Namath: a Biography

Mark Kriegel

Penguin, Jul 26, 2005 - Biography & Autobiography - 544 pages

In between Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan there was Joe Namath, one of the  few sports heroes to transcend the game he played. Novelist and former sports-columnist Mark Kriegel’s bestselling biography of the iconic quarterback details his journey from steel-town pool halls to the upper reaches of American celebrity—and beyond. The first of his kind, Namath enabled a nation to see sports as show biz. For an entire generation he became a spectacle of booze and broads, a guy who made bachelorhood seem an almost sacred calling, but it was his audacious “guarantee” of victory in Super Bowl III that ensured his legend. This unforgettable portrait brings readers from the gridiron to the go-go nightclubs as Kriegel uncovers the truth behind Broadway Joe and why his legend has meant so much to so many.

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LibraryThing Review

User Review  - rsp1910 - LibraryThing

Unvarnished look at football legend Joe Willie Namath. My favorite player as a kid emerges as a flawed hero but a very real, human being who has led a full life with many ups and downs. I understand ...

Namath: a biography

User Review  - Not Available - Book Verdict

Former sports columnist for the New York Daily News, Kriegel considers Namath as sports hero and cultural icon.

Contents

• A Distant Fabled Land: 1
• The Lower End: 7
• Play Ball: 12
• Boy at the Top of the Stairs: 18
• PintSized Quarterback: 25
• Magic: 32
• Joey U: 42
• SmallTown Hero: 52
• Higher Education: 61
• The Tower: 69
• Colored Water: 74
• Stud: 80
• Of Southern Comforts and the Schoolhouse Door: 86
• Jimmy: 95
• Sippin: 99
• Doylestown Redux: 107
• Harry Wismers Titans of New York: 114
• Sonny as in Money: 120
• Happy New Year: 130
• Four Hundred Grand: 140
• Mistress Meniscus: 147
• Wampum: 154
• Salted Apples: 163
• No Guarantees: 173
• Booze and Broads: 187
• Liars Poker: 197
• The Star System: 209
• The Beauty of Joe: 216
• Bosses: 227
• Student of the Game: 233
• Fu Manchu: 240
• Disheveled but Happy: 249
• The Points: 256
• Super: 272
• Americas Hero: 282
• The Undesirables: 292
• The Joe Namath Show: 302
• Bigger Than the Game: 313
• The Agony of Defeat: 322
• The Score: 335
• Nobodys Perfect: 343
• Dont Trust Anyone Over Thirty: 349
• High Concept: 356
• Magic Six: 361
• Garden City Joe: 369
• Hollywood Ending: 375
• Thats Entertainment: 386
• Sound of the Soul: 392
• Deborah: 399
• Old Joe: 404
• Fiji: 409
• Tatiana: 417
• A Vinculo Matrimonii: 423
• Classic Sports: 430
• Acknowledgments: 443
• Source Notes: 449
• Index: 499

About the author

 Mark Kriegel is a former sports columnist for the New York Daily News and author of the novel Bless Me, Father.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Namath: a Biography
• Author: Mark Kriegel
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Penguin, 2005
• ISBN: 0143035355, 9780143035350
• Length: 544 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Sports; Sports & Recreation / Football; Sports & Recreation / History