Synopses & Reviews
From Broadway Joe to the Sack Exchange to the Sanchise, the New York Jets have a long tradition of colorful characters and talented football players from a half century on the gridiron. While the team has produced its fair share of disappointment and frustrating finishes, the many memorable moments keep the fans coming back to cheer on Gang Green year after year. Beginning life as the Titans in the American Football League, the Jets were often lost in the shadow of the more established and successful NFL franchise across town, the Giants. But the drafting of Joe Namath in 1965 turned around the fortunes not only of the Jets but of the entire AFL. The dramatic victory over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in January 1969 capped off the team’s emergence and remains the franchise highlight more than 40 years later. In New York Jets: The Complete Illustrated History, author Mark Cannizzaro reveals the events of those early years and profiles the players and coaches who put the Jets on the football map. In addition to Namath, whose star power and fame transcended the sport, the Jets of the 1960s and early 1970s featured Pro Bowlers like Don Maynard, George Sauer, Matt Snell, Emerson Boozer, Rich Caster, John Riggins, and more. The team’s first coach was Hall of Fame quarterback Sammy Baugh, but it was Weeb Ewbank who brought the team out of the doldrums and to the promised land of the Super Bowl. The 1970s did not see much success at Shea Stadium, but the heroes of the era remain in the hearts and minds of a generation of fans. Things turned around a bit in the 1980s, and Cannizzaro describes the wild world of Mark Gastineau and the Sack Exchange—Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, and Abdul Salaam. Accompanying the stories of these seasons are images of Wesley Walker’s acrobatic catches, Freeman McNeil’s long dashes, and the bone-crushing sacks by that incomparable defensive line. New York Jets: The Complete Illustrated History continues the story of this beloved team through the latest seasons on the gridiron, taking you through the occasional soap-opera drama of the Bill Parcells era of the late 1990s, the fiery leadership of Herm Edwards, and the tumultuous tenure of Eric Mangini. Exploring in detail the recent success under coach Rex Ryan, Cannizzaro illustrates the accomplishments of current heroes like Mark Sanchez, Darrelle Revis, and the rest of the players who helped take the Jets to back-to-back conference championships and the brink of another Super Bowl dream.
Review
MVP Books has been producing these illustrated histories of NFL teams for the past few years and is now about one-third of the way through the league’s 32 clubs. Most of this volume’s action photos and reproductions of football cards and other memorabilia are in color and attractively laid out. Veteran sportswriter Cannizzaro (New York Post) tells the history of the team through its coaches—from Sammy Baugh of the 1960 New York Titans to Rex Ryan of today’s media savvy Jets. While the Jets have won only one Super Bowl in their 51 years, they have had a colorful heritage, particularly capturing the imagination of football fans in the 1960s because of flashy quarterback Joe Namath and today owing to flamboyant head coach Ryan. The text is augmented by sidebars on notable players like Namath, Curtis Martin, and Darrelle Revis as well as on significant moments in team history like when NBC left a game to air Heidi in 1968, Super Bowl III, and the weird departure of coach Bill Parcells. An appendix lists the basic team records, and there is a foreword by Namath. VERDICT This well-executed team history will be of interest to all football fans. - Library Journal Xpress
Review
"There’s a terrific new book out that every Jets fan will want either under the Christmas tree or next to the Menorah. New York Jets: The Complete Illustrated History is a wonderful trip through Jets history dating back to their birth as the Titans of New York back in 1960....It’s a great read but also includes tons of great photos that will certainly bring back a lot of memories. I have followed the Jets since I was a young lad and I can’t put the book down. Congratulations Mark on a job well done!" - Peter Schwartz, newyork.cbslocal.com / WFAN Radio
Synopsis
From Joe Namath's Super Bowl guarantee in 1969 to Mark Gastineau's legendary "Sack Dances" in the 1980s to coach Rex Ryan's own Super Bowl prediction in 2010, the New York Jets have been grabbing headlines and thrilling fans for more than five decades. In New York Jets: The Complete Illustrated History, author Mark Cannizzaro explores these and countless other memorable moments, characters, and behind-the-scenes exploits of "Gang Green." From the team's origins as the New York Titans of the AFL in 1960, the Jets have followed a rollercoaster ride from postseason heroes to bottom dwellers, but through it all the fans have come out to support such legendary players as Don Maynard, Namath, Wesley Walker, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, Mickey Shuler, Curtis Martin, and stars of today Mark Sanchez and Darrelle Revis, among others. Complete with hundreds of photos and detailed stats, this book is a glorious celebration of the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets
Synopsis
From Joe Namath’s Super Bowl guarantee in 1969 to Mark Gastineau’s legendary “Sack Dances” in the 1980s to coach Rex Ryan’s own Super Bowl prediction in 2010, the New York Jets have been grabbing headlines and thrilling fans for more than five decades. In New York Jets: The Complete Illustrated History, author Mark Cannizzaro explores these and countless other memorable moments, characters, and behind-the-scenes exploits of “Gang Green.” From the team’s origins as the New York Titans of the AFL in 1960, the Jets have followed a rollercoaster ride from postseason heroes to bottom dwellers, but through it all the fans have come out to support such legendary players as Don Maynard, Namath, Wesley Walker, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, Mickey Shuler, Curtis Martin, and stars of today Mark Sanchez and Darrelle Revis, among others. Complete with hundreds of photos and detailed stats, this book is a glorious celebration of the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!
Synopsis
The New York Jets have been grabbing headlines and thrilling fans for more than five decades. This book explores the countless memorable moments, characters, and behind-the-scenes exploits of "Gang Green."
About the Author
Mark Cannizzaro has covered the Jets for the New York Post for nearly 20 years, and he has also covered golf, NCAA tournament basketball, the NBA, NHL, boxing, and tennis. This is his third book on the New York Jets.Mark Cannizzaro has covered the Jets for the New York Post for nearly 20 years, and he has also covered golf, NCAA tournament basketball, the NBA, NHL, boxing, and tennis. This is his third book on the New York Jets.