New Thinking Man's Guide to Professional Football

During his nearly 30 years at Sports Illustrated, Paul Zimmerman—known to readers as “Dr. Z”—rose to fame as one of the top writers in football history. 

The follow up to Zimmerman’s 1971 classic The Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football, The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football builds on the timeless insights of his original work. Filled with personal anecdotes from Zimmerman’s years covering football, this book offers a fascinating insight into the sport that will appeal to any fan that wants a deeper understanding and appreciation for the game. More than a generation later, Zimmerman’s work is as applicable today as when the updated edition came out in the late 1980s.

This widely-acclaimed guide covers:

• Positions
• Tactics
• Football scouting
• Broadcasting
• Minor leagues
• Time strategies
• Great players and top moments

Paul Zimmerman, known to readers of Sports Illustrated as "Dr Z," went to Stanford and Columbia University, where he graduated from Columbia College and earned a Master's Degree from the School of Journalism. Paul's active football career included playing for Horace Mann High School, Stanford University, a United States Army team in Germany and the Westchester Crusaders in the Atlantic Coast Football League. While playing for Horace Mann, he played against St. Cecilia High School, then coached by a young Vince Lombardi. While at Columbia, Paul coached the lightweight football team. He also played rugby, first with a club team in Westchester County, N.Y., and then was one of the founders of The Old Blue Rugby Football Club. He also boxed with Ernest Hemingway at Brown's Gym in New York City. Paul started his career in journalism at the Sacramento Bee before heading back to New York with stints at the New York Journal-American, The New York World-Telegram and Sun and The New York Post. While at the Post, he covered five Olympics, including the 1972 Munich Games; there, 11 members of the Israeli team and delegation were murdered. He was short-listed for a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of this event. Hired by Sports Illustrated in 1979, Paul was soon given the moniker "Dr. Z" for his vast knowledge of football. He worked as a senior writer for SI and SI.com until Nov. 22, 2008 when he suffered a series of devastating strokes. Though he understands everything spoken to him, he can no longer read, write or speak. In 2013 Paul and NFL Films' Ken Rogers won an Emmy for the NFL Films short documentary, "Yours Truly, Dr. Z." Paul has two children, Sarah and Michael, and two stepchildren, Heather and Nathan. He has been married to Linda Bailey Zimmerman (aka The Flaming Redhead) for 20 years, and they live in northern New Jersey.