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Johnny U: The Life and Times of John Unitas | 
 enlarge | Author: Tom Callahan
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $4.32
You Save: $9.63 (69%)
New (30) Used (36) from $4.32
Avg. Customer Rating:  67 reviews
Sales Rank: 315714
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 1400081408
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN: 9781400081400
ASIN: 1400081408
Publication Date: August 28, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: A nice ex-library copy. Gently used. Pages and cover contain writing and a few library markings. Softly worn around edges and corners. Binding solid but no longer tight. Cover and pages are worn with light creasing and warping.
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Product Description
In a time “when men played football for something less than a living and something more than money,” John Unitas was the ultimate quarterback. Rejected by Notre Dame, discarded by the Pittsburgh Steelers, he started on a Pennsylvania sandlot making six dollars a game and ended as the most commanding presence in the National Football League, calling the critical plays and completing the crucial passes at the moment his sport came of age.
Johnny U is the first authoritative biography of Unitas, based on hundreds of hours of interviews with teammates and opponents, coaches, family and friends. The depth of Tom Callahan’s research allows him to present something more than a biography, something approaching an oral history of a bygone sporting era. It was a time when players were paid a pittance and superstars painted houses and tiled floors in the off-season—when ex-soldiers and marines like Gino Marchetti, Art Donovan, and “Big Daddy” Lipscomb fell in behind a special field general in Baltimore. Few took more punishment than Unitas. His refusal to leave the field, even when savagely bloodied by opposing linemen, won his teammates’ respect. His insistence on taking the blame for others’ mistakes inspired their love. His encyclopedic football mind, in which he’d filed every play the Colts had ever run, was a wonder.
In the seminal championship game of 1958, when Unitas led the Colts over the Giants in the NFL’s first sudden-death overtime, Sundays changed. John didn’t. As one teammate said, “It was one of the best things about him.”
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 62 more reviews...
 Great story June 16, 2008
This item arrived quickly and in good condition. This is more 'times' than 'life', but the combination works well and delivers a great book.
 "The Greatest" deserves better! May 29, 2008
When I read that Unitas was receiving a new biography I was very excited. After reading many great sports-related books in the past few years (Maraniss' "When Pride Still Mattered," Kriegel's "Namath," Barra's "The Last Coach," and everything by Halberstam), I just knew that Unitas had to be getting his just due. Sadly, this is not the case. I can't believe the favorable reviews for this book! There is nothing new that is not found in others concerning the Colts and Unitas. The '58 Championship and Super Bowl III make up the majority of this book--who hasn't heard, read, or seen everything there is to know about these games? The author had the opportunity to fill in the gaps between and after these events, but fails to do so.
More attention could have been paid to Unitas' other 2 MVP years--1964 & 1967. Also, a fuller account of the politics surrounding Unitas' demise in Baltimore would have been interesting. A frank post-career history should have been included--I'd like to know how he was screwed by his business partners as much as how his kids thought he was a great dad.
All-in-all just a major disappointemnt. I really thought the author kind of mailed it in on this one.
Too bad. Johnny Unitas was the greatest, and he deserved a better treatment.
Johnny U - Pure dynamite February 17, 2008
It's not often that a book can "transport" the reader back to the time and with the feeling that they experienced at the time the depicted events were happening but "Johnny U" does just that.
As a kid growing up in a town on Maryland's Eastern Shore, the Colts were our team and Johnny U was our man. In our neighborhood, every kid who took his turn at QB in a vacant lot game became "Johnny U" (or Berry or "the Horse").
As I read this book, the times, the excitement, the flavor of that era once again became real to me. If you were a Colts fan during the time of Johnny U, you can feel it. If you are a younger fan of football, you can get a real flavor of the game and the place of that time.
It was a time when the Quarterback was the field general, calling most if not all the plays. It was the time before the "spike" when a QB in the two minute drill called 2 plays in the huddle and executed them both for gains or a win. It was a time when the sideline was the 12th man on the field and it was a time when your QB (#19) put the ball where only his teammate could catch it and stop the clock at the same time. We never seemed to worry if the Colts were down by less than 14 points at the 2 minute warning. Johnny U and company could (and often did) still pull out a win.
If you are a football lover or sports fan who wants an excellent history book, it doesn't get any better than "Johnny U".
Brings Back One of the Greats! January 12, 2008
I couldn't put this one down! Almost made me late to work. Easy to read, bringing great names to life. As I read, I came to feel that I personally knew Unitas, Nomellini, Tittle, and the rest. It makes me sad that the days of "smash-mouth" football are gone!
 Very good read December 20, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I wasn't around in the days of Unitas but reading this book gives one a feel of what life was like in the 1950's NFL and it definitely gives us a good look at Unitas the man.
Johnny Unitas comes across as a legend and leader. What more could a team or nation want from a sportsman?
If you want to read a good, solid book and get a fair bit of hero worship (not a bad thing), then this is the book to read.
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