Lombardi and Me: Players, Coaches, and Colleagues Talk About the Man and the Myth [Hardcover]

Paul Hornung (Author), Billy Reed (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

Vince Lombardi remains one of the most beloved and respected figures in professional football more than 35 years after his death. Like many other men of his stature, he is also something of a mystery to those outside of his intimate circle. Hall of Fame player and Lombardi favorite Paul Hornung enlisted his old teammates and others who are a part of the NFL or closely associated with the coach to share their most personal thoughts and reminiscences about the greatest coach who ever lived.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

More than 35 years after his death in 1970, Vince Lombardi is still widely considered one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century. He extolled the virtues of discipline, dedication, and determination and convincingly backed up his claims by leading a once downtrodden Green Bay Packers franchise to five world titles in nine seasons. Lombardi was beloved throughout the city of Green Bay—by his players, coaches, media, and fans alike. There were certainly those on his own teams and throughout the league whose relationships with the coach were more contentious than cordial, but he was universally respected, and he had the uncanny ability to make everyone around him willing to go to any length to earn his respect in return. One of the players whom Lombardi loved and respected most was Hall of Famer Paul Hornung. Hornung was dubbed the "Golden Boy" during his college career at Notre Dame and went on to become the centerpiece of Lombardi’s championship teams in Green Bay. Hornung’s off-the-field exploits often commanded the same attention as his game-day accomplishments, and his charismatic nature attracted a national spotlight onto otherwise sleepy Green Bay throughout much of the 1960s. Despite their run-ins, or, perhaps, partly as a result of them, Lombardi and Hornung were in many ways like father and son. The star player constantly tested his coach’s patience and often needed to be reined in, but Lombardi had tremendous respect for Hornung’s competitive fire and leadership, as well as his teammates’ adoration for him. Hornung was equally enamored with Lombardi, and the driving force behind this unique collection of stories was his desire to examine the man and the legend from a number of different perspectives. Hornung reached out to his old teammates, other NFL dignitaries, and a few others who knew Lombardi intimately and compiled these fascinating personal recollections and accounts of the greatest all-time football coach at work and at play. The result of Hornung’s efforts is quite possibly the most honest and revealing look at Lombardi’s remarkable life and career.

About the Author

Paul Hornung, who became known as the "Golden Boy" during his Heisman Trophy career at Notre Dame, was the leader of Coach Vince Lombardi’s great Green Bay Packers teams from 1959 to 1966. Lombardi called him "the best clutch player I ever coached." Now a semiretired businessman, Hornung lives in Louisville, Kentucky, his hometown.

Billy Reed wrote under the byline William F. Reed during his 29-year career with Sports Illustrated. A former sports editor of The (Louisville) Courier-Journal, Reed has written extensively about his friend Paul Hornung and coauthored his autobiography.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572438657
• ISBN-13: 978-1572438651
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #931,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( L ) > Lombardi, Vince

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit sloppy, January 16, 2007

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Steve Dossey (Somewhere just beyond or before the crossroads) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lombardi and Me: Players, Coaches, and Colleagues Talk About the Man and the Myth (Hardcover)

I have respected Paul Hornung's contributions to football and appreciate his perspectives. This is a well meaning book with some new recollections on Vince Lombardi--they help to provide additional insight into the coach and demonstrate the personal impact he had on his players and others that knew him. There are plentiful photos, most of Hornung and Lombardi ( most published before). However, this book is in need of better formatting and editing. First much of this book appears to based upon one or more of the subjects in a room and having their recollections taped. Their recollections appear to be transcribed as spoken. So you have someone referring to "you" or "you Paul" which reads awkwardly. Hornung then comments on each person who has shared their recollection. Some of these comments are just repeats of what the person said, others bring some insight into the player but not much. It would have been much better to have Hornung, summarize at the end of the book those recollections that especially resonated with him or better yet present a more detailed account of his encounters with the coach. Repeating each chapter title with for instance, Jerry Kramer on Lombardi, then, Jim Taylor on Lombardi, etc. is repetative and unnecessary.The title of the book is also misleading, it implies that the book is really about Hornung and Lombardi (yes I read the byline) when it really is about Players & Friends Remember Lombardi. The"farewell" speech by lombardi does not have any annotation so we do not know where or when and the context in which his comments were made. The farewell speach also contains an editing error where one sentence is repeated twice. Notwithstanding the issues noted, being a Packer fan, this was good read...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Inside Look, January 7, 2008

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Thomas M. Finch "wordstringer" (Pittsburgh, Pa.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lombardi and Me: Players, Coaches, and Colleagues Talk About the Man and the Myth (Paperback)

Having read David Maraniss's book about Lombardi gave me a complete picture of the man's life....this book by Paul Horung fills in the gaps. It presents a more-personal account by the people who knew him the best.
Most of the chapters in the book are stories told by Lombardi's friends and associates....and at the end of each chapter, Hornung adds a small commentary about the teller...the book is a good glimpse behind the legendary curtain of one of pro football's true heroes.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A 'must' for all Wisconsin community library collections, January 5, 2008

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lombardi and Me: Players, Coaches, and Colleagues Talk About the Man and the Myth (Paperback)

More than thirty-five years after his death, Vince Lombardi is still identified with an almost legendary status with respect to his practices, attitudes and accomplishments coaching the Green Bay Packer football team from 1959 to 1967. Written by Paul Hornung (one of Lombardi's best players) with the assistance of Billy Reed, "Lombardi And Me: Players, Coaches, And Colleagues Talk About the Man And the Myth" offers Packer fans truly insider stories about one of professional football's enduring men of legend as revealed in anecdotal stories obtained through interviews with Bart Starr, Lary Brown, Fuzzy Thurston, Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Lee Remmel, Willie Davis, George Dixon, Marv Fleming, Bill Cury, Vince Lombardi Jr., and many others. "Lombardi And Me" is a 'must' for all Wisconsin community library collections, and should be considered mandatory reading for Lombardi's legions of fans and admirers who remember the football glory days of the Packers under one of the most successful and charismatic coaches in the history of the game.