Lombardi and Me: Players, Coaches, and Colleagues Talk about the Man and the Myth

To this day, more than 35 years after his death, Vince Lombardi is a magic name in the world of sports. The Green Bay Packers teams he coached from 1958 through 1967 dominated the National Football League, but that's only part of the reason Lombardi is still revered and quoted. He took a collection of men with varying degrees of talent and melded them into a team rivaled by only the Brooklyn Dodgers' "Boys of Summer" in terms of the admiration and affection that they inspired. Everybody who ever crossed Lombardi's path--"players, coaches, rivals, friends, enemies, and peers--"has a favorite story that illustrates the unique blend of personality quirks and character traits that set Lombardi apart from all other coaches. Paul Hornung, one of the Packers' brightest stars in the Lombardi era, was one of the coach's biggest challenges. A notorious playboy, Hornung tested Lombardi's patience, not to mention his rules, to the breaking point. Yet Lombardi loved Hornung like a son, because of his talent, his competitive spirit, and his ability to perform under pressure. From the time he first met Lombardi, Hornung has been fascinated by the coach's ability to lead, teach, inspire, and get every last drop of effort from every player. Finally, hoping to capture the essence of Lombardi from different perspectives, Hornung decided to conduct a series of interviews with individuals who knew Lombardi intimately. The result of Hornung's quest is this book, which takes a fresh look at Lombardi the man and Lombardi the myth.