Pain Gang: Pro Football's Fifty Toughest Players

No sport demands toughness more than professional football, and no sport celebrates it with as much joy, excitement, and pride. John Madden annually offers his picks of the top tough guys, and sick hits are shown repeatedly on jumbotrons nationwide and ESPN's Sportscenter. Anyone who's ever watched an NFL Films production can surely hear "the voice" - that distinctive narrator - lauding the warriors of the gridiron who lay it all out there. Imagine his voice as you say: "These tough men came to do battle today, and only the fiercest will win."

Into this atmosphere comes Neil Reynolds, public relations manager for the NFL in Europe, and his new book Pain Gang: Pro Football's Fifty Toughest Players. From early day heroes, such as Bronko Nagurski, Clark Hinkle, and Frank "Bruiser" Kinard, to Hall of Famers like Ronnie Lott, Walter Payton, and Dick Butkus, to such modern-day iron men as Emmitt Smith, Brett Favre, and Rodney Harrison, Reynolds lauds some of the toughest, meanest, most inspirational, and hardest-working men in the roughest sport. He includes interviews with teammates, coaches, opponents, and the players themselves on what it means to be tough, how they characterize toughness, and even who was the toughest of them all.

Some players fought through broken bones and tired bodies. Others laid out opponents with the hardest of hits. Still others proved themselves on the battlefields of World War II before joining this secondary field of battle. And some played hard and fast - mostly within the rules - in order to intimidate their opponents through sheer fear.

Whatever their means, these guys were tough and knew it - and they made sure everyone else did as well. Meet the Pain Gang, and you'll know it too. Read more Continue reading Read less FROM BOOKLIST
It's almost axiomatic that "toughness," as an athletic attribute, seems more easily applied to yesterday's heroes than today's, perhaps because, with players of earlier eras, we tend to remember only particular displays of grittiness and forget moments of mediocrity. In selecting pro football's toughest players at various positions, Reynolds certainly supports the axiom. Although his choices aren't ranked in order of toughness, he makes the strongest cases for the old guys. Who would challenge the legendary Chuck Bednarik of the Eagles, last of the two-way players and the man who KO'd Frank Gifford, as the toughest of all linebackers; or who would suggest that any quarterback other than Y. A. Tittle--he of the bloodied pate in perhaps football's most famous photograph--deserves the title of toughest signal-caller? (On the other hand, wouldn't you back Donovan McNabb in a street fight against Tittle?) There are no right answers, of course, and football fans of a certain age will enjoy reliving the bone-crunching exploits of yesteryear. Bill Ott
Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate kindleedition edition. FROM THE PUBLISHER
Highlights the toughest of the tough in professional football Includes interviews with teammates, coaches, and opponents of football's tough guys

Covers players from football's early days all the way through today's stars



--This text refers to an alternate kindleedition edition. REVIEW
"A fascinating book that identifies extraordinary tough guys playing a tough game."

"Pain Gang has such a simple premise: Who is the toughest player to have ever played in the NFL? Neil Reynolds gnaws at this premise as he profiles fifty of the toughest to have ever played, from Bronko Nagurski to Brett Favre, and after the first fifty I wanted to read about the next 150. When the fame and the fortunes fade away, the ultimate feeling that a true warrior wants said about him is 'He was a tough guy.' Pain Gang presents the toughest and most courageous athletes of our time."

"An exhaustive look at some of the NFL's greatest stars."

"A really revealing look at how much it hurts to be an NFL player. After you read this book, you'll know what it's like to take a gigantic fist to the ribs, as Jack Youngblood felt when he took such a shot from one of the most pain-inflicting players in NFL history, Bob Brown. And you'll be amazed that human beings can last longer than a year or two in the NFL."

"Neil Reynolds takes the reader to the very heart of the NFL action. . . . Pain Gang details an array of fascinating and awe-inspiring stories. . . . [It] is an enlightening, entertaining, and inspiring journey through professional football history and a must-have for all football fans. Read this book and you'll never look at the NFL in the same way again."

"Celebrates the characteristic football that fans hold dear." --This text refers to an alternate kindleedition edition. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Formerly the public relations manager for the NFL in Europe, NEIL REYNOLDS has covered the NFL since 1991. A keen pro football historian, he has worked for NFL Europe since 2000 and has contributed to NFL.com, countless NFL team websites, and European American-football publications First Down and Gridiron. He lives outside London, England. --This text refers to an alternate kindleedition edition. Read more Continue reading Read less