That First Season

How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory

By Eisenberg, John A.

Publishers Summary:
In the late 1950s the once vaunted Green Bay Packers were a laughing stock. They hadn't fielded a winning team in more than a decade and were very nearly in jeopardy of losing their franchise to another city. The ultimate low came in 1958, when, with 7 future Hall of Famers on the team, they went a lousy 1-10-1 under a too-soft coach, Scooter McLean. They were desperately in need of a savior, and he arrived via wood-paneled station wagon in the dead of winter from New York City. THAT FIRST SEASON chronicles Vince Lombardi's remarkable first year as head coach with the franchise he would reinvent and etch forever in football history. In a single year, as the grizzled coach who took no bull, he would transform a team of underachievers into winners and reignite a city known for its passion for its sport. Based on exhaustive new research and interviews, THAT FIRST SEASON is the seldom-studied prequel to a football career marked by greatness. Eisenberg pushes away the mist that surrounds the Lombardi legend to bring readers the real story of how the seeds of a football dynasty were sown. He also brings alive an incredible ensemble tale of a team, a town and their leader.

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ISBN
978-0-61890-499-0
Publisher
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt


REVIEWS

Library Journal

Reviewed on August 15, 2009

Lombardi arrived in Green Bay in 1959 to take over a desperate franchise. He led the Packers to their first winning season in 12 years with mostly the same personnel that was on hand when he arrived. Eisenberg aims to get at the root of that seemingly miraculous transformati...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

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