Buddy Martin

Now in paperback with a new afterword, the New York Times bestseller by college football's most colorful, endearing, and successful pioneer, Steve Spurrier, in which he shares his story of a life in football--from growing up in Tennessee to winning the Heisman Trophy to playing and coaching in the pros to leading the Florida Gators to six SEC Championships and a National Championship to elevating the South Carolina program to new heights--and coaching like nobody else. He's been called brash, cocky, arrogant, pompous, egotistical, and hilarious, but mostly he's known as the Head Ball Coach, a self-ordained term introduced to the lexicon of football by none other than the man himself, Steve Spurrier. He is the only coach who can claim to be the winningest coach at two different SEC schools and the only person who has won both the Heisman Trophy as a player and a National Championship as a coach. Or who has won a Heisman and coached a Heisman winner. From the beginning, Spurrier didn't want to sound like other coaches, dress like other coaches, and, especially, coach like other coaches. As a controversial football pioneer, he ushered in a different style of leadership and play. Spurrier's press conferences were glorious--he refused to lapse into coachspeak and was always entertaining, although he took his football very seriously. He was known for his fierce competitiveness, roaming up and down the sidelines, often throwing his signature visor to the ground in disgust. In his memoir, Spurrier talks for the first time about the circumstances under which he unexpectedly became a coach and why he resigned at South Carolina. He explains his unique style, the difference between winners and losers, his relationship with the media, why he follows the wisdom of ancient philosophers and warriors, his affinity for everything taught by John Wooden, and the reasons behind his relaxed regimen for living well. Spurrier, as always, speaks candidly, bringing together his thoughts about his words, actions, and achievements, while telling countless wonderful anecdotes.

In The Boys from Old Florida, Buddy Martin takes the reader beneath the surface of Florida football as, without bias or sugar coating, he skillfully excavates the truths behind “The Gator Nation.” In this book, Martin, a Florida native, has chronicled the real stories of Gator coaches and players through their own eyes and in their words over a 55-year period since 1950—and not all are valentines. The school asked all but one of the coaches interviewed to leave or move up. Some players became estranged or never really felt appreciated. Yet, others are forever grateful for their experience as Gator players and feel a sense of brotherhood. Liberating moments such as the arrival of Ray Graves come to life through the words of somebody who experienced it firsthand. Martin’s fresh investigations have bolstered his sharp memory of those moments as they unfolded, including Graves’s firing after a fairy tale season with his “Super Sophs.”

"Members of the 'Gator Nation' are going to burn the midnight oil turning these pages because Buddy Martin will be boldly taking them where no Florida fan has gone before." --Tony Barnhart, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/CBSTo write the Urban Meyer story, Buddy Martin enjoyed a vantage point rarely afforded authors in constructing the authorized biography of the University of Florida's high-profile coach. Martin takes the reader where no other journalist has gone before as he reports the most intimate details about one of the nation's top college football programs and its coach. During the show-and-tell story of the 2007 Gator season, Martin listened on the headsets in the coaching booth, monitored Meyer's locker room speeches, conducted in-depth interviews with assistant coaches and support personnel, ran on Florida Field with the team prior to the Gators game against Tennessee, and gave Tim Tebow his first Heisman Trophy quiz while having dinner together just weeks before he was named as the winner. Urban's Way, however, is much more than a look at the 2007 season. Martin dug deep into Meyer's background, from his growing-up days in Ashtabula, Ohio, under the strict guidance of his father; to his tumultuous days as a young assistant when he almost quit the profession; to the dynamics of his close relationship with mentors Earle Bruce and Lou Holtz; to the ultimate prize as coach of the 2006 national champion Florida Gators. Readers learn how Meyer was encouraged by his father and his wife, Shelley, to keep going; how his career took off at Notre Dame and then as a head coach at Bowling Green and Utah; how the Falcons came together after their historic "Black Wednesday"; and the impressive manner in which he championed diversity among players in Salt Lake City. Florida fans will be surprised to discover how close Meyer came to choosing the Notre Dame job over the one in Gainesville, despite his yearnings as a small boy to someday coach the Fighting Irish. Through his intense research--and talks with Urban himself--Buddy Martin provides an amazingly detailed look into how a football coach is made. This is not simply the authorized biography of one of college football's top coaches; Buddy Martin also gives fans the inside scoop on the 2006 National Championship. In the chapter "The Joy of Winning It All," players and coaches share their stories of that championship season that produced the middle leg of the "Gator Slam," leading to the good life on the so-called Cul de Sac of Champions, which Urban shares with Gators basketball coach Billy Donovan. It is rare that fans get inside the head of a top coach, but here full disclosure is offered about Urban's personal faith, his Plan to Win, and the inner workings of the Spread offense. Readers are also treated to Meyer's own breakdown of the national championship tape, including his Six Key Plays of the game. Buddy Martin shines a bright light on Urban Meyer, the Florida Gators, and one of the top programs in the country. This is a must-have for Florida Gator football fans and one of the most insightful books ever written on college football.