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Notre Dame and the Game that Changed Football: How Jesse Harper Made the Forward Pass a Weapon and Knute Rockne a Legend | 
| Author: Frank P. Maggio
Creators: Jim Harper, Joe Doyle, Keith Jackson
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $25.99
Buy New: $3.98
You Save: $22.01 (85%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 331375
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 1.1
ISBN: 078672014X
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.332092
EAN: 9780786720149
ASIN: 078672014X
Publication Date: July 31, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Ships immediately! Perfect and New! 1st Carroll & Graf Ed. 2007 Hardcover.
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Product Description
Between 1880 and 1905, more than 325 deaths were reported in college football, and several major football schools, including Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, and Penn, threatened to drop the sport. President Theodore Roosevelt even called a White House conference to eliminate football's violence. One result was the development of the forward pass, which reduced the frequency of dangerous collisions between helmetless players. Enter Jesse Harper, head football coach at Notre Dame. Harper recognized the potential of the forward pass, and, by the summer of 1913, along with star players Knute Rockne and Gus Dorais, had perfected an efficient, overhand throwing motion. With this new offensive weapon, the Fighting Irish marched into West Point that fall to face the Eastern powerhouse Army, and routed the Black Knights 35–13. This victory not only changed the way football would be played, it also established Notre Dame as a football power. This is the story of Jesse Harper and his tremendous impact on the game we know today. Drawing from years of original research, Frank P. Maggio brings the classic victory to life and recounts Jesse Harper's role in Notre Dame's evolution into college football's most successful and storied program, and an elite university.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Interesting, but a lot of repetiton September 22, 2008
I learned some interesting and previously unknown things about the pre-Rockne days at ND, but there was a lot of repetition and needless details that didn't add anything. The book could have been much shorter.
 Notre Dame wasn't the first throwing team June 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I like the subject of the book, but really the Army game was long after Carlisle and LSU had been throwing the ball with great effect in the years of 1906-1909.
The game of 1913 wasn't the first forward pass and many years after Pop Warner had made the Indians a passing machine. The Indians with Jim Thorpe and the great passing game of 1907-08 were a one of the best early football teams.
Its Carlisle in the North and LSU in the South that put the passing game on the map and near every football team in America started following thier lead.
Army had already been beat by Carlisle great team of 1912 and between Jim Thorpe's running and the Indians passing game, Army was destoryed by the score of 27-6.
Coach Wingrad comes to LSU and has the pass as his key weapon in the 1907 and 08 seasons, Joe Pitchard uses the same offense in 1909 at LSU. Its the two key passing plays vs Auburn on plains that lead to the victory over the Plainsmen, both passes were Fenton to Seip in a 10-2 victory. Read up on Doc Fenton, he is in the Hall of Fame and was the key passer on those teams.
Hollywood made the myth out of the Army-Notre Dame game and today we are still hearing the myth, its time to put it to rest.
So unlike the movie shows, no one by 1913 and in no way was Army surprised by the farward pass.
And Notre Dame like all the smaller teams of those times saw and knew that the small Indian teams had beat the football powers of Harvard, Yale, Penn, Army, Navy, etc using the passing game.
 The author defends his position. August 30, 2007
I enjoyed Homer Martin's review of my book, but I stand by my position that the Notre Dame vs. Army game of 1913 was indeed the game that changed football. I understand that many teams had used the forward pass prior to the 1913 game, including the great teams at the Carlisle Indian school. Sally Jenkins in her recent book points this out very well. However, I would point Mr. Martin, Ms. Jenkins and others to Chapter 3 of my book concerning the evolution of the rules governing the forward pass and also the change in the shape of the ball. Prior to the 1913 season the rules and the shape of the ball virtually prohibited the full and free passing attack that Notre Dame used against Army in 1913. Notre Dame gained 213 yards in the air that day. An unheard of statistic at the time.The evolution of the rules and the change in the shape of the ball made all the difference. Note also that ESPN, see the final chapter of my book for the citation, called Jesse Harper's decision to to pass against Army in 1913 the number one college coaching decision of the 20th Century. Hollywood did not make a myth out of the 1913 game. The credit for the game being the game that changed football has been asserted by numerous sport's writes since the day the game was played - starting with 2 and 1/2 columns on the game in the Sunday edition of the New York Times the day after the game was played. The Times article quoted Bill Roper, the former head football coach at Princeton, who was one of the officials in the game to the effect that "he had always believed that such playing was possible under the new rules, but that he had never seen the forward pass developed to such a state of perfection." So I submit, there is no myth to put to rest. It is a reality. Best regards to Mr. Martin and all who read this. Frank P. Maggio, the author. I can be contacted at "maggioND@msn.com"
ALL football fans should read. August 29, 2007
Great book! This book is a MUST read for any die-hard Notre Dame fan. But also, it's a story ALL football fans should take interest in. Plus, it's interesting to learn about Jesse Harper and how he contributed to the storied history of the Notre Dame football program. Get it for your sports library.
PASS IT ON August 22, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Who is Jesse Harper?
And where is Notre Dame?
These matters don't concern you?
We'll tell you just the same.
Is it "Knute" with a "K"
Or "Knute" with an "N?"
It's all in the book, man,
Read it and then,
You'll know more of football,
Forward passes and scores
Than goofy John Madden
And the rest of the bores.
So, if you want the real lowdown,
Want some arcana to bank.
Get out your checkbook:
Send your money to Frank.
TIO CARLOS copyright 2007
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