Wellington: The Maras, the Giants, and the City of New York [Hardcover]

Carlo DeVito (Author), Sam Huff (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

Wellington: The Maras, the Giants, and the City of New York is the never-before-told saga of one of the oldest lineages in all of professional sports. For three generations the family has wielded power in the worlds of boxing, horseracing, and professional football. Its reach also extended far into New York politics to shape many of the major institutions that form the city’s culture. This is the fascinating tale of one of New York’s quietest yet most glamorous families—and specifically of Wellington Mara, a man of singular integrity and vision.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A book that will delight fans of this fabled football team...a treasure trove of great stories. -- Alan Caruba, Bookviews, November 2006

Chronicles Mara's extraordinary career with the Giants and his behind-the-scenes role in turning the National Football League...into a national obsession. -- Shannon Mullen, Asbury Park Press, November 12, 2006

Overdue...this essential figure in pro football history is portrayed honestly, thoroughly, and enjoyably. -- Library Journal, November 1, 2006

From the Inside Flap

For decades Wellington Mara’s name was virtually synonymous with professional football. It was certainly synonymous with his family’s beloved New York Giants, the organization for which Mara was the face for nearly half a century. The son of the late Timothy J. Mara, the Giants’ founder, Wellington dedicated his entire life to the National Football League and to the Giants organization. While he was still a student at Fordham University in the mid-1930s, Wellington revolutionized player recruitment and drafted and signed future Hall of Famer Tuffy Leemans in 1936. Wellington joined the team in an official capacity as a part-time assistant upon his graduation in 1937, beginning what would become one of the longest, most revered reigns in the history of professional sports. Wellington became the team’s president after his older brother Jack’s death in 1965, a position Well held until his own death in 2005 at the age of 89. During his tenure, Mara helped to bring 16 divisional titles and four world championships to New York by engineering trades for the likes of Y.A. Tittle, Andy Robustelli, and Del Shofner and by drafting young stars like Frank Gifford and Roosevelt Brown. Wellington: The Maras, the Giants, and the City of New York is the definitive biography of one of the most acclaimed and beloved sports owners in history, as well as a moving history of an incredible Irish American family. Acclaimed author Carlo DeVito brilliantly illuminates Mara’s life, painstakingly exploring his relationships with some of the 20th century’s most colorful and successful figures: Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey, Grantland Rice, Toots Shor, Governor Al Smith, the Vanderbilts, the Whitneys, and the Belmonts. Wellington is the powerful tale of a family, a city, a sport, a franchise, and a man who divided his time between the New York Athletic Club, the society soirées of Saratoga, and the clubhouses of the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium. It is the tale of a man whose legacy continues to mold the city’s history and its passion for its sports heroes.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157243872X
• ISBN-13: 978-1572438729
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Giants year by year, November 15, 2006

By 

Neil Glasser (Monroe, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wellington: The Maras, the Giants, and the City of New York (Hardcover)

The title is a bit deceiving as it's more a year by year history of the Giants than a biography of Wellington Mara. Of course, Mara was intricately involved in the history of the Giants, so there is a lot about him in here. However, most subjects are covered very broadstroke as the Giants have a long history - covering the whole span was a pretty big job in itself. There's also some interesting content in the begining on Mara's father, Tim, the Giants' founder.

Overall, it's not a bad read and recommended for anyone who wants to know about the history of the Giants.

PS There's a handful of proof reading errors. They don't detract from the book, but they are unusual to see.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but disappointing book, October 1, 2008

By 

D. Mancini (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wellington: The Maras, the Giants, and the City of New York (Hardcover)

As a lifelong Giant fan, I was really looking forward to reading this book on their long-time owner, Wellington Mara. Although many aspects of the volume were interesting, I ultimately came away from the book feeling disappointed.

The author crams in a lot of facts (dates, names, etc.), but at the expense of readability. Toward the end, he takes up several pages listing each of Wellington and Ann Mara's children, mentioning where they went to school, what they do for a living, their spouse's names (along with their school and occupations), the dates and locations of their marriages, and even who the officiant was that performed the ceremony. I didn't find this information pertinent to the book. It almost felt as if the author needed to add this "extra" material to meet his word count.

For me, the most enjoyable parts of the volume were Devito's discussion of Timothy J Mara (Wellington's father), the early days of the Giants, and the formation of the league. The first third of the book pretty much deals exclusively with Timothy J Mara and his exploits. Therefore, the title of this book is misleading.

There were numerous typographical errors throughout the book - to the point that I found it distracting. For example, on page 251, Devito refers to John Mara's wife, Denise Walker. In the following paragraph, her last name is listed as "Walter." Any decent copyeditor should have caught those kinds of mistakes.

I felt as if the author glossed over a lot of potentially interesting topics. Granted, it is hard to condense nearly 100 years of history into a 300-page volume. However, it was really unnecessary to repeat (several times) the exchange between Wellington and Frank Gifford about how they felt like "father" and "son" to one another.

I struggled with the author's writing style. At times, it felt as if he was jumping all over the place, with no real sense of direction. It seemed as if he was going for a chronological history of the Giants, but because he would go back and forth, the text was hard to follow sometimes.

I really wanted to like this volume. I really did. I feel as if this book could have been so much more, but the bad editing and writing style really hindered it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read for True Giants Fans, March 7, 2007

By 

Jerome A. Foley "Jerry Foley" (Washington Township, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wellington: The Maras, the Giants, and the City of New York (Hardcover)

This book tells the history of one of the classiest men in the history of not only the NFL, but all of sports. Even those of you who are not Giants fans could appreciate Wellington's contributions to the NFL after reading this book. It's so much more than just a Giants history lesson (as so many books before it unfortunately are).

Only glaring issue was the score for Superbowl XXI was wrong -- ouch!

Overall this is absolute must read for Giants fans of all ages. "Wellington" reminded me why I live and die with this team.