• The Perfect Pass

  • American Genius and the Reinvention of Football
  • By: S. C. Gwynne
  • Narrated by: Santino Fontana
  • Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (358 ratings)

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The Perfect Pass  By  cover art

The Perfect Pass

By: S. C. Gwynne
Narrated by: Santino Fontana
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Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling, award-winning historian S. C. Gwynne tells the incredible story of how Hal Mumme and Mike Leach - two unknown coaches who revolutionized American football in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s - changed the way the game is played at every level, from high school to the NFL.

Hal Mumme is one of a handful of authentic offensive geniuses in the history of American football. In 2015 ESPN Magazine, the nation's leading sports magazine, called him the single most influential football coach in the last quarter century.

Mumme spent 14 mostly losing seasons coaching football before inventing a potent passing offense strategy that would revolutionize the game. That transformation began at a tiny college called Iowa Wesleyan, where Mumme was head coach and Mike Leach his assistant. It was there that Mumme invented the purest and most extreme passing game in the 145-year history of football, where his quarterback once completed 61 of 86 passes (both national records). His teams played blazingly fast - faster than any team ever had before. They rarely punted on a fourth down and routinely beat teams with 10 or 20 times Iowa Wesleyan's students. Mumme did it all with average athletes and without even a playbook.

In The Perfect Pass, S. C. Gwynne explores Mumme's genius and the stunning performance of his teams as well as his leading role in changing football from a run-dominated sport to a pass-dominated sport. He also shares the history of a moment in American football when the game changed fundamentally and transformed itself into what tens of millions of Americans now watch on television every weekend. Whether you're a casual or ravenous football fan, this is a truly compelling story of American ingenuity and innovation and how a set of revolutionary ideas made their way into the mainstream of sports culture that we celebrate today.

©2016 Samuel C. Gwynne. All rights reserved. (P)2016 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about The Perfect Pass

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The Perfect Pass

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No, I only ordered this because I listened to Empire of the Summer Moon and Rebel Yell twice each. SC Gwynne is one of my all time favorite authors. I thought maybe he could make this interesting. I gave it a good go but it just wasn't that interesting to me. I think football fanatics and coaches might be inspired but I was disappointed.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Probably something on WWII

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

It was good.

Could you see The Perfect Pass being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

NO!

Any additional comments?

Please, Mr. Gwynne, pick another historical figure to write about. Maybe something else about Texas History or South American history and the Incas. I LOVED your other two books.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Being a retired sportswriter in Texas, this book wAs amazing

An absolutely unique story of innovation, superior intelligence and guts of a guy who has revolutionized the game of football...a MUST read for any offensive minded sports fan.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I Hate Football... but this was great.

I'm a 40 year old artist who doesn't give a flip about football. I don't like watching the sport and I don't pay any attention to collegiate or professional football despite living in football fanatic Central Ohio.

That said, I listened to this book in only a few sittings in rapt delight. It told the story, not only of a style of football play but of a man and his journey to better the thing he loved. Hal Mummy is an artist of the game of football and his passion and dedication are both interesting and admirable. I loved listening to this book and have been recommending it to other folks who can't stand football too.

Santino Fontana's narration was perfect - as usual. I listen to everything he narrates, and that was why I picked this book in the first place as it is the last thing he's narrated that I haven't listened to yet. He's done some great books - The You series by Kepnes and A selection of works by King including The Institute - but he's also done some real stinkers which I won't list to save you the hours I spent suffering through boring content to listen to the man speak. This book? Not suffering. I'm sure I will listen to it again and again because it's interesting as a work of nonfiction and this audio version is aurally delightful thanks to Fontana.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Mumme and Leach

Having been a high school coach now for 36 years. I also had contacts that opened doors for me to go and visit with Hal Mumme and Mike Leach and Chris Hatcher and Tony Franklin. Part of this revolution I got to see up close and experienced it. This is a well written book and super insightful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Human Interest and Football

I really enjoyed this look into the life and times of a truly unique and driven man, who happened to be a football coach, Hal Mumme. Along the way, I learned a lot about football, particularly the “air raid” style of offense that Mumme synthesized from his own ideas and numerous other sources, and it’s long term impact on the game. Well worth your time if you’re football fan.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great sports book

I learned so much about how the passing game we know today came to be. Very well written and interesting especially for the football fan.

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5 Star

Interesting book. SC Gwynn is an excellent storyteller. His book about the Comanches is one of my all time favorites.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great content but probably not the correct format

This book contains lots of references to diagrams and PDFs and spends a lot of time explaining football plays that are probably best consumed visually. The performance was great and the content was great but I recommend reading the book or at least planning to be seated at a computer to look over the diagrams while it's being narrated.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • TJ
  • 07-16-23

Great Book

Gives me a new found appreciation for the technical side of football. Word, word, word

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Required reading if you love CFB

Loved this book and it is the proof of how two crazy people can change the world.

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