Robert Neyland

"Johnson's noteworthy book is a masterful combination of history, sportswriting, and biography rich in information not found elsewhere." -Booklist, Starred Review A celebration of coaching great Robert Neyland Robert Neyland was not your typical college football coach. A graduate of West Point and veteran of both world wars, Neyland often played a dual role as both an army officer and football coach, shifting seamlessly between the two professions. At the University of Tennessee, he ran his program like the army and amassed an impressive 173-31-12 record. In Robert Neyland: The West Point Engineer Who Built Tennessee Football, Timothy D. Johnson provides deep insight into Neyland's life and incredible career. Featuring interviews with the only living former players from the Neyland era, and including new details from the Robert R. Neyland Family Papers, Johnson brings Neyland's story to life, revealing how Neyland's success resulted from his stern discipline and ability to put together consistently dominant defenses. It's a story that is sure to not only fascinate fans of Tennessee football, but sports and military historians, as well.

Timothy D. Johnson is the Elizabeth Gentry Brown Professor of History at Lipscomb University in Nashville where he has taught since 1991. He has written articles for journals, popular magazines, and encyclopedias, and has authored or edited eight previous books. Johnson has been a research fellow at the Virginia Historical Society as well as at Yale University, and has appeared on The History Channel, C-SPAN, and Public Television.

Foreword by Blake Neyland Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1 - Growing up in Texas: 1892-1912 Chapter 2 - West Point: 1912-1916 Chapter 3 - From West Point to West Point: 1916-1924 Chapter 4 - Becoming a Coach: 1925-1928 Chapter 5 - The Neyland System: 1929-1935 Chapter 6 - Army Duties: 1925-1936 Chapter 7 - Rebuilding the Neyland System: 1936-1938 Chapter 8 - SEC Dynasty: 1939-1940 Chapter 9 - The Nation Calls: 1941-1945 Chapter 10 - The General Returns: 1946-1948 Chapter 11 - Back on Top: 1949-1952 Chapter 12 - The Final Years: 1953-1962 Epilogue: The Neyland Legacy Sources Bibliography Index