No sport rivals football for building character. In the scorching heat of August two-a-days, the withering intensity of the locker room, and the fierce combat of the gridiron, true leaders are born. Just ask Bill Curry, whose credentials for exploring the symbiotic relationship between football and leadership include two Super Bowl rings and the distinction of having snapped footballs to Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas in a 10-season NFL career.

In Ten Men You Meet in the Huddle: Lessons From a Football Life, Curry shares the wit, wisdom, and tough love of teammates and coaches who turned a next-to-last NFL draft pick into a two-time Pro Bowler. Later, building on what he learned from such giants as Vince Lombardi and Don Shula, Ray Nitschke and Bubba Smith, Bobby Dodd and even the indomitable George Plimpton, he went in search of the special spark that makes men leaders.

The result of that quest is Ten Men You Meet in the Huddle.

If life is a journey, then Bill Curry's life has been a nonstop exploration. Like Forrest Gump, Curry always seems to find himself in dazzling company. Fortunately for us, he brings with him a sharp eye for detail, an acute sense of what makes men unique, and a true raconteur's love of a really good story. Blessed with irresistible characters, rich personal history, and an endearingly simple, down-to-earth voice, Ten Men You Meet in the Huddle proves that football is much more than a game.
It's a metaphor for life.

Advance Praise for Ten Men You Meet in the Huddle:

"Ten Men You Meet in the Huddle is equal parts autobiography, character study, leadership manual, and profound philosophy. Mr. Curry has a wonderful gift for portraiture. I fell in love with Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas. I was was enthralled by Willie Davis, enchanted by Bubba Smith, and afraid of Ray Nitschke. Ten Men is by far the best book about the NFL I've ever read." —Pat Conroy, best-selling author of The Prince of Tides

"What a wonderful gift Bill Curry has delivered to football fans. I know of no other living person who could share such warm and intimate stories about this unparalleled collection of men, including Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, John Unitas, Bart Starr, and George Plimpton. Curry writes with integrity and insight, with humility and humor. I did not want this book to end."          —Jeffrey Marx, Pulitzer prize-winning author of Season of Life
 

About the Author

A college football analyst for ESPN since 1997, Bill Curry spent 17 years as head football coach at Georgia Tech, Alabama, and Kentucky after completing a 10-year NFL career with the Packers, Colts, Oilers, and Rams. Today he heads the leadership program at the Baylor School in Chatanooga, Tennessee. He and his wife of 45 years, Carolyn Newton Curry, live in Atlanta.