The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger

…harmony among Americans…will be the object of my constant and zealous attentions. ~
President James Monroe

Prior to reading The Last Founding Father, I had a vague impression of the fifth American President as little more than an acolyte of Thomas Jefferson. Harlow Giles Unger does a superb job of dispelling this and other misconceptions.

 

One of the qualities I most admired in Monroe was his uncompromising commitment to national interest over personal loyalty. This ideal led him, on several occasions, to stand opposed to the party line and national heroes George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. Despite this, Monroe was able to maintain a close and enduring friendship with his fellow Virginians.

 

In his opening chapter, Unger offers the following synopsis of Monroe’s life:

 

James Monroe was the last of the Founding Fathers – dressed in outmoded knee-breeches and buckled shoes, protecting the fragile structure of republican government from disunion. Born and raised on a small Virginia farm, Monroe had fought and bled at Trenton as a youth, suffered the pangs of hunger and the bite of winter at Valley Forge, galloped beside Washington at Monmouth. And when the Revolution ended, he gave himself to the nation, devoting the next forty years to public service, assuming more public posts than any American in history: state legislator, U.S. congressman, U.S. senator, ambassador to France and Britain, minister to Spain, four-term governor of Virginia, U.S. secretary of state, U.S. secretary of war, and finally, America’s fifth president, for two successive terms.

 

Unger carefully details each of these accomplishments and many more. One of Monroe’s most impressive achievements occurred near the end of the War of 1812, when he served as Secretary of State and later as Secretary of War under President Madison. Madison, sickly and slight at the best of times, deferred to Monroe on most matters, making Monroe de facto Chief Executive and Commander-in-Chief. Monroe’s competence, decisiveness, and courage were not lost on the American Public who elected Monroe by landslide in the election of 1816.

 

Monroe’s presidency, often called the “Era of Good Feelings” was marked by the greatest peace, prosperity and unity the young nation had ever known. It also marked the end of party politics…for a few years.

 

Monroe had studied the Washington years carefully and pledged that, like Washington, promoting “harmony among Americans…will be the object of my constant and zealous attentions.”

 

There is one glaring omission in Unger’s synopsis of Monroe’s life: author of the Monroe Doctrine. (omitted in the synopsis, but not from the biography)

 

If the Monroe Doctrine quelled European ambitions for new conquests in the Americas, it dispelled American fears of imminent attack by foreign powers and unleashed a surge of popular energy that strengthened the nation economically and militarily.

 

It comprised only three paragraphs of the State of the Union Address. The heart of the doctrine is this:

 

…the rights and interests of the United States are involved that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.

 

It was met at once with resounding approval – near euphoria. It is probably Monroe’s most enduring legacy.

 

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James Madison: A Biography by Ralph Ketcham

The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the United States be cherished and perpetuated. ~ James Madison

 

This is an enlightening read about the 4th President of the United States.

 

Previously, I had a general perception that Madison, along with James Monroe, merely rode Jefferson’s coat tails, that he had a role in the establishment of the Constitution, and got stuck with the untenable prospect of avoiding war with Great Britain. I was woefully ignorant of this remarkable man.

 

He was closely aligned with Jefferson, but he was far more than a Jefferson disciple. Indeed his counsel often tempered Jefferson’s impetuousness.

 

Jefferson called Madison his…“pillar of support through life.”

 

But we might learn more about a man from his foes rather than his friends. John Adams said that Madison

...acquired more glory, and established more Union, than all his three Predecessors, Washington, Adams and Jefferson put together.

 

And we can learn yet more by what he says about his opponents. Madison had many throughout his career, including some who changed course over the years, but he was always, careful, measured, and respectful when speaking of men like Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, John Adams, or Benjamin Franklin.

 

James Madison was a Virginia planter, who rose to prominence in the American Revolution. Physically, he was unimpressive: short, shy, and soft spoken. He had a quiet passion for his young country, and deliberate, unassailable logic.

 

Madison was a close personal advisor to President Washington, Secretary of State under President Jefferson, and of course President of the United States from 1809 – 1817. But these are just roles. His two greatest achievements were the creation of the U.S. Constitution, and his leadership during the War of 1812.

 

Madison recognized the Articles of Confederation were insufficient for guiding the new nation, and wrote the Virginia Plan which was the model for the U.S. Constitution.

 

He was the “Father of the Constitution” which is pithy and trite and doesn’t do him justice. With the many competing factions, it is miraculous that the convention ever reached an agreement, and then a second miracle that it was ratified by the states. Madison, more than any other single individual was responsible for both. He wrote

 

…we kept steadily in our view…the consolidation of our Union, in which is involved our prosperity, felicity, safety, perhaps our national existence…

 

 

He considered his role in establishing the Constitution his moment of special destiny.

 

Though, he couldn’t anticipate his presidency and the War of 1812. For decades, the U.S. had struggled to remain neutral in Anglo-French conflicts, but the demands of Great Britain, only slightly more egregious than the demands of France finally made it impossible. The three main complaints from the U.S. perspective were: impressment of U.S. seamen into the British Navy, British naval harassment and seizure of U.S. commercial vessels, and Britain’s Orders of Council. Madison, was plagued by inferior numbers in the army and navy, lack of professional officers, inept and even treacherous cabinet officers, and lack of money to fund the war effort. Yet somehow the U.S. survived with honor.

 

And you cannot talk about James Madison, without talking about Dolley. Madison married the widow Dolley Payne Todd when he was 43 and she was 26. In the early 19th Century, the President’s success was measured partially by his social standing, where Dolley ensured her husband triumphed. Additionally, she often played hostess for the bachelor President Jefferson, so she was defacto first lady for 16 years. Madison considered her so critical to the nation’s morale, that after the British forces quit the capital, President Madison urged her

 

…for the sake of the city’s morale, you cannot return too soon.

 

James Madison once expressed the wish to expire on the Fourth of July, as Jefferson and Adams had. But on June 28, 1836, at the age of 85, he declared he’d had a change of mind, and passed quietly away.

 

This biography sometimes necessarily bogs down in the details, but overall an excellent and enlightening read.

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Lion of Liberty: The Life and Times of Patrick Henry by Harlow Giles Unger

If this be treason, make the most of it. ~ Patrick Henry

While reading Thomas Jefferson: A Life, I realized a desire to read about Jefferson’s nemesis: Patrick Henry. Thomas Jefferson, the Revolution’s greatest writer, is a fascinating contrast with its greatest orator, Patrick Henry. Nemesis may be a bit strong, but I’ve read of no one else who could both astound and confound Thomas Jefferson, a man not easily affected in either extreme.

 

In contrast to Jefferson, the Tidewater aristocrat, Patrick Henry was a backwoods frontiersman – though classically educated. And in contrast to the ever deliberate and composed Jefferson, Patrick Henry let his passions blaze, though still quite deliberately and with amazing effect.

 

He was responsible for making the risks and hardships of the revolution popular with the common man, perhaps more so than any other individual.

 

First learning the art of persuasion as a criminal lawyer, Unger writes of Henry…

 

He left courtroom spectators stunned, breathless, helpless – in effect, captives.

 

He is best known for the famous line…” Give me liberty or give me death,” when addressing the Virginia convention in 1775.

 

But I found his most brilliant speech was ten years earlier, as a 29-year-old member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. He railed against the tyrannical Stamp Act. In summation, he declared…

 

Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third…

 

***Dramatic pause for effect***

 

Met by cries of “Treason” by the Senior Burgesses before Henry continued, I must imagine with a mischievous sparkle in his eye…

 

George the Third,” he boomed in defiance, “may profit by their example! If this be treason, make the most of it!”

 

Thomas Jefferson would describe the moment…

 

I attended the debate…and heard the splendid display of Mr. Henry’s talents as a popular orator. They were great indeed; such as I have never heard from any other man…

 

George Mason would say of Henry…

 

He is by far the most powerful speaker I have ever heard.

 

Every word he says not only engages but commands the attention; and your passions are no longer your own when he addresses them. But his eloquence is the smallest part of his merit. He is in my opinion the first man upon this continent, as well in abilities and public virtues, and had he lived in Rome…Mr. Henry’s talents must have put him at the head of that glorious commonwealth.

 

At one point, in the debate over the Constitution, Henry’s oratory became a nearly supernatural legend; while expressing his most vehement passions in warning against the Constitution, the skies broke, and thunderclaps seemed to accentuate his every pause and point. Again, I imagine a sly grin as he made nature’s fury his own.

 

History has been a bit unkind to Patrick Henry for his opposition to the Constitution. He was a firm Anti-Federalist and envisioned a loose confederation of independent states. He feared the Constitution gave Congress tyrannical powers. He was also adamant that it sorely lacked a “Bill of Rights.” He proved insightful on that point, and I am not convinced his fears of almighty federal over-reach are not similarly justified.

 

During his day, and apart from George Washington, Patrick Henry was probably the nation’s most beloved founding father. He would likely have been the third president had he not declined the many calls for him to run. Despite his public declination, he finished fourth behind Jefferson, Adams, and Thomas Pinckney.

 

He was a devoted husband and father, with 15 children from 2 marriages. He kept a strict moral code, avoiding alcohol and gambling. He was a student of the Bible, saying…

 

This book is worth all the books that ever were printed.

 

Harlow Giles Unger’s work is a concise and compelling narrative. Concise, likely of necessity. In yet another contrast to Jefferson, Patrick Henry left few written records. Much of what is known of him is gleaned from the writings and memories of other founding fathers. And while he is neither perfect saint nor sinner, I now have a better understanding of and greater respect for the Lion of Liberty.

 

I’m going to claim lineage tracing to Patrick Henry. His daughter, Martha, married John Fontaine, a descendent of Huguenots, the de la Fontaines. Most of my clan have accepted further Anglicization to Fountain, but yeah…I’m apparently the great-great-great-great grandson or something like that of Patrick Henry 

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Thomas Jefferson: A Life by Willard Sterne Randall

Let those flatter who fear: it is not an American art… ~ Thomas Jefferson

A thorough, thoughtful, biography of a fascinating, complicated man.

 

As he neared death, Thomas Jefferson, wrote his own epitaph:

 

Here was buried

Thomas Jefferson

Author of the Declaration of American Independence

of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom

and Father of the University of Virginia

 

He apparently didn’t think President of the United States was quite on par with those distinctions.

 

He was an accomplished violinist, a serious botanist and naturalist, amateur architect, lawyer, horseman, statesman diplomat, and of course politician. He nearly doubled the territory of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase, and was the impetus to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

 

He established the republican government of Virginia on Four Cornerstones:

Repeal laws of entail and primogeniture

Religious Freedom

Free public education

Streamline the judicial system and liberalize the brutal penal code

 

Oh and…he could write. Describing his writing style, the author says…

 

His writing style gives us the sharpest self-portrait of the man: soft in tone and gracious in sentiment when he spoke of human rights, angry and self-righteous when he catalogued the crimes of a tyrannical king, magnificently Roman when, forging in a single paragraph the creed of a free nation…

 

His personal life was tragic. He outlived his siblings, his wife, all but one of his children, and many of his grandchildren. His wife Martha died at the age of 33. Thomas outlived her by over 40 years, but would never remarry. 

 

Of course, he was not without sin. He was a slave owner. This seems a glaring contradiction in the life of the man who wrote

 

…all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…

 

During his political career, Jefferson would time and time again fight for the abolition of slavery, and decry it with righteous passion:

 

I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.

 

It seems grossly hypocritical for a slave owner.

 

However, things were not so simple as we think. For much of his life, it would have been impossible for Jefferson to free his slaves. Virginia law forbid it until 1782.

 

Jefferson inherited his first slaves from his father, and Virginia law prohibited an individual slave owner from freeing his slaves. 

 

To compound the problem, Martha later inherited, from her father, the majority of Jefferson’s slaves. They were encumbered as “property” Thomas held in trust; that had to be passed to Martha’s heirs.

 

But later in life, the laws changed, and he could have freed at least some of them…why not then? According to the author

 

…he considered mass emancipation impossible and believed it his burden of duty to care kindly for his slaves, freeing them individually as they became skilled enough to find jobs.

 

…he considered it irresponsible, indeed cruel, to turn loose his slaves until they were self-sufficient and prepared to remain free. 

 

I do not endorse his slow methodical approach of emancipation, and in spite of his words, I still suspect some hypocrisy, but I can believe, that in his own mind, he believed it reasonable. He could have, indeed should have done better, but it has taken humanity 6,000 years to collectively repudiate the evils of slavery. I don’t expect a man born to an age when it was a sanctioned institution to have sorted it all out perfectly. 

 

And then there was the election of 1800. The first true two-party election, and it was ugly, even by today’s standards. It was at times heartbreaking to read, knowing of the close friendship and mutual respect he and John Adams once shared.

 

But on a cheerier note…Bravo to Jefferson’s lifelong friend Benjamin Rush, who urged retired Jefferson to write his old friend John Adams. The two were reconciled and began a genuine and affectionate correspondence until both of them would die on the 4^thof July, 1826…the 50^thanniversary of the signing of The Declaration of Independence.

 

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George Washington: Ordinary Man, Extraordinary Leader by Robert F. Jones

 

George Washington: Ordinary Man, Extraordinary Leader by Robert F. Jones

Our case is not desperate, if virtue exists in the people and there is wisdom among our rulers. ~ General George Washington

 

As presidential biographies go, this is short and quite accessible. It contains very little about George Washington’s childhood – because according to the author: there is little evidence to go on.

 

Washington’s father died when George was barely one and there is little written about his education. There were however two formative influences in his early life: the study of deportment, as expounded in Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior, and Stoic philosophy, primarily introduced to him by family friend, Colonel William Fairfax. If you understand even a little about these two influences, the rest of Washington’s life makes perfect sense.

 

Although one thing surprised me based on previous perceptions I had of George Washington; he was not a deeply religious man; he is best described as a Deist. He seldom spoke of God in personal terms, preferring impersonal terms such as "Divine Providence".

 

The rest of this glimpse at the “Father of the Nation” was largely what I expected.

 

George Washington was a quiet and dignified man, slow to decide but resolute once decided. He was concerned with his reputation and legacy, but ready to risk all for what he believed was right. As the author put it…

He had the qualities needed to secure victory: patience, self-discipline, organizing ability, willingness to work hard, and faith in the eventual success of the struggle for independence.

 

He was a professional surveyor, planter, and land speculator. But of course, he is best known as soldier and statesman. As a soldier, he was competent, but not brilliant as either strategist or tactician. Similarly, as statesman, he was not a great orator, writer, or politician – but in both roles, he was as the title expresses an extraordinary leader. 

 

Of Washington’s political career, the author opined…

…he was helping the new nation through a difficult adolescence.

 

His presidency is marked by many things, but the most significant for me, was his effort to keep the executive non-partisan. A near impossible task considering his two closest advisors, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson (Republican) and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (Federalist). His effort to keep the presidency non-partisan was mostly successful, though it quickly ended when his presidency ended.

 

Abigail Adams, wife of then Vice President John Adams had this to say of President Washington…

He is polite with dignity, affable without familiarity, distant without haughtiness, grave without austerity, modest, wise, and good.

 

Upon Washington’s retirement, Henrietta Liston, wife of Robert Liston, British Minister to the United States observed…

There is a Magic in his name more powerful than the abilities of any other man can ever acquire.

 

George Washington was also a slave owner. It seems disingenuous to extol his virtues and ignore his greatest sin, as indeed it was – an awful, abhorrent sin. However, it has taken humanity over 6,000 years to collectively repudiate the evils of slavery. I don’t expect a man who was born to an age when it was a sanctioned institution to perfectly sort it out, on his own, in less than 50 years of adult life. I am not an apologist for the slave owner, but I don’t believe George Washington’s singular failure negates the value of a life that is otherwise characterized by virtue and integrity.

 

So, for something less depressing, two slightly amusing anecdotes. 

 

During his presidency, Washington was addressed as “Excellency”. It was not until Jefferson’s presidency that “Mr. President” became the accepted term of address.

 

When the British surrendered at Yorktown, custom called for the commanding general to surrender his sword, but General Cornwallis pleaded illness and sent Brigadier O’Hara. In response to this slight, General Washington deputed Major General Benjamin Lincoln to accept the surrender – which must have been satisfying to Lincoln, who previously had surrendered to Cornwallis at the Battle of Charlestown.

 

This book satisfies square B4, memoir or biography, in the 2020 Classic Bingo Challenge

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Ernie Harwell: My 60 Years in Baseball by Tom Keegan

Ernie Harwell: My 60 Years in Baseball by Tom Keegan

This biography is about the greatest sportscaster of all time. That’s just my opinion – not sorry. Ernie Harwell was the voice of summer.

His biography took me back to the summer of 1967; I was 6. I didn’t know much of America’s pastime yet, but I learned that summer my father was a Detroit Tigers fan. He and several neighbors would gather on our front steps and listen to Ernie call the games. There was excitement that year as the Tigers were in a race to the American League Pennant – we lost the race on the final day of the season to the Red Sox. That first sports heartbreak of my life was relieved the following season, when the Tigers ran away with the Pennant, beating the “Birds” (Baltimore Orioles) by 12 games, and then won the World Series – beating the other “Birds” (St. Louis Cardinals) in seven.

In those two seasons I began to learn the names: Dick McAuliffe, Mickey Stanley, Norm Cash, Jim Price, Bill Freehan, Mickey Lolich, Denny McLain Willie Horton, and Al Kaline. I learned them from Ernie Harwell. I did not learn till decades later that it was Harwell who, with the exception of Kaline, would be the more legendary Detroit Tiger.

Harwell began his broadcasting career in 1943 with the minor-league Atlanta Crackers. He got his major-league debut in 1948 when Branch Rickey* traded a catcher to the Crackers for Harwell’s services in the Dodgers’ broadcast booth. (*Rickey was a MLB pioneer, best known for signing the first African-American, Jackie Robinson, to play MLB.)

For the next 12 years, Harwell would call games for the Dodgers, Giants, Orioles, and the occasional golf tournament or college football game, before joining the Detroit Tigers – where he called games for all but one season between 1960 and 2002.

In addition to being the first, and only, broadcaster to be part of a player trade, Harwell was the first broadcaster inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1981). He is in three other Halls of Fame: National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame (1989), The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (1989), and the Radio Hall of Fame (1998). He is one of the very few sportscasters with a statue at their team’s stadium.

But, more notable than these official honors, the biography very clearly depicts Harwell’s most impressive quality – you just can’t find anyone with a bad word to say about Ernie Harwell. He was loved and/or admired by everyone who met him. He was a Christian gentleman, who took the golden rule literally.

I’m going to try to find somebody who doesn’t like Ernie Harwell. I hope I live long enough to do that because that means I’ll never die. ~ Al Kaline

I can honestly say there is nobody better that I’ve met in all facets of life. He’s a great announcer and a great human being. I miss him. I really do miss him. ~ Alan Trammell

There was one debacle in his career, for which Harwell bears no responsibility. In 1990, Harwell’s long-time broadcasting partner Paul Carey informed management he was going to retire after the 1991 season. Management thought it good time to make a complete change, presumably to attract a younger audience. They offered Harwell a one-year contract, hoping he would accept it and retire gracefully. Harwell however, made it clear that he was in good health and wished to continue broadcasting. Management was firm and put him on notice. When Harwell made a public announcement, stating simply and truthfully that 1991 would be his final season in the Tiger’s booth, not by his own choice, the outcry was immediate and widespread. The Detroit News called it…

…the most flagrant public relations disaster in the history of sports

The station and the team could hardly handle the calls and mail, which ran 97% in support of Harwell. But management only entrenched their position more firmly – or perhaps more stubbornly. After the 1992 season, when Harwell broadcast for the California Angels, the Tigers were purchased by a new owner, who made it his first priority to rehire Harwell, and subsequently to fire the management team that forced his departure. Harwell took the high road throughout, and proved that nice guys don’t always finish last.

Besides reliving the satisfying poetic justice of that incident (I was one of the outraged fans), I had a very personal reaction and moment of pleasure from this book. In the opening chapter, A Gentleman Wronged, the biographer describes that Harwell was encouraged, during the painful events just described, by letters from fans, especially young fans. He quotes from two letters, and then one more…

At that point, [after Harwell was fired] most believed the only way to listen to Harwell calling a Tigers game again would be to listen the way a missionary boy who had left Detroit for Papua, New Guinea, with his family listened. 

Isaac Michaels wrote to Harwell: “I am not able to listen to baseball games over here and so I listen to a tape of an old Tiger game with you broadcasting on it and I still go to bed listening to a Tiger game, just like I did when I was eight or nine years old.”

That young fan, is my wife’s first cousin, whom I have shared Tigers memories with more than once over the years.

Ernie was always ready with advice for aspiring broadcasters. He said there were four things needed to be a good broadcaster

          Have the enthusiasm of a fan

          The reactions of an athlete

          The impartiality of an umpire

          And the background knowledge of a writer

Ernie Harwell was also a poet. Here is a recording of Ernie's golden voice reciting his poem, The Game for All America.

Harwell was known for several catch phrases – part of the glorious color of baseball:

Two for the price of one ~ a double play

Long gone ~ home run

Souvenir caught by the lucky fan from Kalamazoo [Ernie would insert some random Michigan city here] ~ foul ball

And my favorite – he stood there like the house by the side of the road ~ when a batter takes a called strike

And regarding that unfortunate chapter when he was forced to take a year off from calling Tigers games, Harwell simply says…

It doesn’t matter. All that matters is everyone is forgiven.

With this biography, I’ve wrapped up a series of biographies I chose on Detroit Sports legends: Harwell, Tiger great Ty Cobb, Red Wings legend Gordie Howe, Lions champ Bobby Layne, and Pistons star Isiah Thomas.

My edition of Tom Keegan’s biography is autographed by Ernie Harwell. He didn’t sign for me in person; I just bought it, but it is still one of my prized books.

Final note: according to popular legend, Ty Cobb was the most hated man in baseball, and in retirement was reportedly bitter and incorrigible and rarely granted interviews. Harwell however once requested an interview with Cobb and was quickly invited to visit Cobb in his home. Harwell found Cobb courteous and gregarious. 

Oops, one LAST final note: Harwell has a couple literary connections. Fellow Georgian Margaret Mitchell was a customer on Harwell’s boyhood paper route. Harwell’s older brother Dick Harwell was a friend of Mitchell’s and one of her numerous biographers. Much later in life, Ernie and his wife Lulu lived next door to, and occasionally entertained, Erskine Caldwell. And finally, in the movie adaptation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Harwell’s voice can be heard calling the 1963 World Series.

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From the Backcourt to the Front Office: The Isiah Thomas Story by Paul Challen

From the Backcourt to the Front Office: The Isiah Thomas Story by Paul Challen

This is the fourth in a series of biographies I am reading/reviewing about Detroit sport legends: Ty Cobb, Gordie Howe, Bobby Layne, and Isiah Thomas. Although each played a different game, there are several common threads: each played either the entirety or majority of their career in Detroit, each had Hall-of-Fame careers, each brought championships to the Motor City, and each had a somewhat notorious reputation. 

Isiah (Zeke) Thomas is the only living member of this set, and his biography had a distinctly different feel than the others. The first three told all: the good and the bad, but I thought the Thomas bio was a bit too generous in its praise and too gentle in its critique. As the name implies, the biography details Thomas’ career as a player, and then as a basketball executive, coach, and even owner of a minor-league basketball league.

Thomas’ playing career was stellar. ESPN ranks him as the 5^thgreatest point guard of all time, and 26^thamong players of all positions. Zeke led Indiana University to a National Championship, and the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back NBA Championships. He was a perennial All-Star and was inducted into the Basketball Hall-of-Fame. As a player, he was one of the best ever.

Thomas’ greatest success after his playing days was probably that of General Manager and part owner of the expansion Toronto Raptors beginning with the 95-96 season. Thomas made some unpopular and questionable moves, such as selecting undersized point guard Damon Stoudemire, whose size and playing style was reminiscent of Thomas, as the Raptor’s first ever draft pick, Stoudemire silenced the critics by winning Rookie of the Year honors. As a team the Raptors exceeded expectations on the court and at the box office each of their first two seasons. When Thomas left early in the third season, the Raptor’s record plummeted. And even though the Raptors didn’t have a winning season during Thomas’ tenure, he was largely responsible for creating basketball culture in Toronto. Challen, a Canadian, gave Thomas some well-deserved, and often overlooked, credit for bringing the NBA to Canada and ensuring its continued success. 

The rest of Thomas career as executive and coach are not so impressive.  As a General Manager, his teams rarely made the playoffs and as a coach, he had a losing record. When his teams did make the playoffs, they were eliminated first round. 

The notorious reputation I mentioned? He had a petty feud with Michal Jordan that marred his reputation and probably cost him a spot on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team. You don’t run afoul of the greatest ever without consequence. He had another flap with Larry Bird that may have cost him a head coaching position with the Pacers. And then there’s the “Bad Boys” reputation of the Pistons – they were hated around the league – because they won.

Like the other Detroit legends I read about, Thomas dubious reputation was mostly undeserved and overstated. In spite of a few personal foibles, he takes the high ground with his critics and always wears a smile. Unlike the other three – The Isiah Thomas story isn’t finished yet. He may yet win another championship.

In a way, he already has. The Toronto Raptors just won their first ever NBA Championship. It is impossible to measure Thomas’ impact on the championship so many years after his departure – but he definitely made an impact. The Raptors organization recognized this and paid him courtside honors at game one of the finals.

And by the way, – the other Canadian expansion team from 95-96, The Vancouver Grizzlies – no longer exists.

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Heart of a Lion: The Wild and Wooly Life of Bobby Layne by Bob St. John

Heart of a Lion: The Wild and Wooly Life of Bobby Layne

Bobby Layne never lost a game in his life. Once in a while time just ran out on him. ~ Doak Walker lifelong friend and teammate. 

This is the third in a series of four biographies I am reading/reviewing about Detroit sport legends: Ty Cobb, Gordie Howe, Bobby Layne, and Isiah Thomas. Each the greatest to ever play their respective games.

And while that superlative statement may genuinely apply to Cobb and Howe, I wouldn’t seriously say Bobby Layne is the greatest Football player of all time, or even the greatest quarterback ever. But at one time, he was the best.

When Time magazine ran its November 1954 edition with Bobby Layne on the cover (the first football player to ever grace the cover), the article read: 

The best quarterback in the world is Robert Lawrence Layne.

When he retired after the 1962 season, Bobby Layne was the NFL record holder for most touchdown passes, with 196. He won three NFL championships (before they were called Super Bowls) in the 50s, and is inducted into eight different Halls of Fame:

     -- NFL Hall of Fame

     -- National Quarterback’s Hall of Fame

     -- College Football Hall of Fame

     -- Texas High School Football Hall of Fame

     -- University of Texas Hall of Fame

     -- Texas Sports Hall of Fame

     -- State of Michigan Hall of Fame

     -- State of Pennsylvania Hall of Fame

He probably could have had a career as a professional baseball player as well. In his freshman year at Texas he was a perfect 26-0 as a starting pitcher.

But I think his success on the field had more to do with intelligence, attitude, integrity, and work ethic than sheer athletic ability. He was gracious in defeat, but he always played to win. He said

Winning is the greatest thing in the world. Hell, I wouldn’t give you a nickel for any guy or any team that’s interested in finishing second. Second or last, there’s not a damn bit of difference.

He once stunned his general manager when he demanded a pay cut after a sub-standard season. 

And he was all about teamwork. He demanded full effort and execution from his teammates and would dress them down when they didn’t give it, but then…he established a team meeting the day after each game – 100% participation required – usually held at the bowling alley to go over any problems, patch up any personal grievances, and then to relax and bond as a team. 

As quarterback, Layne was paid three or four times more than other players, but when the team was collectively punished for a curfew violation, and each individual was given the choice of a fine or special workout – Layne knew the fine was not easily affordable to his teammates, so he did the grueling workout along with them.

Bobby Layne is also known for wearing no facemask on his helmet, and only minimal pads.

In addition to his legendary accomplishments on the gridiron, Bobby Layne possesses a rather notorious reputation – that of being a legendary carouser – “legendary” being a key word, as it turns out it is mostly just legend. He did like to party, but the stories of Lions coaches bailing him out of jail Saturday night so he could play Sunday morning, or the smell of alcohol on his breath in the huddle are just untrue. 

He was in fact – rather a prince of a human being.

When the wife of a teammate died suddenly due to a pregnancy complication, her parents flew to Detroit and were quickly overwhelmed by the big city and the enormity of their grief. Bobby took them personally under wing, helping them with arrangements and costs.

He was a devoted family man, fiercely loyal friend, successful business man outside of football, charitable to a fault, and seemed to always look on the bright side. He had a determined ability to put bad things behind him. And there were some bad things.

His father died when Bobby was eight, and a few months later his mother decided she could not cope and sent Bobby to live with an Aunt and Uncle. But according to Bobby’s sons, he never expressed bitter feelings toward his mother, but when recounting his childhood, he focused on what wonderful “parents” his aunt and uncle were.

He died young (59), happy, respected, and loved. He was planning a big Texas shindig to celebrate his and lifelong friend Doak Walker’s 60^th birthdays – but borrowing from the Doak Walker quotation – time just ran out on him.

Excerpts:

I have no complaints. Life’s been good. I wake up every morning and I say, ‘Good morning God.’ I never say, ‘Good God, morning.’

Bobby Layne never lost a game in his life. Once in a while time just ran out on him. ~ Doak Walker lifelong friend and teammate

Most of the stuff written about me was an exaggeration or a darn lie.

The best quarterback in the world is Robert Lawrence Layne, a blond, bandy-legged Texan with a prairie squint in his narrow blue eyes and an unathletic paunch puffing out his ample 6’1”, 195 frame. ~ Time Magazine Nov 54

I never even encouraged them [his two sons] to play football. I left it up to them. Everything was up to them and their coaches. They can play a piccolo if they want, as long as they’re good at it.

Trivia: Layne is rumored to have cursed the Lions when he was traded mid-season 1958. Legend has it that Layne said the Lions wouldn’t win a championship for 50 years. In the ensuing 50 years, the Lions were the most hapless team in the NFL, rarely making the playoffs, and in the final year of the curse posting the NFLs first ever 0-16 season. They still haven’t won a championship, and it’s now over 60 years, but they have been winning a bit more. That started the year after the curse expired and the Lions drafted Matthew Stafford – who attended the same high school as Bobby Layne.

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