Tom Matte's Tales from the Baltimore Ravens Sideline [Hardcover]

Tom Matte (Author), Jeff Seidel (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

Tom Matte's Tales from the Baltimore Ravens Sideline examines the history of the Baltimore football franchise since their move from Cleveland to Baltimore in 1996. The book chronicles how the team built itself into the champions of Super Bowl XXXV with what many believe to have been the National Football League's best defense of all time. Former Baltimore football great Tom Matte also details how Ray Lewis became the league's best defender, how Brian Billick became one of the best known coaches, how the team rebuilt itself after the Super Bowl to be a good team once again, and how they have become the most popular sports franchise in Baltimore.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tom Matte played in the NFL for 12 years, all with the then Baltimore Colts. The running back ran for 4,646 yards and had 2,869 receiving yards while scoring a total of 57 touchdowns. He has been the Ravens' radio color analyst since the team came to town eight years ago. He is also the senior executive vice president/customer relations at ATC Logistics of Maryland. He and his wife Judy live in Baltimore. They have two children and one grandson.

Jeff Seidel has been a journalist in the Baltimore/Washington area for 18 years, covering high school, college, and professional sports. He has written for The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, the Associated Press, NFL.com, Lacrosse Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, Rinkside, Washington Jewish Week, and many other publications. Seidel lives in Baltimore with his wife and two children. This is his first book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 188 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582617546
• ISBN-13: 978-1582617541
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #877,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ravens History and Insight, August 8, 2004

By 

Crowdog (Hagerstown, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tom Matte's Tales from the Baltimore Ravens Sideline (Hardcover)

If you are a die hard Baltimore Ravens fan...you'll love this book and want it to be part of your collection.

This book spans the entire history of the Ravens from the move to Baltimore from Cleveland...all the way up to the 2004 off season. So, yes, this is very current stuff. Nice to have all of this information and history in one place to refer back to from time to time.

Not much in the way of "New" or Previously unknown material for the Raven fan whose been through it all, but their are some lesser known tidbits of information, and all from Tom Matte who played for the Baltimore Colts and has done the Ravens radio gameday broadcasts since the inception of the team.

Some excellent photos are included, although I'd rather they were placed in the center of the book instead of being interspersed throughout.

All in all, I'd recommend this book highly for football and especially Raven fans.

1.0 out of 5 stars Lame tid bits from the sidelines, March 23, 2005

By 

Chris Billop Jr. (Baltimore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tom Matte's Tales from the Baltimore Ravens Sideline (Hardcover)

I am not sure what book the other reviewer was reading but it could not have been this book. This is a very light look at the Ravens. Nothing new is presented and the stories are oddly devoid of interest for one of the most colorful teams in the NFL. Very little research or effort was taken to come up with the so called tales. The musing from Tom Matte are just that, musing from off the top of his head. He probably jotted them down one afernoon, at least thats how it seems. The book although written for a middle schooler would not interest one. If you want a good Baltimore football book buy an old paperback copy of Fatso by Artie Donovan. Now he is someone who knows how to spin a tale.