The Fighting Tigers, 1993-2008


Book Description

Magnificent, maddening, thrilling, heartbreaking— over the years, LSU football has been called many things; boring is not among them. But no period in the team’s history exemplifies the extreme highs and lows of sport better than the past fifteen years. In 1993, the Tigers were in the midst of a record six-season losing streak and the program was struggling to dig its way out of its darkest days. By 2008, LSU had emerged as one of the premier college football powers in the nation and the unprecedented two-time winner of the BCS national championship. In The Fighting Tigers, 1993–2008, award-winning sportswriter Scott Rabalais chronicles the Tigers’ fantastic rise to the top of the college football universe, vividly detailing the victories and defeats, the coaches and the players, the tears and the titles of this sometimes frustrating, always fascinating period of LSU football. Game by game, Rabalais recounts the tenures of the four head coaches who led the Tigers during these years—“Curley” Hallman, the strict taskmaster whose mounting losses created dissension and apathy among the Tiger faithful; Gerry DiNardo, the charismatic salesman whose efforts to “Bring Back the Magic” temporarily vaulted the Tigers again into the national polls; Nick Saban, the intense workhorse who steadily rebuilt the program and led the team to its first national championship in almost fifty years; and Les Miles, the engaging wildcard who finally emerged from Saban’s shadow with a championship of his own. Rabalais provides expert analysis of the 2004 and 2008 BCS national championship games and other postseason bowl games as well as the “ordinary” games that have crossed over into legendary status—1993’s “Pigs Will Fly” victory against Alabama, “The Night the Barn Burned” at Auburn in 1996, and 2002’s “Bluegrass Miracle.” Along the way, Rabalais recounts the incredible athletic feats of numerous standout players, including Eddie Kennison, Kevin Faulk, Josh Reed, Michael Clayton, Marcus Spears, Chad Lavalais, and Glenn Dorsey. Throughout, Rabalais interweaves off-the-field events that have affected or enhanced the LSU football legacy: the return of the traditional home white jerseys; the creation of the Bengal Belles; two expansions of Tiger Stadium; the death of Mike V and the introduction of Mike VI; and perhaps most poignant, the Tigers’ volunteer efforts and emotional responses in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. An appendix contains the vital statistics of LSU’s entire football history. Individual and team records in every area, coaching records, All-Americans and Academic All-Americans, year-by-year results, top ten Tiger Stadium crowds, Tigers in pro football— all of this and more will satisfy even the most hardcore LSU sports statistician. Peter Finney, venerable author of the three previous volumes of The Fighting Tigers, passes the official historian’s torch to Rabalais in a compelling foreword that emphasizes the significance of the Tigers’ recent run of success. To many die-hard Tiger fans, LSU football is a religion all its own. With The Fighting Tigers, 1993–2008, Rabalais has written the next book of its bible.




The Louisiana Field Guide


Book Description

In Louisiana, every bite of food and each turn of phrase is an expression of cultural literacy. Correctly pronouncing "Tchoupitoulas" or "Atchafalaya," knowing the difference between the first Governor Long and the second one, being able to spot the artwork of Caroline Durieux, and honoring the distinction between a Creole and a Cajun roux serve not just as markers of familiarity; they represent acts of preservation. The Louisiana Field Guide: Understanding Life in the Pelican State expands on this everyday communion of history, delving into the cultural patchwork that makes the Gumbo State both thoroughly American and absolutely singular. An authoritative lineup of contributors reintroduces Louisiana through the lenses of environment, geography, history, politics, religion, culture, language, sports, literature, film, music, architecture, food, and art. Whether describing the archi-tectural details of the Ursuline Convent in the French Quarter or sharing the family history of Bourgeois' Meat Market just outside of Thibodaux, the essays in The Louisiana Field Guide present a fresh and expansive look at the enchanting and perplexing Pelican State. At once an accessible primer and a rich omnibus, this volume explores the well-known destinations and far-flung corners of Louisiana, from Cameron Parish to Congo Square, offering an enlightening companion guide for visitors and a trust-worthy reference for residents.




LSU Bowl Games


Book Description

Telling the story of LSU football through coverage of each of the Tigers' 50 bowl games--from 1907 through 2019--this book provides summaries of the team's regular season, and their opponents' season, along with quarter-by-quarter game highlights, important stats, and quotes from players and coaches. Bowl games are presented in a number of notable contexts, including games against Hall of Fame coaches (1936-1938 Sugar Bowls, 2010 Capital One Bowl), games that featured Heisman Trophy winners (1959-1960 Sugar Bowls, 2019 Peach Bowl), LSU's first games against black players (1965 Sugar Bowl, 1972 Bluebonnet Bowl), and the first game played by a U.S. football team in a foreign country (1907 Bacardi Bowl).




Tailgater's Guide to SEC Football


Book Description

The definitive guide to the nation's toughest football conference; the Bible of SEC Football, the fascinating history of the nation's toughest football conference told by one of the best storytellers In the business, Dr. Chris Warner. Tailgater’s Guide to SEC Football Volume V – The definitive guide to the history and traditions of the 14 schools of the Southeastern Conference (2020). Contains profiles of great players and coaches, school histories, recipes, famous alumni, where to shop and golf, etc. The Bible of SEC Football. $15.95 Paperback, 320 pages. Synopsis: “Dan Jenkins, author and sportswriter, simply summed up the popularity of the game of football in the South with the following statement: “To Southerners, football is as essential as air conditioning.” The irreplaceable “Voice of the Volunteers” on radio during the 1950’s, George Mooney, once stated, “…No matter where I was broadcasting from, I found the fans in the South to be knowledgeable, fair—and yes, loud and frenzied. They are very proud of their rich football heritage. And they are very proud of their schools, their teams—and the deep pride that goes with being from the South.” Late legendary college football commenter Keith Jackson, in describing the SEC Football experience, once aptly stated that” …there are few instances of alleged entertainment and relaxation that can match a college football game in stirring the deepest flames of partisanship and outright provincialism. And down South you can color that partisanship passionate!” Southeastern Conference Football is the paragon of the college athletic experience. During its storied, 87-year existence, the SEC has evolved into the most impressive league of organized, intercollegiate gridiron competition in the history of the United States. No other Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference can boast of the many accolades and attendance records that the SEC currently holds. Furthermore, the Southeastern Conference has produced more All-American football players than any other conference. This book is dedicated to all the Southern people who live for Saturdays in the fall, for those individuals who plan their business and personal engagements around their favorite team’s football schedule; for those who always experience a rise in their body temperature when they enter the stadium; for those who shed a tear during the singing of their alma mater; and especially, for those who know all the words to their school’s fight song. It is for the people who wake up early on Sunday morning after a win so they can read each and every one of the sports columns about the game they witnessed the day before. It is for all those who enjoy good company and good food in the parking lot before the game, as much, and if not more, than the food and company at a fancy restaurant. These things that we hold dear – all true SEC fans know and love, and look forward to each autumn. It’s that time of year when the heated summer temperatures begin to fade and yield to colder days, when the leaves begin to change color, and when the youthful partisan spirit within us all crackles like the kindling of a well-planned winter fire.




The USA TODAY College Football Encyclopedia 2008-2009


Book Description

The result of 15 years of exhaustive research, this work is the definitive statistical and factual reference for everything related to college football in the past 50 years.




Tigers in the Mud


Book Description

WWII began with a metallic roar as the German Blitzkrieg raced across Europe, spearheaded by the most dreaded weapon of the 20th century: the Panzer. No German tank better represents that thundering power than the infamous Tiger, and Otto Carius was one of the most successful commanders to ever take a Tiger into battle, destroying well over 150 enemy tanks during his incredible career.




A Companion to Women's Military History


Book Description

This volume addresses the changing relationships between women and armed forces from antiquity to the present: eight chapters review the existing literature, an extended picture essay visually documents women’s military work, and eight chapters illustrate more restricted topics.




Billy Cannon


Book Description

Billy Cannon’s name, his image, and his remarkable athletic career serve as emblems for Louisiana State University, the Southeastern Conference, and college football. LSU’s only Heisman Trophy winner, Cannon led the Tigers to a national championship in 1958, igniting a love of the game in Louisiana and establishing a tradition of greatness at LSU. But like many stories of lionized athletes who rise to the status of legend, there was a fall—and in the case of Billy Cannon, also redemption. For the first time, Charles N. deGravelles reveals in full the thrilling highs and unexpected lows of Cannon’s life, in Billy Cannon: A Long, Long Run. Through conversations with Cannon, deGravelles follows the athlete-turned-reformer from his boyhood in a working-class Baton Rouge neighborhood to his sudden rush of fame as the leading high school running back in the country. Personal and previously unpublished stories about Cannon’s glory days at LSU and his stellar but controversial career in the pros, as well as details of his indictment for counterfeiting and his post-release work as staff dentist at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, unfold in a riveting biography characterized by uncanny success, deep internal struggles, and a champion’s spirit that pushed through it all.




Armored Champion


Book Description

Armor expert Zaloga enters the battle over the best tanks of World War II with this heavy-caliber blast of a book armed with more than forty years of research. • Provocative but fact-based rankings of the tanks that fought the Second World War • Breaks the war into eight periods and declares Tanker's Choice and Commander's Choice for each • Champions include the German Panzer IV and Tiger, Soviet T-34, American Pershing, and a few surprises • Compares tanks' firepower, armor protection, and mobility as well as dependability, affordability, tactics, training, and overall combat performance • Relies on extensive documentation from archives, government studies, and published sources—much of which has never been published in English before • Supported by dozens of charts and diagrams and hundreds of photos




Lee's Tigers Revisited


Book Description

In Lee’s Tigers Revisited, noted Civil War scholar Terry L. Jones dramatically expands and revises his acclaimed history of the approximately 12,000 Louisiana infantrymen who fought in Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Sometimes derided as the “wharf rats from New Orleans” and the “lowest scrappings of the Mississippi,” the Louisiana Tigers earned a reputation for being drunken and riotous in camp, but courageous and dependable on the battlefield. By utilizing first-person accounts and official records, Jones provides the definitive study of the Louisiana Tigers and their harrowing experiences in the Civil War.