biography of the legendary head coach of the Cleveland Browns, this book explores how Paul Brown worked his way from high school coach to pro football Hall of Famer, while setting forth a blueprint for the modern game. As the first coach to scout opponents through game films, call plays from the sideline, and systemize the college draft, Brown finessed the sport into a more precise science. His teams rarely disappointed, and he created a winning dynasty in Cleveland, coaching the Browns to three NFL championships and four AAFC titles. Based on extensive research and original interviews with former player and others, this book examines in absorbing detail Paul Brown's profound influence on the game.

Genres: Sports, Biography, Football

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2008

Reviews

[John Di Marzio · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping to read more about ‘Paul Brown the Innovator’ and yet this was sorely missed in this book. I should have known that the author was a sportswriter and he leaned more towards the ‘box score type of writing’ instead of who Paul Brown truly was. If the title says The Man who Invented Modern Football, then give me more of that and less of ‘they won this game and that game by such a score... the game situation was 3rd and 10 from the 5 yard line... etc....’. Such a tired approach and not reflective for such a great innovator that was Paul Brown.
It is stated that his wife was a source of great love and inspiration for him, and yet her entire story is told in less than 10 lines in the whole book. That’s it.. she was worth only 10 lines. Truly disappointing.
The writing was quite pedestrian with so many sentences broken up with lots of commas. In one instance, I counted 9 commas in one sentence! Sorry folks, I can’t give a thumbs up on this one.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for any true football fan or the fan that wants to know the history of the game. Paul Brown, started out as a high school coach first. That is where many of the ideas that he had to make the game better took place. Some of them also came about as him being a teacher, so he would give the players tests of the playbook, along with there position. High school is where he started jr. high football, so the players would know the plays by the time they came to high school. Later this would become the beginnings of the taxi squad. When someone got hurt he had a player who could play that position. He brought those ideas with him to Ohio State. By winning at high school and at college he was becoming a legend in the state of Ohio. After WW2 he was given a chance to coach a new team in a new league with the CLEVELAND BROWNS and from there he put into action everything he had been doing for many years. He started the playbook, giving tests, a taxi squad, face masks, after he was in the N.F.L.Because of an injured player and the league did not want to do anything about the injury. They say Bill Walsh came up with the west coast offense. But he said he learned it from Paul Brown, while being an asst. coach with him at Cincinnati.He had also signed two afican american players a year before Jackie Robinson, crossed the lines in baseball. One player Motley is in the Hall of Fame. I could go on but I wont you should read this book it is a great story and not just about football.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This turned out to be a quick read of a concise biography of a coaching legend of modern football. This book was very well-written, and contained some gems as far as insight into some personalities of the game. If you are a serious fan of football, this is a must-read.

[Wes Branscum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for ANY football fan