Golden Boy [Hardcover]

Paul Hornung (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2004

Paul Hornung was football's "Golden Boy" -- handsome, talented, and fabulously successful. He had a great career at Notre Dame, where he won the Heisman Trophy (the only player ever to win it on a team with a losing record). He was the #1 draft pick in the NFL and went to the Green Bay Packers, a terrible team soon transformed by a new head coach, Vince Lombardi. Hornung's Packer teams would become a dynasty, and ten of his teammates (as well as Lombardi) would eventually join him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hornung led the NFL in scoring from 1959 to 1961, setting a single-season scoring record in 1960 that still stands. He was Player of the Year in 1960 and 1961.

Hornung always loved the good life. He had girlfriends all across the country, and he was a regular at Toots Shor's and at clubs in Chicago and Los Angeles. A frustrated Lombardi once asked him whether he wanted to be a player or a playboy, and his teammates joked about his Hollywood ambitions. On game days Hornung was always ready to play, but the night after a game -- and sometimes even the night before -- was a different story.

For Hornung, the good life came at a price: his gambling cost him a year's suspension from the NFL in 1963. He accepted his punishment, refusing to implicate anyone else, but in this autobiography he reveals just how widespread gambling was in the NFL.

However, on the playing field Hornung and his Packer teammates made football history. Bart Starr, Max McGee, Jim Taylor, Ray Nitschke, Jerry Kramer, Jim Ringo, Ron Kramer, Forrest Gregg, Fuzzy Thurston, Willie Davis, Herb Adderley, Willie Wood -- they're all here, and Hornung has great stories to tell about them and about some of their biggest games together.

Golden Boy is a must-read for football fans, a colorful, candid slice of pigskin history from one of the game's immortal legends.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hornung personified his nickname, "Golden Boy," on many levels—as a football star; a handsome, hard-partying ladies' man; and a friend to the rich and beautiful—and his autobiography covers each aspect of his life in a colorful and up-front manner. The book, "as told to William F. Reed," is conversational in tone; readers will feel as if they're one of Hornung's Packer teammates or drinking buddies reminiscing about the good old days. Hornung was good at pretty much everything he did, and he lets readers know it. But the bragging and name-dropping (from JFK and Frank Sinatra to mobsters and countless showgirls) is balanced by Hornung's genuine love and respect for his mother, his Packers coach Vince Lombardi and his teammates and friends. Hornung honestly reflects on the blemishes on his golden halo, like his 1963 suspension for gambling. Since he's always acknowledged his guilt, this isn't tremendous news, but, admirably, Hornung does praise Pete Rozelle, the NFL commissioner who suspended him. Interestingly, he also says he tried to persuade Pete Rose, to no avail, to follow his lead and admit his gambling problem. Finally, Hornung convincingly apologizes for his "stupid remarks" in March 2004 (he commented that his alma mater, Notre Dame, must lower its academic standards to "get the black athlete"). While not a shining literary achievement, this is an entertaining autobiography. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“An entertaining autobiography.”—Publishers Weekly

(Publishers Weekly ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743266196
• ISBN-13: 978-0743266192
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #263,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not so Golden, December 22, 2004

By 

Olden Boy (Rochester, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golden Boy (Hardcover)

I have met Paul Hornung in person twice. The second time was in Green Bay when I bought this book at a book signing. Not only did Hornung charge full price for the book, he charged an additional $15 for his signature! I was the only person in line at the time and as a common courtesy I stuck out my hand to shake his after getting my book. At first it looked like he wouldn't even shake my hand. He finally relented and gave me a dead fish handshake without removing the Sharpie from his hand. Reading this book was about as satisfying as that handshake. Hornung is big on name dropping, but seems to have little use for the common fan.

This book reads easily, but is not rewarding. It contains many unflattering items about Hornung. He got his girlfriend pregnant in college and let her go off and have an abortion. Hornung told her whatever she did to keep it quiet to avoid any bad publicity. Certainly, everyone has heard about the womanizing and Hornung readily admits that much of it occurred while he was married to his first wife. He also admits to smoking marijuana on multiple occasions and trying cocaine once (he didn't like it). Gambling is justified as a way of life learned from his Louisville upbringing. An episode in which Hornung used insider information on a player's injury to place a large college bowl game bet is detailed. His embarassing comments regarding lowering Notre Dame's admission standards to get "the black athlete" are also discussed. Hornung seems truly amazed that just apologizing like a good Catholic going to confession (which Hornung doesn't believe in) hasn't enabled him to continue broadcasting Notre Dame football games.

I was astounded by the great number of factual errors in this book. It made me wonder if the publisher has any fact checkers on staff. Off the top of my head, I remember these errors:

Forrest Gregg was said to retire before the 1967 season to become an assistant coach at Tennessee. In reality, Gregg played for the Packers through the 1970 season.

Fred Williamson was said to be on the Oakland Raiders team that played in Super Bowl II instead of the Kansas City Chiefs team that played in Super Bowl I.

Hornung incorrectly states that the score of Super Bowl I was 37-10 instead of 35-10.

Frank Gifford is said to be on the original Monday Night Football team instead of Keith Jackson.

Hornung states that he didn't like Dan Devine because he crippled the Packers franchise by wasting several number one draft picks on Dan Fouts. It that were true, it might have been a good trade. Actually, Devine sent five high draft picks to San Diego for John Hadl not Dan Fouts.

Eddie Lee Ivery's last name is incorrectly spelled Ivory.

I think Paul Hornung still sees himself as a matinee idol. He has basically lived life on scholarship and I guess he figured he could cash in on this book without a great deal of effort. It is obvious that more effort should have gone into this book. For my money, Hornung is overrated. It never ceases to amaze me how he is given more credit for the Packers success of the 1960's than leading rushing Jim Taylor.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Uncomfortable feeling..., January 4, 2005

By 

Fred D. Kreamelmeyer (Muncie, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Golden Boy (Hardcover)

When writing a book like this - you simply MUST get your facts straight or no one is going to believe you... If you cannot even get the factual stuff right, then it is hard if not impossible, to believe the opinion sort of stuff... I can give a bunch of examples - He had the score of the first Super Bowl wrong - NOT 37-10 (it was 35-10) - He had the record of the first year of the New Orleans Saints wrong - NOT 3 & 8 (it was 3 & 11) and his own stats in the back do not add up properly...There are well over a dozen such errors & it would be too boring to list them all - Lots of the stuff may have been simple typos, but still, someone should be checking that sort of stuff before it goes to press - It creates some doubt over pretty much the entire work. But then there are even the other kinds of stories which are clearly more than just errors in data. One example is when he talks about his running mate in the Green Bay backfield, Jimmy Taylor. He states that Taylor played on a national championship team @ LSU, but was overshadowed by Billy Cannon. This is simply NOT TRUE!!! Taylor played on two VERY mediocre LSU teams and HE, not Cannon, was the star of those teams. Taylor graduated & went on to play in the NFL, Cannon remained @ LSU for two more years - it was THEN that Cannon became a star - LSU won the National Championship (AFTER Taylor had graduated) and then Cannon went on to win the Heisman Trophy the following year (again AFTER Taylor was in the NFL) - Hornung had some blockbuster things to say in his book - but the thing is... there are so many errors that I am sure of... it just gives me an uncomfortable feeling that he is just throwing things out there that are just plain wrong. I just wonder how much of any of it is true? ... Also... ol' Paul is pretty full of himself... it will only take you a few pages to realize this. I did enjoy reading the book overall, it brought back a lot of memories, but as I finished the book, "uncomfortable" is the best way I can sum up my feelings about it...

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars As deep as condensation on a windshield, December 8, 2004

By 

W. Manuel (Spokane, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Golden Boy (Hardcover)

Reading this book , one might conclude that only five things mattered to Paul Hornung: football, alcohol, women (perhaps sex with women is more accurate), gambling and nightclubs (and the entertainers and hoods who inhabited them). As a window into the personality of a rather shallow and non-reflective human being, this book might be worthwhile. On any other level, it is a failure. It offers little insight into the game of football, it's evolution over the 50's and 60's, or the people who played it for Notre Dame or the Green Bay Packers. (Instant Reply or Distant Replay are both far superior). What kind of school was Notre Dame? I can't remember any class even being mentioned? Did Hornung appreciate the unique environment of professional football in a small town like Green Bay, Wisconsin. Again, not a word.
The book reads like a quickie done for pocket change. Some of the factual errors are quite remarkable: Hornung states that Fred Williamson played for the Raiders and got "hammered" in Super Bowl II. Wrong: he played for the Chiefs in Super Bowl I. He states that Frank Gifford was on the original broadcast team for Monday Night Football. Wrong: Gifford joined in the second season, replacing Keith Jackson. One wonders if Hornung actually read the ghostwriter's script.