Mike Ditka

Randy Grimes quickly learned one important truth as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' top draft pick: play through pain, or get cut. This is just part of being a pro athlete, he told himself.Growing up in Tyler, Texas, Grimes's life was very much on center. A childhood spent in church on Sundays and on the gridiron all week turned into a football scholarship to Baylor, marriage to his college sweetheart, and a coveted NFL roster spot.When the Bucs' starting center began piling up brutal hits, he determined to do anything to stay in the game. If the pills prescribed by the team doctors could help, Grimes would take them.All in a day's work, he told himself.Even before Grimes left the NFL, his life began slipping off center. Eventually, he lost almost everything he owned, the respect of his children, and very nearly his life, before tumbling out of the car and crawling on hands and knees into a treatment center-literally-into a life-changing miracle.Off Center is Randy Grimes's riveting story of having it all, playing the sport he loved, losing almost everything, and ultimately finding redemption and hope. Witness the addiction trap that binds millions and claims thousands of lives each year-and the steps Grimes took to reclaim his life and guide others. Today Grimes and his wife, Lydia, stage drug and alcohol interventions for professional athletes, celebrities, business leaders, and everyday Americans to find recovery from addiction. Recovery has become his playbook. His treatment center colleagues are his team. And those with addiction are his community.Above all, Grimes wants people to know: Even when the world seems to be yours, there is room to fall. And even when that world seems to slip away, there is hope.

Whether in football or in the law, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Robert Thomas has always had the "best view from the bench." Bob Thomas got his start in football at the University of Notre Dame, kicking for the famed "Fighting Irish" in the early 1970s. Claimed off waivers by the Chicago Bears in 1975, Thomas helped to take the franchise from their darkest days to their brightest. Yet, on the cusp of the team's greatest moment, he was struck with a shocking blow that challenged his fortitude. In this dramatic retelling of Bob Thomas's fascinating life, renowned sports writer Doug Feldmann shows how neither football nor the law was part of Thomas's dreams while growing up the son of Italian immigrants in Rochester, New York, in the 1960s. Chasing excellence on both the gridiron and in the courtroom, however, would require resilience in ways he could not have imagined. As A View from Two Benches shows us, Bob Thomas reached the top of two separate and distinct professions, guided by a bedrock of faith that has impacted his decisions and actions as both a football player and a judge, helping him navigate the peaks and valleys of life. As Doug Feldmann reveals, Bob Thomas has always stayed true to the values he learned in his earliest days. Doug Feldmann's rich biography of an accomplished kicker and a proud justice of the law shows us that determination and resilience go a long way to a successful and impactful life.

A small area of western Pennsylvania around Pittsburgh has produced almost 25 percent of the modern era quarterbacks enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That percentage is wildly disproportionate to the number of superstar quarterbacks any one state might claim, let alone a mere sliver of a state—an area representing just one-fifth of one percent of the total country.The list of the greats starts with George Blanda, the “old man” of the game, and continues with the incomparable Johnny Unitas, followed by “Broadway” Joe Namath, Joe “the Comeback Kid” Montana, Dan Marino, and Jim Kelly.Their stories, feats, and statistics are brought to life in America’s Football Factory through riveting anecdotes, extensive research, and exclusive interviews with their coaches, friends, family, and peers. Readers will appreciate getting to know these athletes as people, not merely as football heroes. Stewart also explores the many theories as to why one part of the nation has churned out so many greats.Hall of Famers Raymond Berry and Mike Ditka lavished praise on the first edition of this book. “Any fan of my era, of my friend Johnny Unitas, or, for that matter, any fan of football in general should enjoy Wayne Stewart’s book,” said Berry. Ditka, himself a Western Pennsylvanian, wrote in the book’s introduction, “You can’t get much better than the primary six men featured in this book.” He’s correct—upon their retirement, all six of the book’s featured quarterbacks were in the top 12 for touchdown passes, and five of them were in the top 10.America’s Football Factory also features other greats from the Pittsburgh vicinity, including Johnny Lujack, Babe Parilli, and Marc Bulger, and the area’s best high school programs for producing quarterbacks are also discussed.

The Chicago Bears are more than a football team?they are a legend. Founded in 1919, the Bears have won more regular season games than any other NFL franchise. With twenty-six players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and thirteen retired jerseys, it’s no wonder the Bears can be defined by three phrases: Big, tough, and full of characters. The Bears, like Chicago, are not just people. They are personalities. In Amazing Tales From the Chicago Bears Sideline, Bears fans can read about the men who have made the Bears one of the greatest franchises in pro football?George Halas, Dick Butkus, Mike Ditka, Walter Payton, and many others. Former Bears star Steve McMichael takes a front row seat in this collection of stories. Readers get to walk through the most vibrant years of a charter NFL franchise?as seen through the eyes of a legendary player. McMichael covers it all, from training camp misadventures in Lake Forest, Illinois, and Platteville, Wisconsin, and Ditka’s locker room tirades to nights on the town with Dan Hampton and friends and behind-the-scenes glimpses of extraordinary teammates.