The inside story of the most colorful decade in NFL history—pro football’s raging, hormonal, hairy, druggy, immortal adolescence.
Between the Immaculate Reception in 1972 and The Catch in 1982, pro football grew up. In 1972, Steelers star Franco Harris hitchhiked to practice. NFL teams roomed in skanky motels. They played on guts, painkillers, legal steroids, fury, and camaraderie. A decade later, Joe Montana’s gleamingly efficient 49ers ushered in a new era: the corporate, scripted, multibillion-dollar NFL we watch today. Kevin Cook’s rollicking chronicle of this pivotal decade draws on interviews with legendary players—Harris, Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, Ken “Snake” Stabler—to re-create their heroics and off-field carousing. He shows coaches John Madden and Bill Walsh outsmarting rivals as Monday Night Football redefined sports’ place in American life. Celebrating the game while lamenting the physical toll it took on football’s greatest generation, Cook diagrams the NFL’s transformation from second-tier sport into national obsession. 8 pages of photographs
The Last Headbangers
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“A head-slap of a book. Whap, yeah, that’s how it was.” (Roy Blount, Jr. )
“Were we crazy? No—we loved the game, and this book shows why. Cook captures '70s football in all its glory.” (Roger Staubach, Hall of Fame quarterback, MVP of Super Bowl VI )
“Were we crazy? No—we loved the game, and this book shows why. Cook captures '70s football in all its glory.” (Roger Staubach, Hall of Fame quarterback, MVP of Super Bowl VI )
About the Author
Kevin Cook is the award-winning author of Titanic Thompson and Tommy’s Honor. He writes for Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Men’s Health, and other magazines and has appeared on ESPN, Fox TV, and CNN.
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20 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By S. Conner
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Last Headbangers is an interesting and entertaining book that is not what its title claims it to be. It traces NFL history in the 1970's from Franco Harris's "Immaculate Reception" in December 1972 through Dwight Clark's "The Catch" in January 1982, the book looks at how the NFL began the transition to the financial and sporting juggernaut it is today. It does so through the story of the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers, bitter rivals and arguably the two dominant teams of the era. Other teams pop up only in terms of things that happen to the Raiders or the Steelers. It may be Super Bowl/playoff opponents (Miami, Dallas, Minnesota primarily)
"Headbangers" does offer a clear explanation of the rules changes that went into effect to open the game up, and explains how bringing in the hash marks, moving the goal posts, and an array of rules that protected quarterbacks and freed wide receivers led to a more open game and ultimately to the rise of the West Coast Offense.
Using the Steelers and the Raiders changes in tactics and rules are traced and examined. Raider lore plays into the story with "the Sea of Hands", the "Holy Roller", and "the Ghost to the Post". The internal challenges faced in Pittsburgh of playing for Chuck Noll and the incredible 1974 draft that set up the Steelers for the balance of the decade.
Description of football games is excellent, especially if there is a tactical flare or special point involved-especially if it involves the Steelers or the Raiders. The analysis of how the rules changed defensive tactics (like the move to the Cover 2 defense) is nicely done.
"Headbangers" gives an excellent feel for how the NFL game transitioned from the running focus of the game through the 1960's and into the passing game now dominant in the league.
Despite all this, I only give it three stars...and that is because of what I saw as some distinct flaws in the book.
First, there is in the title vis-a-vis the actual focus. I am not a fan or foe of either the Steelers or the Raiders. I am a Washington Redskins fan, and remember that the decade in review was a time when the 'skins had George Allen as coach (and his paranoia with Dallas) the Over the Hill Gang (veterans who used every dirty trick in the book) the Thanksgiving Day Massacre loss to the Cowboys after knocking out Roger Staubach and falling to the arm of Clint Longley, the regular season final game loss in 1979 to the Cowboys when after the game Harvey Martin (I think) tossed a funeral wreath into the Redskins locker room....any of these things were in keeping with the "Rowdy, Reckless" theme of the title, but none were mentioned. In fact, this book would make you think the only rowdy and reckless teams were the Steelers and the Raiders...and even then mostly the Raiders. There is an occasional mention of "rowdy, reckless" players outside these two teams-how can you talk the 1970's and not mention Conrad Dobler?-but it is minimal.
Next, the Raiders are treated extemely gently for a team that gloried in their outlaw image. There is no mention of Kenny Stabler's alleged set up of a sports writer (who was critical of his play)for a drug arrest-an allegation that still stands as an obstacle to Stablers Hall of Fame candidacy. Legendary plays of the Raiders are rolled out like old friends, but plays equally famous in the time (like the SD Hook and Ladder) are not ignored.
The transisition to the West Coast offense is treated as if it happened overnight. Air Coryell in St. Louis and San Diego was the transition link from three yards and a cloud of dust to the WCO, but is not mentioned.
Finally, after spending 250 pages or so covering the period from 1972 to 1982, the author then tries to capture the next thirty years in one paragraph. It makes for a jumble of facts that lack any thread or theme. It is as if the author has an a host of facts so he just throws them at the reader. An example...the author notes that in the late 1980's the Steelers had risen in value to $150 million, and that is was the least valuable franchise in the league. Why? How did it happen? Could it have been because the Rooney's were a football family, and did not come into the game with a fortune from some other business? Facts like this are just dropped in without any clarification or analysis.
Ultimately, an interesting book but not one that truly addresses comprehensively the theme as suggested by the title. If you are interested in sports in general or NFL history a good but not thorough read. If you are a Steelers or Raiders fan, this book "awakens the echoes". Three Stars.
"Headbangers" does offer a clear explanation of the rules changes that went into effect to open the game up, and explains how bringing in the hash marks, moving the goal posts, and an array of rules that protected quarterbacks and freed wide receivers led to a more open game and ultimately to the rise of the West Coast Offense.
Using the Steelers and the Raiders changes in tactics and rules are traced and examined. Raider lore plays into the story with "the Sea of Hands", the "Holy Roller", and "the Ghost to the Post". The internal challenges faced in Pittsburgh of playing for Chuck Noll and the incredible 1974 draft that set up the Steelers for the balance of the decade.
Description of football games is excellent, especially if there is a tactical flare or special point involved-especially if it involves the Steelers or the Raiders. The analysis of how the rules changed defensive tactics (like the move to the Cover 2 defense) is nicely done.
"Headbangers" gives an excellent feel for how the NFL game transitioned from the running focus of the game through the 1960's and into the passing game now dominant in the league.
Despite all this, I only give it three stars...and that is because of what I saw as some distinct flaws in the book.
First, there is in the title vis-a-vis the actual focus. I am not a fan or foe of either the Steelers or the Raiders. I am a Washington Redskins fan, and remember that the decade in review was a time when the 'skins had George Allen as coach (and his paranoia with Dallas) the Over the Hill Gang (veterans who used every dirty trick in the book) the Thanksgiving Day Massacre loss to the Cowboys after knocking out Roger Staubach and falling to the arm of Clint Longley, the regular season final game loss in 1979 to the Cowboys when after the game Harvey Martin (I think) tossed a funeral wreath into the Redskins locker room....any of these things were in keeping with the "Rowdy, Reckless" theme of the title, but none were mentioned. In fact, this book would make you think the only rowdy and reckless teams were the Steelers and the Raiders...and even then mostly the Raiders. There is an occasional mention of "rowdy, reckless" players outside these two teams-how can you talk the 1970's and not mention Conrad Dobler?-but it is minimal.
Next, the Raiders are treated extemely gently for a team that gloried in their outlaw image. There is no mention of Kenny Stabler's alleged set up of a sports writer (who was critical of his play)for a drug arrest-an allegation that still stands as an obstacle to Stablers Hall of Fame candidacy. Legendary plays of the Raiders are rolled out like old friends, but plays equally famous in the time (like the SD Hook and Ladder) are not ignored.
The transisition to the West Coast offense is treated as if it happened overnight. Air Coryell in St. Louis and San Diego was the transition link from three yards and a cloud of dust to the WCO, but is not mentioned.
Finally, after spending 250 pages or so covering the period from 1972 to 1982, the author then tries to capture the next thirty years in one paragraph. It makes for a jumble of facts that lack any thread or theme. It is as if the author has an a host of facts so he just throws them at the reader. An example...the author notes that in the late 1980's the Steelers had risen in value to $150 million, and that is was the least valuable franchise in the league. Why? How did it happen? Could it have been because the Rooney's were a football family, and did not come into the game with a fortune from some other business? Facts like this are just dropped in without any clarification or analysis.
Ultimately, an interesting book but not one that truly addresses comprehensively the theme as suggested by the title. If you are interested in sports in general or NFL history a good but not thorough read. If you are a Steelers or Raiders fan, this book "awakens the echoes". Three Stars.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By cfw
Format:Hardcover
Anyone who has an NFL team or player they like to watch -- or one they like to hiss -- will get a kick out of Kevin Cook's entertaining look back at one of the sport's most interesting decades. The players were underpaid and virtually unprotected, rules were there to cheat on, rivalries were intense and personal. And the cast of characters was unique and colorful, and ranged from the gentleman to the maverick to the thug. Cook does a great job of putting together the personalities and the politics with the action on the field, retelling some of the legendary plays of that era (the "Immaculate Reception", for one) with comments from the players involved. You can be behind the scenes at Monday Night Football, and read of the jokes and hijinks in the locker rooms. You also hear the bad side: the brutality and sex and stupidity, and the terrible toll the game extracts from its players even today. If you're looking for a good read or a good gift, this could fill the bill.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Don't get me wrong, there are some nice nuggets in here (who knew Minnesota Vikings' coach Bud Grant won an NBA championship with the Minneapolis Lakers in 1950 or that Chicago Bears player/owner [say what?] George Halas held the record for longest runback of a fumble for 49 seasons?) and the book is a breezy easy read. The problem I had with this book is many fold. There was way too much emphasis on dissecting the actual Super Bowl games (often the most boring games of the NFL season especially in the '70s), way too much focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers (I get it, they won four Super Bowls during this era, but there were chapters after chapters on the buildup of that team) and, lastly, the book tacks on stuff on the early '80s emergence of the Bill Walsh era San Francisco 49ers. The latter is all well and good but look at the subtitle of this book. Why leave out so much great grist from the '70s for an intro on the Niners of the '80s?
With the author focusing so much attention on the Steelers vs. Raiders playoff rivalry he completely left out, or brushed over, such fanastic '70s topics as:
--the Over The Hill Gang Washington "Ramskins" under coach George Allen
--the merger and radical divisional realignment in 1970
--the Rams' Jack Youngblood playing on a broken leg in the Super Bowl
--the fall of the Green Bay Packers post-Lombardi and Lombardi's move to the Redskins
--O.J. Simpson 2,003-yard rushing season and the Electric Company
--the local TV blackout rules and the term no-shows coming into vogue
--introduction of sudden-death overtime in regular season games
--early Air Coryell in St. Louis with the Cardinals
--the Baltimore Colts era of QB Bert Jones
--1976 expansion and the exciting QB Jim Zorn-led Seattle Seahawks and the ex-USC John Mackay coached Tampa Bay Buccaneers going 0-26 before winning a game
--introduction of the 30-second play clock
--introduction of wild card playoff teams
Also, what was the deal with Oakland Raiders' linebacker Phil Villapiano? He did talk about other more significant Raiders but what was up with following his post-Raiders career on Buffalo? Was that relevant to anything at all? As a Raider fan I love Villapiano but did he warrant more ink than other Raiders?
For all the Raider talk the Ghost To The Post OT playoff game in 1977 vs. the Colts was given barely a thought considering Coach John Madden often refers to it as the best game he ever witnessed let alone coached in.
How about slicing down the Villapiano and telling us all about the wild 1970 season when 43-year-old George Blanda either kicked or quarterbacked the Raiders to come-from-behind victories (or ties) in five consecutive games?
The author went on and on about the significance of Monday Night Football which was spot on but didn't even mention NFL Today--virtually the only NFL pre-game show that had the iconic crew of Brent Musberger, Phyllis George, Irv Cross and Jimmy the Greek.
Weirdly, with the author's obsession with the Steelers he got the Jim Gilliam story in there but missed the whole Chuck "Ground" Knox LA Rams and their far more significant introduction of an African-American quarterback in James Harris who was actually good and an All-Pro. Wasn't it worth a chapter on the Rams for both the revival under Knox after the iconic George Allen left, the 1973 NFC MVP season of John Hadl who many thought was done when he left San Diego and most importantly the Rams' constant playoff failures?
Basically, there's more left out than in with this book on '70s football. Shame because this author does write some compelling text.
With the author focusing so much attention on the Steelers vs. Raiders playoff rivalry he completely left out, or brushed over, such fanastic '70s topics as:
--the Over The Hill Gang Washington "Ramskins" under coach George Allen
--the merger and radical divisional realignment in 1970
--the Rams' Jack Youngblood playing on a broken leg in the Super Bowl
--the fall of the Green Bay Packers post-Lombardi and Lombardi's move to the Redskins
--O.J. Simpson 2,003-yard rushing season and the Electric Company
--the local TV blackout rules and the term no-shows coming into vogue
--introduction of sudden-death overtime in regular season games
--early Air Coryell in St. Louis with the Cardinals
--the Baltimore Colts era of QB Bert Jones
--1976 expansion and the exciting QB Jim Zorn-led Seattle Seahawks and the ex-USC John Mackay coached Tampa Bay Buccaneers going 0-26 before winning a game
--introduction of the 30-second play clock
--introduction of wild card playoff teams
Also, what was the deal with Oakland Raiders' linebacker Phil Villapiano? He did talk about other more significant Raiders but what was up with following his post-Raiders career on Buffalo? Was that relevant to anything at all? As a Raider fan I love Villapiano but did he warrant more ink than other Raiders?
For all the Raider talk the Ghost To The Post OT playoff game in 1977 vs. the Colts was given barely a thought considering Coach John Madden often refers to it as the best game he ever witnessed let alone coached in.
How about slicing down the Villapiano and telling us all about the wild 1970 season when 43-year-old George Blanda either kicked or quarterbacked the Raiders to come-from-behind victories (or ties) in five consecutive games?
The author went on and on about the significance of Monday Night Football which was spot on but didn't even mention NFL Today--virtually the only NFL pre-game show that had the iconic crew of Brent Musberger, Phyllis George, Irv Cross and Jimmy the Greek.
Weirdly, with the author's obsession with the Steelers he got the Jim Gilliam story in there but missed the whole Chuck "Ground" Knox LA Rams and their far more significant introduction of an African-American quarterback in James Harris who was actually good and an All-Pro. Wasn't it worth a chapter on the Rams for both the revival under Knox after the iconic George Allen left, the 1973 NFC MVP season of John Hadl who many thought was done when he left San Diego and most importantly the Rams' constant playoff failures?
Basically, there's more left out than in with this book on '70s football. Shame because this author does write some compelling text.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top notch
With my knowledge of pro football, even I learned a lot about football in the, `70s. Great book a must read
Published 1 month ago by Wayne Soulia
5.0 out of 5 stars
I miss the 70's
To me football today is boring. This book proved it. Football is violent sport. You know the risk when you pad up. If you risk it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Carlton D. Ballinger
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow!
The dramatic evolution of the NFL during these 12 years is astounding and interesting. But the book also makes you laugh out loud so many times. Don't miss this!
Published 1 month ago by Nancy Edwards
4.0 out of 5 stars
The memories
I found this to be a well researched book that brought the era to life. I am a Steelers fan and found some of the inside commentary to be revealing. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Charles J. Massucci
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome!
Wonderfully written it made me imagine those games all over again....thank you very much for your effort in putting this together!
Published 2 months ago by Mark Ash-Petta
5.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't Put Down
This is a moving and entertaining narrative of Pro Football in its early years until recently. It is can't put down reading for any older and maybe even younger NFL watcher
Published 2 months ago by Joseph Traxler
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable
It is just what I was looking for in order to get some relaxing reading for a change rather than all the technical stuff I usually wind up with.
Published 3 months ago by Val Bradley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pro Football's Golden Era ( without the gold going to players)
A very enjoyable romp through the most pivotal era for the NFL. The game today is not the same with all the rule changes which has created weak defenses and turned the league... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Michael D. Parente
2.0 out of 5 stars
thought it would be better
Was too hard to follow for me. I was expecting something else I guess. I like football & wanted some good stories but didn't find any here
Published 3 months ago by Cindy Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
In the middle of the huddle............
I felt as if I were in the huddle and in the locker room.........an interesting experience for a woman. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dr. Patricia Cook
