Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 280
•
Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼
978-1-5381-0951-9 • Hardback • February 2020 • $35.00 • (£27.00)
978-1-5381-0952-6 • eBook • February 2020 • $33.00 • (£25.00)
Joe Zagorski has been a member of the Pro Football Researchers Association since the mid-1980s. He has written numerous articles for their monthly publication, The Coffin Corner, and for the blog Pro Football Journal. His first book, The NFL in the 1970s: Pro Football’s Most Important Decade, was rated by Library Journal as one of the top ten football books in 2016. Zagorski is a former sportswriter for The Coatesville (Pennsylvania) Daily Record and The Evening Phoenix in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. He currently resides in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Willie Lanier is one of the greatest players in pro football history. He is also a great man. He applied the lessons learned from the game—commitment, integrity, courage, respect, and excellence—to his very successful life after football.
— David Baker, President and CEO, Pro Football Hall of Fame
Willie Lanier was the consummate teammate. He was as agile and as tough of a middle linebacker that has ever played the game. His agility and quickness were complimented by his intuitiveness. He just had a natural knack for the game. And he was a tremendous force on the field. Author Joe Zagorski is an experienced sports writer who has written this book about America's first African-American player starting at middle linebacker in professional football.
— Johnny Robinson, safety, Kansas City Chiefs, 1960-1972, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame