About Three Bricks Shy...And the Load Filled Up [Paperback]

Jr Roy Blount (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 1989

This is the thirtieth-anniversary edition of a book long considered a classic and one of Sports IllustratedsTop 100 Sports Books of All Time. The story of the 1973 Pittsburgh Steelers--a team that was super, but missed the bowl.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Not merely is ‘Three Bricks’ funny, smart, perceptive and winning, there’s also a lovely quality about it that, for all the ferocity of the gridiron and the profanity of some of its language, I’d call gentleness. It’s a book about men in groups, this particular group being one that plays a very rough game, and it’s actually far less about football than about people.”
—The Washington Post

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

"A terrific book. . . . I have never read anything else on pro football, fiction or nonfiction, as good as this."-New York Times Book Review

"Richly worded, highly affectionate, frequently reflective, sometimes indiscreet. . . . One of the best sports books of its kind."-Library Journal

"Both a literary and journalistic masterpiece. . . . At last, a superb and superbly hilarious writer has gone deep beneath the surface of the sport and wrenched the truth from it."-Dan Jenkins, author of Semi-Tough

"Raucous, affectionate, bawdy, and hilarious."-Washington Post --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 349 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; Rev Sub edition (October 28, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345364414
• ISBN-13: 978-0345364418
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,197,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars pittsburg?, September 28, 2005

By 

mesa maestro "den_quixote" (mesa, arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: About Three Bricks Shy: And The Load Filled Up (Paperback)

this is the classic football book, on a par with jim bouton's "ball four." it should be enjoyable for any football fan, but fans of the 4-time super bowl winners should be especially appreciative of this chronicle of the team written during the year of franco's "immaculate reception." it is extraordinarily funny and informative, eye-opening even. this being said, it was no pleasure trying to struggle through all the mistakes that were made, either by the author or by this current publisher, the university of pittsburgh press (i am inclined to blame the publisher.) this is the 30th anniversary edition for pete's sake. can't you get it right after 30 years? it is so bad that the publisher even misspells the city in which it is located, pittsburgh pennsylvania has an "h" folks. you're not in kansas anymore.

but if you can get past the fact that you might have to read several sentences, maybe even paragraphs, an extra time or two to be sure what the author means, this is one great story.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Steelers fan in the 70s and fovever, May 29, 2007

By 

R. Mong "Milk CPA" (Oil City, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: About Three Bricks Shy: And The Load Filled Up (Paperback)

This book is one of the best sports books I have read. Blount spent a year with the Steelers. The season he writes about was the year after the Immaculate Reception. This was the season before their first Super Bowl win. Many of the Steeler players and their coach went on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. At the time of the book they were young and just beginning to make their mark. It was interesting to read about their struggles and woes knowing that they would go on to be among the greatest of all time.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest football TEAM ever, Greatest football TOWN ever., October 5, 2006

By 

SteelTownKid (FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: About Three Bricks Shy: And The Load Filled Up (Paperback)

This book is a classic. It gives the reader a feeling of what is was like in the "old Pittsburgh" of the late 1960's and early 1970's. And gives you an inside look at the birth of the best football team that ever played. And most importantly, the birth of the infamous "Steel Curtain defense". I really belive that parts of this book could be made into a full length feature film that all sports, and movie fans would enjoy. This story will explain the blood and sweat connection between the real Pittsburgh fans and their football team. Because of the people that worked in the huge steel mills, and all of the great NFL football players that were born in that area. It's a connection between the fans and the team that is unmatched in american sports.