Fields of Honor: The Golden Age of College Football and the Men Who Created It

by Sally Pont

Provides an intriguing study of the founding fathers of college football and the evolution of the modern game of football in the years following World War II at the Miami University of Ohio, documenting the contributions of such key figures as Sid Gillman, Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, John Pont, Bo Schembechler, Bill Mallory, and others. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.

Genres: Sports

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great history and retrospective of the coaching hotbed of Miami of Ohio. A few factual inaccuracies, but overall a good read.

[Keith W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I knew the names of most of the coaches covered from following college football in the 1960's and 1970's, when I was growing up. However, I did not know the close connections that existed among many of them, through playing or coaching at Miami of Ohio, the so-called "Cradle of Coaches." They all enjoyed success, some more than others, of course, and all of their stories were interesting. My only real objection to the book comes from the thematic approach used by the author in many chapters, centered around family concepts such as "the wives" or "the sons" or "the daughters." I guess that was just a device used to structure the book and tell the stories of these fine men but the approach struck me as somewhat namby-pamby at times.

[Ryan Splenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book that is really solid when it comes to theme and topic but lacks in total content? This is that book for me. Sally Pont is an incredible writer and tackles a fascinating topic about all of the Hall of Fame college football coaches that came from the "Cradle of Coaches" (Miami of Ohio in Oxford) and how they changed and influenced the game in the 1960s and 1970s. The list is incredible: Ara Parseghian, Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes, Sid Gillman, Paul Dietzel, Carmen Cozza, Don Nehlen, and more. Pont does a great job of highlighting their rise, glory years, personal stories, and twilight, but only provides the highlights and leaves the reader wanting more. A more detailed analysis of each coach and their effect on the game would have put this book on another level. Still, it is worth reading for those who are fans of college football.