Nothing Comes Easy My Life in Football

by Tittle, Y. A.; Setting Clark, Kristine

• ISBN13: 9781600782107
• ISBN10: 1600782108
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-09-01
• Publisher: Triumph Books

Summary

Before cable television, artificial turf, multimillion-dollar contracts, and Are You Ready for Some Football? pro football players lives were not much different from those of the fans in the bleachers. Back in football's Golden Era, the game they played was much simpler but far tougher than anything seen today. Y.A. Tittle began his career in that simpler era, when players were expected to play both offense and defense and had to hold off-season jobs to make ends meet. Following a stellar career that lasted from 1948 until 1964, he retired from the game at 38 after starring for the Baltimore Colts, the San Francisco 49ers, and the New York Giants. Although he was the quarterback in the 49ers famous million dollar backfield, he is best remembered for his three years in New York and for his willingness to take the field when badly hurt. Y.A. took the Giants to three NFL Championship Games.

Author Biography

Y. A. Tittle is a former professional football quarterback who played 10 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and was traded to the New York Giants  in 1961 where he was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. In 1962 he played even better, with 33 touchdown passes and a career-high 3,224 yards. A year later, his touchdown stats went up to 36, he completed 60.2% of his passes, and again he was named NFL Player of the Year. Kristine Setting Clark is a feature writer for the San Francisco 49ers' and Dallas Cowboys' Gameday magazine. She has authored or coauthored numerous books, including Legends of the Hall: The Fabulous Fifties; Undefeated, Untied, and Uninvited; St Clair: I'll Take It Raw!; and A Cowboy's Life, about Hall of Fame member Bob Lilly.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Introduction	p. xv
Football-the Love of My Life
Marshall, Texas	p. 3
The Mavericks	p. 11
The Myron Baylock, Mrs. Poole's Boarding House, and Red Swanson	p. 21
1944: The LSU Tigers	p. 27
1945: The T Formation	p. 31
1946: A Winning Season	p. 37
1947: The Belt-Buckle Game	p. 39
1948: The Year of the Quarterback	p. 43
The Colts, the 49ers, and the Giants
In the Blink of an Eye-from Cleveland to Baltimore	p. 49
Baltimore: A Real Football Town	p. 57
Cecil Isbell: The Man Who Taught Me How to Pass	p. 67
The Disbanding of the Colts Franchise	p. 73
The Flip of a Coin-from Baltimore to San Francisco	p. 81
Quarterback Frankie Albert	p. 87
I Came to San Francisco to Play	p. 93
Hardy Brown: The Toughest Football Player I Ever Met	p. 105
A Quarterback Controversy	p. 113
The Big Three: Shaw, Strader, and Albert	p. 119
1957: The Year of the Alley-Oop	p. 133
A Changing of the Guard	p. 141
The Begining of the End	p. 145
I'll Quit Before I Play in New York!	p. 149
The New York Giants, 1961 to 1964
The New Kid in Camp	p. 159
The Trade for Del Shofner	p. 163
Getting Ready for the Big Push	p. 167
Sharing the Quarterback Position	p. 175
The 1961 NFL Eastern Division Championship	p. 179
Frank Gifford: The Comeback Kid	p. 185
Beat the Packers!	p. 191
Never Winning the Big One	p. 195
The End of an Era	p. 199
Life after Football
Civilian Life	p. 205
The Hall of Fame	p. 207
Reflections	p. 209
Tittle's Career, Season by Season	p. 211
Team Schedules (Baltimore Colts 1948-1950, San Francisco 49ers 1951-1960, New York Giants 1961-1964	p. 219
Passing Statistics	p. 229
Sources	p. 231
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.