This look at 1960's era pro football, with an emphasis on the 1960's Baltimore Colts and its star quarterback, Johnny Unitas, and its coach, Don Shula (who later went onto greater fame with the Miami Dolphins) is a an absolutely fascinating book and is, quite possibly, the best book I've ever read about the NFL.

Besides talking about the dislike between Unitas and Shula, the book examined the culture of the times, as well as other key 1960's players, coaches, and teams, such as the Green Bay Packers under Vince Lombardi, and the Chicago Bears under George Halas.

In depth, yet likely of interest to even the non-sports fan.

Highly recommended!!

The 1960s was a pivotal era in pro football history. The NFL, entering its fifth decade, was challenged by the upstart AFL in a conflict that pitched the traditional, run-focused older league against a flashier, pass-happy new contender. The rivalry helped turn football into America's favourite sport.

The Baltimore Colts were a key part of that. The 1958 NFL Championship game, in which the Colts beat the Giants in overtime, is widely seen as a turning point in the sport's popularity. At the other end of the decade, in 1969, the Colts were defeated in Super Bowl III by the AFL's New York Jets in a game that established the legitimacy of the younger league.

Jack Gilden's Collision of Wills looks at the Colts in the 1960s, specifically the relationship between Johnny Unitas, already a legendary player following the 1958 Championship, and Don Shula, a mediocre player who became the Colts head coach in 1963. The two hated each other, says Gilden, and this tension was crucial in a period that laid the foundations for the modern league.

Don Shula failed to win a title in his seven seasons running the Colts but his team was consistently among the league's best and he was named NFL Coach of the Year three times. Unitas, for his part, was league MVP twice, while QB Earl Morrall took the title once - in the 1968-69 season when he replaced the injured Unitas.

It's easy to make the case that the Colts were a pivotal team in the 1960s and there's plenty here for fans of the Colts, or just that era, to enjoy. From Shula's rivalry with Vince Lombardi's Packers, to the succession of Colts coaches who would become big names later, Baltimore was at the centre of the football universe.

Where the book is less convincing, however, is on its central theme - about the tension in the relationship between Shula and Unitas. The climax of the book is Super Bowl III, where an injured Unitas comes off the bench to lead a doomed comeback attempt. Should Shula have replaced the struggling Morrall sooner? Did he hesitate because he wanted to prove he could win without Unitas? In both cases, probably not.

Morrall was the league MVP, so keeping him on the field was not unreasonable. Moreover, everyone quoted acknowledges that Unitas came into the game as a shadow of his usual self and any success he had was probably due to the Jets playing soft defense - allowing short gains and letting the clock run. Had Shula put Unitas in earlier, the outcome would probably have been the same.

Gilden offers plenty of anecdotes showing that the two men disliked one another but it's just not clear that it made any difference. Both seemed professional enough - and driven enough - that they would put aside their dislike in the interests of winning. If the feud didn't affect events on the field then is it really so important?

A second significant problem with the book is that Gilden seems to lack material. And so we get a five-page digression about the death of boxer Ernie Knox and another, of similar length, about the change in journalism in the 1960s. Later, there's a whole 20 pages about the Vietnam War. Those three sections constitute roughly 10 per cent of the book.

The events they cover are relevant to show how American culture was changing in the 1960s. At one point, Unitas is quoted as saying that football "can do a lot of good to combat the influence of the hippies and long hairs". However, in a book that's ostensibly about a football coach and his quarterback, these topics don't merit as much space as they get here.

Even on the topic of football, the book has a tendency to ramble. Sometimes, when detailing a Colts game against a particular opponent, Gilden will spend a few pages talking about an opposing player, providing his backstory or looking ahead to how his career would turn out. It all contributes to the feeling of a book that lacks a clear identity. The book doesn't fulfill the promise of its title, it's too broad to be a successful deep dive into seven years of Baltimore Colts history and it's not broad enough to examine football and American society in the 1960s.

All that being said, Gilden is very readable and finds plenty of interesting anecdotes. I found myself interested in the section about journalist David Halberstam, for example, even while I was wondering whether it needed to be in a book about the Baltimore Colts. This is an enjoyable book but one that would have benefitted from a tighter focus on its central theme.

The author takes you back in time when the football was played by a different set of rules than what we are shown today. He does that while also describing what was going in our country at the time as well. Looking back I think they go hand in hand, for on Sunday’s we watched football at least I did with my father. Then during the week we watched the Vietnam war, or maybe riots going on somewhere else, or some important figure being killed, and then by the end of the 60’s walking on the moon. During all of this the Green Bay Packers were winning, as were the Baltimore Colts. The Colts had Johnny U and he called all of his own plays and he could do no wrong on the football field, but all of a sudden they could not beat the Packers and most importantly they did not beat the Jets. For me the sixties were a lot of things and one of them was football and the different leagues. The AFL were young and brash and threw the ball, and they had a guy named Namath and he was something and when the Jets beat the Colts the game of football was changed forever, but so was the Colts and Shula and Unitas. You be shown the history of the game Webb Ewbank who was the head coach of the Colts when they won the greatest game in 1958 and the championship in 59 would be fired years later and be hired by the Jets and yes be the coach to beat the Colts in another important game in football. Yes Shula would be fired and then coach the Dolphins and would lead them to three straight super Bowls winning two one being the perfect season. You get all of that back story, plus the trade of franchises by Rosenbloom, who would take over the Rams and Robert Irsay would take over the Colts. Eventually both franchises would end up moving. The Rams after Rosenbloom’s death which his children always thought was suspicious but could not prove anything. This is just a small part of this book and yes I knew some or most of it but it was a great read for me who remembers a different time and a different game than one that is being played today.

Johnny Unitas and Don Shula are two legendary figures in the history of professional football. The former is a Hall of Fame quarterback who played most of his career with the Baltimore Colts. The latter played as a defensive back for multiple teams, including the Colts where he was a teammate of Unitas. Shula became a coach when his playing days were over, leading the Colts and Miami Dolphins to titles and becoming a Hall of Fame coach.

The relationship between the two men ranged from tolerable to frosty whether they were teammates or Shula was the head coach and Unitas was his quarterback. The relationship between these two men is explored in this book by Jack Gilden. This is the best aspect of the book as Gilden uses interviews from many different people with different connections to the two men. These vary from Colts teammates to Joe Namath, the Jets quarterback who led his team to an upset victory over the Colts in Super Bowl III. The Colts were coached by Shula and Unitas played in that game in relief of starting quarterback Earl Morral.

Like many books about sports in the 1960’s, which is when most of the events took place, it mingles the sport with the culture of the time. These include the Vietnam war, the sexual revolution and the civil rights movement. There is a lot of text devoted to these subjects and while interesting; I felt that at times these took the focus away from the main subjects of Unitas and Shula.

However, when concentrating on them or on the history of the Colts, this is an excellent source of information. In addition so learning more about Unitas and Shula, a reader will learn more about the eccentric owner of the Colts at that time, Carroll Rosenbloom (who later traded the ownership of the team to Robert Irsay in exchange for ownership of the Los Angeles Rams). Weeb Ewbank, the man whom Shula replaced as head coach of the Colts, is also portrayed, and he comes across as sympathetic figure – until he coaches the Jets to the win over the Colts in the Super Bowl.

Overall, this is a very interesting and informative book on the Colts and the two legends who played an important role in making the Colts one of the best teams during the 1960’s. Their role in changing the landscape of professional football cannot be overlooked and this book informs the reader of their importance.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jack Gilden explores a lesser known rift between two pivotal figures from the dawn of the modern NFL in his new book, Collision of Wills.

Johnny Unitas and Don Shula were teammates with the Baltimore Colts in the mid-1950s, and then Shula became Johnny U's head coach with the same team just a few years later. Despite the success they enjoyed together, the two men were not close, and in fact were best described as antagonists, which is the tension that drives the narrative in GIlden's work.

Gilden's research is deep and broad, and he has done yeoman's work in tracking down several of the most important people from that time and place and getting them on the record. Gilden's interview subjects include (but are not limited to) Raymond Berry and Jimmy Orr (two of the Colts wide receivers), Jan Unitas (Johnny's daughter), Joe Namath (victor over the duo in the monumental upset in Super Bowl III), and even coach Don Shula himself. The thoughts of the interviewed are varied as you imagine, from fond reminiscences to the matter of fact that-was-just-a-time-in-my-life.

The strength of the book is the exploration of the relationship between Unitas and Shula, the possible causes and symptoms, and how that effected (or didn't) those around them and the rest of the NFL. Unfortunately, the book suffers from an insufficient focus, and often wanders off on long tangents. An example of this is the section about the New York Jets in the build up to the Colts clash with them in Super Bowl III. Certainly some context and background information about the Jets and their team and season is appropriate, and in fact provides depth and color to the story. But we get too much... the internecine battles of the Jets ownership group in the early years are covered thoroughly, but it's hard to say that this particular passage is relevant to the Colts generally or the Shula/Unitas relationship specifically. I often was left hoping these tangents would wrap up quickly so I could return to the story of the Colts and the main principals.

Overall, Collision of Wills is a mostly entertaining but sometimes frustrating book. I wish it were about 20% shorter, eliminating some of the extraneous information that detracts from the overall subject matter. Having said that, fans of the Colts, Shula, Unitas, or the NFL in the 1950s and '60s will find much to like.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

There are very few people who can lay claim to changing the NFL landscape to help shape it into this cultural institution and phenomenon that it is. Vince Lombardi, Chuck Noll and others can lay claim but few can rival the impact at their relevant positions such as Johnny Unitas and Don Shula.

Unitas was the first household name at quarterback and Shula became the coach that even non-football fans could recognise and name. Their paths crossed at the Baltimore Colts, and yet their tempestuous relationship was one that helped define that franchise and left a lasting legacy on them both.

Expertly researched and full of anecdotal of names and faces from the era, this is a book that is rich in history and one for fans of NFL everywhere.

This book is about the tension that existed between Johnny Unitas and Don Shula during their time with the Baltimore Colts. While the author adequately addresses the main subject he also spends large amounts of time describing the climate of the country during that time. It almost reads as if he felt he did not have enough material to produce a book so decided to add additional material that is somewhat germaine to the relationship, but not really.  This is not a book for sports fans.

I received a free Kindle copy of Collision of Wills by Jack Gilden courtesy of Net Galley  and University of Nebraska Press, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazonand my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as  a sports fan and this era of professional football has always been an interest to me.  This is the first book I have read by the author.

If you are making up a list of the most important people in pro football history, Johnny Unitas and Don Shula have to be on it.

Unitas held the mythical title of "greatest quarterback ever for quite some time, as he took the position and in some ways the entire sport to new levels of brilliance during his great career. Shula merely has won more games than any NFL coach.

The pair were on the same side when they teamed up with the Baltimore Colts for a good chunk of the 1960s. But here's what was apparently whispered for years but not really discussed since those days, which saw the Colts win a ton of games but no championships: the pair never really got along.

That's the portion of Jack Gilden's book, "Collision of Wills," that will attract the most attention upon its release.

Shula usually took the high road in the relationship, merely pointing out that the combination won a lot of games. Unitas mostly kept quiet n public about Shula, but certainly he made it known to friends and associates that he had no use for the coach - a former teammate in Baltimore, no less.

Their dynamic drives the story along. In some ways, it's a relatively common tale. Unitas was an established star, the biggest name in football, when Shula arrived in 1963. Shula certainly wanted to do things his way, and was not shy about saying so. As the years went by, Unitas' career started to fall off - thanks in part to arm injuries that certainly weren't as diagnosed properly as they might have been now. The finish of the careers of such icons often ends badly, and Unitas turned out to be no exception. He lost his job as a regular and eventually was exiled to San Diego to end a magical run with a whimper.

Veteran football fans will find plenty to their liking here. The Colts were right in the middle of some of the best games in pro football history. That list includes the 1958 NFL championship game, which went to overtime as Unitas pulled a win out of his helmet, and Super Bowl III, the Jets' stunning upset of Colts when they were 17-point underdogs.

Gilden went out and talked to several key people in that era, and they add perspective on events. He also clearly did plenty of research into that era. Therefore, the games come back to life. It's great fun to read a detailed account of the time that halfback Tom Matte had to play quarterback in a playoff game for the Colts when Unitas and Gary Cuozzo were both hurt. Matte almost led the Colts to a huge win over the Green Bay Packers. Nothing like it has happened since.

There are a couple of small problems here that deserve a mention. It really helps to be old enough to remember most of the events from when they happened. In other words, the 20-somethings may not care too much about this and that's fine. It should be added, though, that Gilden carries the attitude throughout the book that the Sixties were the best time to be an NFL history, and he's not taking any arguments. I became a fan of the sport then too, but I'm not sure I'd go as far as the author does. You always remember your first loves.

There might have been room for another quick read on this. There's a little duplication in material along the way, and I'm still not sure why there's a chapter on David Halberstam. Gilden is a little unsure of himself when writing about the politics and culture of the decade.

But the football material is entertaining and can reel the football fan in nicely. Those who are looking for some new information on some legendary games and people - particularly those in Baltimore - will find "Collision of Wills" worthwhile.

My review has been posted to Goodreads.

Review has also been tweeted as usual.

Thank you! :c)