As football continues to supplant baseball as the definitive American sport, interest in the history of our modern game also grows in stature. Author Joe Niese has produced an exhaustively researched biography about one of the principle contributers to the NFL game that we know and love today. Although Gus Dorais might not be a household name, his contributions as a passing quarterback for Notre Dame and as a pro set the groundwork for our current era of gunslinging passers. Dorais’s contributions as a coach also revolutionized the sport. Gus Dorais: Gridioron Innovator, All-American and Hall of Fame Coach, is an engaging biography that serves as a snapshot into a bygone era of football.

American football is only a little more than a hundred years old, but in that century there have been massive changes both to the game and in the culture in which it developed. Gus Dorais was born in 1891 and grew up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Niese’s book follows his career as a High School player, collegiate quarterback for Notre Dame, as a pro, and finally as a coach. The book is diligent about recreating important games involving Dorais throughout his life. The attention to detail is astounding as direct quotes from players and coaches are often included in the summary of each significant game and event that is discussed.

Niese approaches his subject with a great deal of respect and diligence. It is clear from the first page that Niese wishes to create an accurate and contextually supported portrait of Gus Dorais. It is impressive that in the cases where there are conflicting stories about given events, Niese manages to provide both the contested legend and the likely true story without losing any narrative engagement. To some extent, the book is reminiscent of Ken Burns’s documentary on the Civil War. The images provided in the book provide snapshots to the look of the era. Niese’s book has an absolute commitment to presenting historical events without embellishment or editorials. The result is the emergence of a genuine and compelling narrative.

Most readers will find ‘Gus Dorais’ to be a surprising revelation into how little they know about the early history of American football. Dorais existed in the era of such players as Jim Thorpe, Knute Rockne, and George Gipp. The exploits of these players as they relate to Dorais are interwoven throughout the book, and the stories help embellish the reader’s understanding of those larger than life figures.

What becomes clear is that Gus Dorais is as much a potential subject for a Hollywood film as many who have already received star treatment. The 1940 film ‘Knute Rockne-All American’ which featured Ronald Regan as George Gipp, and boasted the famous line “Win one for the Gipper,” probably wouldn’t exist if Dorais hadn’t become the unofficial chronicler of Rockne’s legend after his untimely death. Joe Niese’s book contains all the research necessary for a screenwriter to distill a Hollywood script, and it would be fascinating to see Dorais’s exploits someday reach the silver screen.

Anyone who is a fan of the NFL and wishes to learn more about the critical era that gave birth to the modern forward pass will find Gus Dorais: Gridioron Innovator, All-American and Hall of Fame Coach to be a fascinating read. It’s interesting to reflect that every time you turn on an NFL game, played by millionaires and transmitted throughout the world, the field of play still exhibits the remnants of innovations from men who performed for pennies, and grew up in tiny Midwest towns.