War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest - Hardcover

Rosenberg, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0446580139 ISBN 13: 9780446580137

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2008

Synopsis

The Vietnam War . . .

Nixon . . .

Kent State . . .

The late 1960s and early 1970s were a time of total turmoil in America-the country was being torn apart by a war most people didn't support, young men were being taken away by the draft, and racial tensions were high. Nowhere was this turmoil more evident than on college campuses, the epicenters of the protest movement.

The uncertain times presented a challenge to two of the greatest football coaches of all time. Woody Hayes, the legendary archconservative coach of Ohio State, feared for the future of America. His protégé and rival, Bo Schembechler of the University of Michigan, didn't want to be bothered by these "distractions." Hayes worshipped General George S. Patton and was friends with President Richard Nixon. Schembechler befriended President Gerald Ford, a former captain and team MVP for the Wolverines.


In this enthralling book, Michael Rosenberg dramatically weaves the campus unrest and political upheaval into the story of Hayes and Schembechler. Their rivalry began with Schembechler arriving in protest-heavy Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the height of the Vietnam War. It ended with Hayes wondering what had happened to his country. War As They Knew It is a sobering and fascinating look at two iconic coaches and a different generation.

About this title

About the Author

MICHAEL ROSENBERG is a sports columnist for the Detroit Free Press as well as a featured columnist at FOXsports.com, making him one of the best-read sports writers in the country. Rosenberg's work appears in the 2005 edition of Best American Sports Writing and he has received numerous awards for his work.

Reviews

The yearly battle between Ohio State and the University of Michigan is one of the most intensely fought rivalries in college football, and one of its greatest eras began in 1969, when Bo Schembechler arrived in Michigan as the team's new head coach. Schembechler had been a former protégé of Woody Hayes, the legendary coach of Ohio State—who was so intimidating that one player used to be terrified that Hayes would kick him in the testicles during practice, despite never having seen him do it to another player. Rosenberg, a sportswriter for the Detroit Free Press, tracks how the two coaches pushed their players to greatness over the next nine years (until Hayes was fired after punching an opposing player in the middle of a game) while trying to adjust to the social upheavals of the 1970s. His attempts to bring the radical student underground into the story are an intermittent distraction—the most powerful drama is out on the football field and in the locker room when every year Schembechler and Hayes went head-to-head. The story has its strong moments, including one of history's most notorious missed field goals, but it's the dual portrait of the old-school coaching legends that's the real attraction. (Sept. 10)
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Edition details

• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0446580139
• ISBN 13: 9780446580137
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 374