Andrew Conte

Being a librarian, I often scope out the bibliography and notes in the back of the book first to see if those important items are available to me for further research. Imagine my surprise to find 639 footnotes in this book, although no index or bibliography. I wouldn't think something that researched would be so readable. Conte dissects the NFL and its relationship to historically black colleges' football programs. This relationship was fostered by a Pittsburgh native, Bill Nunn Jr., son of show more the editor of the Pittsburgh Courier, the weekly newspaper of the black community nation-wide. Nunn Jr. became the sports editor and reported on those players ignored by the pros. He discovered gems like John Stallworth, L.C. Greenwood, Sam Davis, Dwight White among others and the Steelers benefited mightily from the association.
This 'biography' of Nunn was really an explanation of the racism in this nation through the second World War and after. It took finances for teams to decide they would be further ahead with black players than without them. Interestingly enough, the Washington pro team was the last to be integrated with George Marshall declaring he wanted "an all white team" because he believed "in states' rights, both in government and in football". When I read that I saw the direct connection to their current racist problems.
This book was not at all what I expected. I thought it would be another rah-rah "look how great we are" book, but instead it was a look at the contribution of one man who worked tirelessly to change things for his community. The author did extensive interviews and wove them seamlessly into the facts. I couldn't put this book down and recommend it to anyone interested in social issues as it relates to professional sports. show less