For Steelers' Fans Who Don't Know Jack
by maryrose on Jul 20, 2010 10:30 AM EDT
Email
PrintThe following is an excerpt from the book, From Black to Gold - The Pittsburgh Steelers, which will launch this Saturday, July 24. The book is a handsome hardcover publication that sells for $24.95 plus shipping/handling. BTSC readers will hear more details very soon!
John Harold Lambert and I went to college together at Kent State University in the early 1970s. He was unaware of that fact and I, of course, was acutely aware. Attending every home game during his senior season, I remember #99 going from sideline to sideline with fierce tenacity. He was flagged once for hitting the quarterback too hard - on a perfectly legal play. It is hard to believe now that Lambert did not receive a full scholarship into Kent in 1970, small as it was compared to most Division I schools. He was a gangly 6-5 string bean who weighed about 190 pounds. He never looked like a football player, even Chuck Noll admitted that later, but his instincts and passion about the game would lead him on a path to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, just 30 miles south of his Ohio hometown of Mantua. I took delight in seeing and knowing such a great football talent before the rest of the country had much of an idea.
Of course, scouts knew who he was. Art Rooney Jr., who headed up the Steelers' scouting department, made the short drive to Kent one day. The practice field was too muddy that afternoon, so the team, without the luxury of major-college facilities, practiced on a parking lot full of cinders and gravel. That meant nothing to Lambert, even wearing shorts. He still pursued with reckless abandon and displayed the same intensity at a practice, on gravel, that he did on game-day. On one play, Lambert ended up face-first in the cinders. He refused treatment as if nothing happened. For the rest of the practice, Lambert calmly picked pieces of gravel from his face, knees and elbows. Mr. Rooney had seen enough.
More to come in From Black to Gold!
30 comments
|
Add comment
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
MR... you tease!
Can’t wait to get this book, 4 more days. Good (shortened) read, of course.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Heaven. Now arriving, the Boss, George Steinbrenner, the Boss.
RIP Bob Sheppard 1910-2010 and RIP George Steinbrenner 1930-2010
by NYSteelersFan4 on Jul 20, 2010 10:47 AM EDT reply actions
http://www.fromblacktogold.com
If i remember correctly…
I'll be hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from May, 2011 to Sept., 2011, to raise money for charity. Please visit: http://thf2.wordpress.com for more info. Thanks!
The Cowgirls
I’ll never forget the look in that Cowboy players face when Lambert pile drove him to the carpet. It was the same look Butkiss gave Mean Joe Green when he spit in Butkiss face.
The Steelers are the toughest NFL franchise ever. They will never be topped.
He's still a punk....and his name is still Cliff Harris.
I love good writing and great story-telling. And I’m gonna buy Tim’s book.
I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer.
- Homer J. Simpson
Ha,,,Ha...HA!
Left us hanging! Lambert is one of my all-time favorites and I’m positive that is an understatement.
WOLFMAN JACK!!!
"In Hoc Signo Vinces!" (With this as your standard, you shall have victory!) -Constantine I
by Webslasher81 on Jul 21, 2010 2:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Shameless plug!
CHEERS!
Can’t wait to pick up the book this weekend.
"If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally brain dead." I say, "What a way to die." - Steve Sabol responding to an Erma Bombeck quote
not enough!!!!
I have to pick up this book. Great writing MR
off topic but didnt Kent State had a shooting, a sniper i think
Healing from my new tattoos
Franco made that play because he never quit on the play. He kept running, he kept hustling. Good things happen to people who hustle."
National Guard shot and killed 4 students
by TomlinsPuffyJacket on Jul 20, 2010 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions
thank you
i’m currently reading up on that
Healing from my new tattoos
Franco made that play because he never quit on the play. He kept running, he kept hustling. Good things happen to people who hustle."
Jack Lambert: the consummate NFL linebacker
What Eastwood is to the cowboy genre, Lambert is to linebackers. A ferocious and superb player who was an absolute pleasure to watch.
Switch John Wayne for Eastwood and ok.
Except, The Outlaw Josey Wales, great movie and Clint made it something special.
If you buy a foreign made product you give money to a person who will not be buying an American made product that you get paid to make. Think about it next time you're at the store.
Yo Tim or Michael
any word on when the MSP and From Black to Gold will be crossing the pond?
This excerpt got me excited for both.
Oh momma I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law
Lawman has put an end to my running and I'm so far from my home
Oh momma I can hear you a'crying you're so scared and all alone
Hangman is comin' down from the gallows and I don't have very
long
If Troy, Harrison and Woodley are on top of their game, that is good for 9 wins right there, regardless of what is going on with their offense. - Mr MaLoR 28/6/10
by Josh Roberts (ESGB) on Jul 20, 2010 6:57 PM EDT reply actions
Ray Lweis..yeah right!
Some idiots think Ray, ray is better…YEAH RIGHT! How many did u win ray?
A man is innocent untill proven guilty...Even if it's Ben Roethlisberger!
really?!
even to this day Jack Lambert would whip Ray Lewis’s ass!!!
"In Hoc Signo Vinces!" (With this as your standard, you shall have victory!) -Constantine I
by Webslasher81 on Jul 21, 2010 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Its a good thing he got into the hall when he did
because he may kill a voter or two if he didn’t
Players who should be in the Hall of Fame: Pat TIllman, Dwight White, Donnie Shell, L.C. Greenwood, Ray Guy, Steve Tasker, Greg Llyod, Andy Russel, Cris Carter, Kevin Greene and Jerry Kramer
"He Twittered that pitch" Steve Blass
Canal Street Chronicles resident Steelers Fan
by WVPiratesfan on Jul 21, 2010 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Great read!
I grew up in a neighboring town to Mantua (Garrettsville in fact). Given that my parents hadn’t even met yet when Mr. Lambert went to Kent, the only other claim to fame that I have regarding him is that I played a few games in the Stadium at Crestwood High named after him and I graduated HS with a relative of his.
I.Can't.Wait!!!
Thanks for this labor of love, for being a “no name” who came through to do something great. This will be bought for myself, and for several Steelers fans of the younger generation as gifts. I’m proud of you, this must have been an intense undertaking.
I'll be hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from May, 2011 to Sept., 2011, to raise money for charity. Please visit: http://thf2.wordpress.com for more info. Thanks!
58
My favorite Steeler of all time. The guy epitomized “PITTSBURGH STEELER”
I actually wrote a paper on Jack Lambert in 8th grade and I used that picture of Lambert standing over the fallen Newhouse…
When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen
Jack's still the standard
For me, when I consider linebacker play, I always use Jack Lambert as the standard. His consistency, tenacity and unparalleled intensity haven’t been matched by any of the over hyped linebackers of the modern era. Like many of the other have already said, it sounds like a great book. I look forward to reading more about the count.
Tom
Vacation Guy
Jack Lambert-Prototype Pittsburgh Steeler
Nothing gives me more satisfaction than seeing Jack Lambert pound any Dallas Cowboy into the ground. Way to go, Jack. My proudest possession is my Lambert throwback Steelers jersey. The 70’s Steelers forever set the standard for what an NFL franchise could and should be. I only wish Jack had been on the ‘95 Steelers Super Bowl team in which Neil O’Donnell handed the game to the hated Cowboys. I think Jack would have killed O’Donnell with his bare hands, and nothing would have given me more pleasure than seeing Jack level Troy Aikman on a linebacker blitz. Jack, I love you. You are all-Steeler and will always be revered by Steeler fans everywhere.
great teaser
from what is, I am certain, a great publication.
Guess I will need to figure out to use paypal.
How do I break it to the cat that since he has been declawed, the rabbit he sees in our backyard would kick his sorry butt?
by Cold_Old_Steelers_Fan on Jul 21, 2010 8:28 PM EDT reply actions
Something to say? Choose one of these options to log in.
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
"Thoughtful discussion with a sense of history."
Art Rooney Jr.
"Level-headed thinking." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
