Fields of Honor: The Golden Age of College Football and the Men Who Created It [Paperback]

Sally Pont (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 2002

After World War II, a small group of men returned to Ohio--some to coach football and some to play, the GI Bill paying their way. At Miami University of Ohio, these men, united in the belief that playing football could improve character, created the modern game of football. Sid Gillman, the originating strategist, coached Ara Parseghian and Paul Dietzel; Woody Hayes coached Bo Schembechler, Carm Cozza, and John Pont; John Pont coached Bill Mallory; Bo Schembechler coached Bill Mallory's sons.
With her unique access as John Pont's niece and daughter of fabled Yale coach Richard Pont, Sally Pont beautifully portrays the interconnections, affections, rivalries, innovations, weaknesses, and strengths of these men. Tracing the game from its brawling roots to its balletic peaks, Fields of Honor is the inspiring and entertaining history of the founding families of America's most popular game in a time when strategy and sportsmanship ruled the gridiron.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Whittingham's book is a larger and much more objective study of the game. The chapters correspond to series episodes, with each focusing on broad issues such as great teams, great games, great players, etc. There are some errors (in one place Whittingham says that in the 1963 Rose Bowl, University of Southern California quarterback Pete Beathard passed for 401 yards, but in another he correctly says it was Wisconsin's Ron VanderKelen who put on that aerial show), but in a work of this magnitude all but the scholar can cut the author some slack. There will be demand for Rites of Autumn generated by the ESPN series. Pont's work might generate regional interest, but all but larger public libraries should be able to skip it. Jim Burns, Ottumwa P.L., IA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

A remarkable lineage of great college football coaches began shortly after World War II in Miami, Ohio, where Sid Gillman was head coach. From Gillman, either directly or indirectly, came Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, Paul Dietzel, Ara Parseghian, and Johnny Pont. Author Pont, niece of Johnny, examines these founding fathers of the college game and reflects on her own life around football (her father, brother of Johnny, was the line coach at Yale University for 28 years). What distinguishes this mix of memoir and sports history is the author's affection for her subjects and her ability to relate the personal interaction between the legendary coaches and their families. In this not-so-loose brotherhood of coaches, many would become rivals, but they would always remain friends. Pont effectively combines savvy football analysis with perceptive reflections on the bonds that held this family of coaches together. A treat for anyone who cares about the history of college football. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (September 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156027046
• ISBN-13: 978-0156027045
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,644,310 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic manual of coaching, June 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Fields of Honor: The Golden Age of College Football and the Men Who Created It (Hardcover)

Every coach, college football history fan should read this book. This is a manual for every coach on how to coach and act. The best college football history book I have read. You can learn a lot about how to live life, coach, and work.

3.0 out of 5 stars Flawed, but full of warmth, October 13, 2005

By 

Bob Roman (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fields of Honor: The Golden Age of College Football and the Men Who Created It (Hardcover)

This book could have been much better. First, it is full of factual errors (many noted by other reviewers here). Those errors should have been caught before the book was published. Second, Ms. Pont leaned much too heavily on the metaphors she introduced in her chapter titles (e.g., "Irony," "Knowing," "Full Circle," "Luck"), and so hammered the reader with them, under the flimsiest of pretexts, that it at times felt like reading a freshman term paper. That problem might have been resolved with another draft or two. Finally, the book would have felt more structured if the author had focused more tightly on the amazing streak of Miami of Ohio coaches (Gillman, Hayes, Parseghian, Pont, Schembechler, Mallory) and not pursued tangents with other members of the "brotherhood of Ohio coaches."

But I still fully enjoyed the book, because Ms. Pont's affection for her subjects is contagious. And because she seemed to pull warmth out of those subjects that other writers do not necessarily find.

So I recommend the book to anyone who loves college football. But I do wish it were better.

3.0 out of 5 stars Thin on details, July 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Fields of Honor: The Golden Age of College Football and the Men Who Created It (Hardcover)

I had been wanting to pick up this book for some time and finally did. It is a far cry from Junction Boys and The Undefeated, mainly because it lacks some detail. Possibly there could have been more of the interaction of the coaches and their players (Woody's Boys is a good example). I was lost at some times about the actual occurrences because it seemed somewhat disjointed at times. I found the twilight section to be somewhat interesting, but could there not been some emphasis on the middle of these coaches careers a little more? The early sense I had of the book was the significance of Miami as the "Cradle of Coaches" but that seemed to be lost in the significance of these individuals being from Ohio. More coaches could have been added - possibly more on Doyt Perry at BG, Dr. Lee Tressell, Earle Bruce (Ohio born and bred), and others. I did not like the use of backward scores (lost to . . . 17-20). To people who follow sports heavily that is a silly way to list the scores. Also the author and publisher might have wanted to check details. Pont writes on page 119 that Ohio State lost to Colorado 27-10 in the 1976 Orange Bowl. I remember that game and it seemed to me that OSU pushed the Buffs all over the field . . . and according to a 2001 OSU football program, Ohio State won that game 27-10. Future re-printings should reflect that correction.