'63: The Story of the 1963 World Championship Chicago Bears [Hardcover]

Gary Youmans (Author), Maury Youmans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2004

Players and coaches tell the remarkable story of their team's amazing ride to glory.

Guided by legendary coach/owner George Halas, the 1963 Chicago Bears came together to produce one memorable season. Their story, told through the eyes of the players and coaches who were there, provides a humorous and compelling look back at professional football in the early 1960s.

The unrelenting Chicago defense under the tutelage of a youthful George Allen dominated pro football in 1963, etching their rightful place in history as one of the great defenses of all time. Led by true giants of the game - Mike Ditka, Doug Atkins, Bill George, Stan Jonesdashthis group of tough, hardnosed athletes pulled together to win a World Championship. Relive that remarkable season with penetrating stories of their battles on and off the field.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'63 reads like an epic of a mythical team." -- Bill Gleason, Quote, October 1, 2004

"A great book about a group of tough guys." -- Mike Ditka, Tight End Bears 1963

"A wonderful story where hard work, team work, and dedication meant more than money to a group of gritty guys." -- Dan Sullivan, OffensiveTackle, Baltimore Colts, 1963

"This book stirred my emotional juices, feeling the excitement of the games, and the great brotherhood of my teammates." -- Rick Casares, Fullback Bears 1963

"This book will take you into the huddle of the special men who won the 1963 World Championship." -- Rick Casares, Quote, September 25, 2004

It is a great read! -- Gil Brandt, NFL.com, October 4, 2004

About the Author

Maury Youmans is director of sports marketing for Rosser International, Inc., an architectural and engineering firm.

Gary Youmans is a sports marketing consultant and has owned a minor league basketball team. He was a member of the Syracuse University football team in 1959. He went on to play defensive end for the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys, retiring in 1965.

The Youmans coauthored '59: The Story of the 1959 Syracuse National Championship Football Team.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Syracuse Univ Pr (Sd) (August 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815681402
• ISBN-13: 978-0815681403
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,535,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hardly An In Depth Book, October 20, 2005

By 

C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: '63: The Story of the 1963 World Championship Chicago Bears (Hardcover)

It has become fashionable in the last several years to write books about a particular year in sports whether it is baseball, or in this case, football. David Halberstan wrote "October '64", and "Summer of '49", both of which do justice to the subject at hand. Unfortunately, this effort on the Chicago Bears' 1963 championship season is a short read, and certainly not an in depth study of the topic at hand. At times the authors seem to fill in space on matters that have nothing to do with the Bears' season. An example is when we are told about ex Baltimore Colt and Pittsburgh Steeler Eugene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb's death which took place after he was not only out of football, but after the Bears' championship. Short anecdotes are told by various players on a variety of subjects throughout the book and appear to act as a filler. I had a local bookstore order the book for me. If I had a chance to leaf through the book in a bookstore to see the format of comments jumping from one individual to another I probably would have put it back on the shelf. The subject matter of the Bears 1963 season is a worthy subject of a book, but we need someone else to tell the story. This book appears to have been hastily put together.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Book About A Bears Championship Season, May 31, 2009

By 

Winslow Bunny "Winslow_Bunny" (Rockledge, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: '63: The Story of the 1963 World Championship Chicago Bears (Hardcover)

"'63: The Story of the 1963 World Champion Chicago Bears," is brought to us by the Youmans brothers, Gary and Maury. Maury was a member of the Bears during that season, unfortunately missing the whole season due to a knee injury. However, to the reader's benefit, we receive an insider's look at the team and personalities that comprised the Bears that year. In several ways, it was a year of highlights for the NFL: the AFL was beginning to show that it would be a major force in football, the assassination of Kennedy and subsequent playing of games only two days later had a major affect on players, the commissioner and the league; the suspension of two major stars undoubtably helped the Bears achieve their championship; and the active players of that time are the players of legend today (i.e., Unitas, Tarkenton, Nitschke, etc. - even Lombardi and Halas coaching). This was pre-union, pre-free agency, work-in-the-offseason-for-the-players football, a long way away from where players are in franchise status today, but still the same great game. The Youumans work through the highlights of every game, give stories about may of the players, and if the book lacks for depth in any way, it is not distracted by the other stories of the year which are not part of the Bears championship. Chapters could be written about other related (or even somewhat related) stories of the year (playing the league schedule after Kennedy was killed, for example, or the death of Big Daddy Lipscomb), but I believe that if you want a look at the 1963 Bears, who played, how they played, what they were like, what it was like to be with the Bears during that season, the Youmans brothers have done a fine job of presenting this picture of this team at this year to you in this book.