Book cover of Paper Lion

Book description

George Plimpton’s classic Paper Lion set the bar for participatory sports journalism, as the author shares his experiences in training camp, trying out as a quarterback for the NFL’s Detroit Lions, and eventually, playing in a preseason exhibition game. Displaying his characteristic wit and insight, Paper Lion was met with…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Paper Lion as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Perpetual sports amateur Plimpton once said of golf, “The smaller the ball, the better the book,” but ironically wrote a terrific bestseller in 1966 that fed America’s new and insatiable appetite about the NFL when he talked his way onto the Detroit Lions as a rather elderly, Yale-educated rookie quarterback.

What began as a PR stunt turned into a moving appreciation of the men, coaches, and sport when the Lions decided to take him seriously—albeit only as far as the preseason. 

From Don's list on football from a sportswriter.

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