When Pride Still Mattered: A Life Of Vince Lombardi by David Maraniss. The writing talent of David Maraniss has aged very well over the last twenty years. This is a very amazing story of Lombardi’s life surrounding coaching and leadership. Yet, Vince’s complex life will certainly surprise new readers today.
David tells a hard truth. It is striking to learn that Vince was distant to his wife and children. Today no NFL coach could get away with repeated public “Shut up Marie!” derogatory statements to his wife. Good grief I did not see that coming. Yet distant relationships with his son and daughter are also a surprise when Vince was so dedicated to his players.
David traces Vince’s life from birth to death. His early years will impress many football fans especially playing New York City high schools games against Sid Luckman. Vince was also attending college with Wellington Mara, another interesting element for fans of the game. At the same time his college life crisscrossed meetings with Frank Sinatra.
The writing throughout this book is powerful and extremely detailed. Maybe to a fault. Lombardi attended a catholic mass daily. His faith is a key element of Lombardi’s life. Author Terry Tibbetts writing A Spartan Game The Life and Loss of Don Holleder acknowledges Lombardi kept in his bible the prayer card for Don Holleder. A junior All-American coached by Lombardi at West Point, Major Holleder died during the Battle of Ong Thanh.
Similarly Lombardi kept prayer cards for two West Point quarterbacks killed during the Korean War. Most assuredly, Lombardi never forgot their sacrifices. There is much to Lombardi’s complex life and David Maraniss captures it all perfectly. Growing up in Ohio, the status of “Saint Lombardi” did not resonate for me. Only after 1997 was his lasting impact first recognized across the Wisconsin press and NFL media publications.
Racism in America – post World War II
The most interesting takeaway is the shaping of young coach Lombardi developed during an era of dramatic change in America. Throughout the book David addresses Vince’s firm belief that he was always denied good coaching opportunities because he was Italian:
I’ll never get to be a head coach,” he complained to Wellington Mara. “Here I am, an Italian, forty-two years old, and nobody wants me. Nobody will take me.” Mara “didn’t really buy” Vince’s argument that prejudice against his Italian heritage was holding him back, but “didn’t argue with him,” he said later.
p. 392
He had gone through life being called a dago and wop and guinea because of his dark skin and southern Italian heritage. Throughout his school years he had struggled to overcome the lower academic expectations that society seemed to have for Italian boys. In high school and college he had tried to dress more sharply, scrub cleaner, keep his hair trimmer and maintain a more businesslike appearance just so that he would not be defined by stereotypes….At various points during his long apprenticeship in coaching, he had suspected that his advancement had been slowed by bias against Italians.
pp. 587-588.
You certainly do not need to view racism within a Dr Seuss book to understand the wider impact of racism in 1940s America.
On the other hand, Lombardi was strong enough to lead African-American players to Green Bay in the 1960s. He especially supported a player’s engagement to a white woman. This resulted in a phone call from new NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. However Vince Lombardi would not stand for any form of racism or homophobic position from NLF headquarters.
Be on Lombardi time
There are traits of Lombardi that continue to appeal to this day. Schedule your day on Lombardi time? You should. In contrast, his pure drive for perfection in a shifting and imperfect world suggests those sacrifices robbed him of time from his family.
This review just scratches the surface. David Maraniss has written a book for the ages. David’s book regarding Milwaukee soldiers facing death in Vietnam as UWMadison students are protesting is written perfectly in his book They Marched into Sunlight.
BookTV | In Depth with David Maraniss
MASN Orioles | Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: “When Pride Still Mattered”
NFL Films | Vince Lombardi: The Coach Who Put Green Bay on the Map