The Genius

Zusatztext Exemplary . . . the rare biography that lives up to its subtitle's lavish claims. New York Times Book Review [David] Harris illustrates [Bill] Walsh's incredible passion for the game! his competitive drive! and even his whimsical sense of humor. Walsh was one of the NFL's greatest coaches! and Harris's book does him justice. Booklist The personal drama of Walsh's career is told with such verve that even nonfans will be riveted. Publishers Weekly Because of [Harris's] exhaustive reporting! the reader feels in good hands. Wall Street Journal Recommended.Library Journal! starred review Informationen zum Autor David Harris Klappentext The Genius is the gripping account of Bill Walsh's career and how! through tactical and organizational skill! he transformed the San Francisco Forty Niners from a fallen franchise into a football dynasty. Along with his right-hand man John McVay! Walsh built the foundation for this success by drafting or trading for a durable core of stars! including Joe Montana! Fred Dean! and Hacksaw Reynolds. (Walsh would later restock the team with such players as Jerry Rice! Steve Young! and Charles Haley.) The key to Walsh's genius perhaps lay in his keen understanding of his athletes' psyches-he knew what brought out the best in each of them. With unmatched access to players! fellow coaches! executives! beat reporters! and Walsh himself! David Harris recounts the whole story-including Walsh's pre-Niners odyssey! the demons that pushed him throughout his career! and the scope of his impact on the game beyond the field and locker room. In the end! Harris reveals the brilliant man behind the coaching legend. Chapter One A LITTLE BIT OF DIGNITY AND CLASS It all began with Mr. D., though in the fall of 1978 few in the nine Bay Area counties used such terms of endearment when identifying Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., the hapless owner of their favorite football team. Nor was he yet referred to with the more hip Eddie D., or even the double- edged Junior. Instead, it was that rich kid whose daddy bought him a football team or that mafioso dipstick who destroyed the Niners or, for short, that asshole. Every fan within two hours' drive of San Francisco knew who you meant. DeBartolo had joined the NFL in the spring of 1977 as its youngest franchise owner, hoping to become a man of stature in the sports world, bringing honor on his family while realizing his own deeply held aspirations for belonging, triumph, and acclaim. So far, however, Eddie barely thirty- two years old, short, pudgy, and in charge for the first time in his lifewas a complete flop. And he finally figured out late that fall that he had to do something radical to reverse the situation before it was too late. The most personally trying element in Eddie D.'s dilemma was his fear of disappointing his father, Edward J. DeBartolo Sr., the original Mr. D., who was described by his son as close enough to him to be like my brother. DeBartolo Sr., now sixty- nine, was the architect of the family fortune. Born in the impoverished Hollow neighborhood in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1909, three months after the death of his natural father, Anthony Paonessa, Senior had taken the family name of his stepfatheran immigrant who neither read nor wrote Englishand followed him into the concrete contracting business. Then, at the insistence of his mother, Senior worked his way through engineering school at the University of Notre Dame during the Depression by laboring all night at construction sites. He rejoined his stepfather's Youngstown contracting business until the Second World War, when he was drafted into the Army Corps of Engineers for the duration. Senior returned from the war with an officer's commission and a $1,500 nest egg reportedly won in military crap games, which he used to capitalize...

#8220;Exemplary . . . the rare biography that lives up to its subtitle’s lavish claims.”—New York Times Book Review

“[David] Harris illustrates [Bill] Walsh’s incredible passion for the game, his competitive drive, and even his whimsical sense of humor. Walsh was one of the NFL’s greatest coaches, and Harris’s book does him justice.”—Booklist

“The personal drama of Walsh’s career is told with such verve that even nonfans will be riveted.”—Publishers Weekly

“Because of [Harris’s] exhaustive reporting, the reader feels in good hands.”—Wall Street Journal

“Recommended.”—Library Journal, starred review

Autorentext
David Harris is the author of ten books–including The Genius and his widely acclaimed study of the professional football business, The League–and a former contributing editor at The New York Times Magazine and Rolling Stone. He has been a Forty Niners fan since he was ten and first crossed paths with Bill Walsh as a Stanford student in the 1960s. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Klappentext
The Genius is the gripping account of Bill Walsh's career and how, through tactical and organizational skill, he transformed the San Francisco Forty Niners from a fallen franchise into a football dynasty. Along with his right-hand man John McVay, Walsh built the foundation for this success by drafting or trading for a durable core of stars, including Joe Montana, Fred Dean, and Hacksaw Reynolds. (Walsh would later restock the team with such players as Jerry Rice, Steve Young, and Charles Haley.) The key to Walsh's genius perhaps lay in his keen understanding of his athletes' psyches-he knew what brought out the best in each of them. With unmatched access to players, fellow coaches, executives, beat reporters, and Walsh himself, David Harris recounts the whole story-including Walsh's pre-Niners odyssey, the demons that pushed him throughout his career, and the scope of his impact on the game beyond the field and locker room. In the end, Harris reveals the brilliant man behind the coaching legend.

Zusammenfassung
The Genius is the gripping account of Bill Walsh’s career and how, through tactical and organizational skill, he transformed the San Francisco Forty Niners from a fallen franchise into a football dynasty. Along with his right-hand man John McVay, Walsh built the foundation for this success by drafting or trading for a durable core of stars, including Joe Montana, Fred Dean, and Hacksaw Reynolds. (Walsh would later restock the team with such players as Jerry Rice, Steve Young, and Charles Haley.) The key to Walsh’s genius perhaps lay in his keen understanding of his athletes’ psyches–he knew what brought out the best in each of them. With unmatched access to players, fellow coaches, executives, beat reporters, and Walsh himself, David Harris recounts the whole story–including Walsh’s pre-Niners odyssey, the demons that pushed him throughout his career, and the scope of his impact on the game beyond the field and locker room. In the end, Harris reveals the brilliant man behind the coaching legend.

Leseprobe
1
“A LITTLE BIT OF DIGNITY AND CLASS”
 
It all began with “Mr. D.,” though in the fall of 1978 few in the nine Bay Area counties used such terms of endearment when identifying Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., the hapless owner of their favorite football team. Nor was he yet referred to with the more hip “Eddie D.,” or even the double- edged “Junior.” Instead, it was “that rich kid whose daddy bought him a football team” or “that mafioso dipstick who destroyed the Niners” or, for short, “that asshole.” Every fan within two hours’ drive of San Francisco knew who you meant. DeBartolo had joined the NFL in the spring of 1977 as its youngest …

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