Sign-In
Cart
They Played for Laughs: The True Story of Stewart Ferguson and the Arkansas A&M Wandering Weevils, College Football's "Marx Brothers"
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781977237040
Publisher: Outskirts Pr
Published: Jan 9 2021
Pages: 210
Weight: 0.69
Height: 0.48 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
At a time when college football players routinely take under-the-table cash from boosters, when a player's father shops his son to the highest bidder, when a coach discovers violations by his players and sweeps them under the rug, the story of Stewart Ferguson and the Wandering Weevils is a timely reminder that the game wasn't always saturated with money and corruption - that there once was a team that played the game for laughs.
From 1939 to 1941, the football team from tiny Arkansas A&M College (now the University of Arkansas at Monticello) traveled the country from coast to coast in a battered green school bus playing football for fun.
Their coach, a quirky iconoclast named Stewart Ferguson, was also a professor of history, dean of men, and in possession of the most coveted contract in the history of coaching; Ferguson did not have to win a game - not one - for three years. He thumbed his nose at college football's establishment and played the game on his terms.
His players were country boys from the segregated South and most had never been more than 10 miles from home. For three seasons, they traveled thousands of miles and along the way they walked the streets of New York, met movie stars and politicians, and stood on the shores of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They played their first game against an African-American and were exposed to different people, cultures and ideas that challenged their preconceived notions and prejudices.
They became national sensations. Collier's magazine called them the Marx Brothers of college football.
They rode bicycles from sideline to huddle and stood at attention with their helmets removed as enemy ball carriers raced through them for touchdowns. They tackled their own quarterback, quacked like ducks in the rain, and serenaded fans with their own version of You Are My Sunshine.
They lost most of the time, but Ferguson didn't care and neither did his players. As Ferguson often told repo
1 different editions
Also available
Also in
Football
Blue Blood: An Insider's Journey Through Michigan Football's Past, Present, and Perfect Season
Lester, Matt
Hardcover
The Playbook: The Hidden Forces Shaping Winners and Losers in the Modern NFL
Robinson, Joshua
Clegg, Jonathan
Hardcover
Friday Night Lights (25th Anniversary Edition): A Town, a Team, and a Dream
Bissinger, H. G.
Paperback
Why Can't This Team Just Find a Quarterback?: And Other Thoughts on Life in Browns Town
Pluto, Terry
Paperback
Bam!: John Madden, the NFL Explosion, and the Video Game That Changed Sports
Howard-Cooper, Scott
Hardcover
We Did Not Care: How the Seattle Seahawks Silenced All Doubts and Became Champions
Nemhauser, Brian
Paperback
Lambeau Ladies: The Boundary-Breaking Women Behind Lombardi's Packers
Kostelnik Biskupic, Laura
Biskupic, Katherine
Paperback
Unthinkable to Unstoppable: How Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers Stunned College Football
Osterman, Zach
Niziolek, Mike
Hardcover
The Spurrier Effect: How One Coach Transformed Gamecock Football
Miller, Kevin
Silvia, Brent
Hardcover
It's a Numbers Game! Football: The Math Behind the Perfect Punt, the Game-Changing Interception, and So Much More!
National Geographic Kids
Zweig, Eric
Hardcover
So You Think You Know Football?: The Armchair Ref's Guide to the Official Rules
Austro, Ben
Paperback
Bart's Heart: A Journey of Family, Friendship, Football and Faith
Burrell, Bart
Lee, David T.
Paperback
Just Give Me a Chance to Fail: The Life of NFL Hall of Fame Linebacker Sam Mills
Domowitch, Paul
Hardcover
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Firsts: The Players, Moments, and Records That Were First in Team History
Heisler, John
Bourret, Timothy
Paperback
Carlisle vs. Army: Jim Thorpe, Dwight Eisenhower, Pop Warner, and the Forgotten Story of Football'sgreatest Battle
Anderson, Lars
Paperback
Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look
Kirwan, Pat
Seigerman, David
Paperback
Smarter about Sports: My Life Navigating Athletes, Agents, Media, and the Business of the NFL
Brandt, Andrew
Hardcover
Remember This Titan: The Bill Yoast Story: Lessons Learned from a Celebrated Coach's Journey as Told to Steve Sullivan
Sullivan, Steve
Paperback
Da Bears!: How the 1985 Monsters of the Midway Became the Greatest Team in NFL History
Delsohn, Steve
Paperback
Strike Season: The True Story of a Team That Played on When the Coaches Walked Out
Eck, Michael
Hardcover
Dixieland Delight: A Football Season on the Road in the Southeastern Conference
Travis, Clay
Paperback
Buckeye Brotherhood: How Ohio State Navigated a New World to Win a National Championship
Rabinowitz, Bill
Paperback
12 as One: Mike Macdonald, the Seattle Seahawks and the Making of a Super Bowl Champion
Dugar, Michael-Shawn
Hardcover
Vintage Browns: A Warm Look Back at the Cleveland Browns of the 1970s, '80s, '90s and More
Pluto, Terry
Paperback
Lambeau: The Epic Life of Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau, the Man Who Invented the Green Bay Packers
Gould, Herb
Paperback
Weird Moments in Cleveland Sports: Bottlegate, Bedbugs, and Burying the Pennant
Guerrieri, Vince
Paperback
Friday Night Lights (25th Anniversary Edition): A Town, a Team, and a Dream
Bissinger, H. G.
Hardcover
From Bulldog to Bengal: The Joe Burrow Story Through the Eyes of His Hometown
Burson, Scott
Smathers, Sam
Paperback
That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory
Eisenberg, John
Paperback
Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History
Murphy, Cait N.
Paperback
Brain Games - To Go - Facts & Fun: Football: Info, Stats, Puzzles, Quizzes & More
Publications International Ltd
Brain Games
Paperback
Raising Cole: Developing Life's Greatest Relationship, Embracing Life's Greatest Tragedy: A Father's Story
Pittman, Marc
Paperback
The Best of Philly Sports: Amazing Moments and Stories in Philadelphia Sports History
Decamara, Joe
Hardcover
The Everyone's a Coach: Five Business Secrets for High-Performance Coaching
Blanchard, Ken
Shula, Don
Paperback
A Home on the Field: How One Championship Team Inspires Hope for the Revival of Small Town America
Cuadros, Paul
Paperback
Coaching Positional Play - ''Expansive Football'' Attacking Tactics & Practices
Basile, Pasquale Casà
Paperback
The Great Game: A Tale of Two Footballs and America's Quest to Conquer Global Sport
Martinez, Andrés
Hardcover
A Football Symphony: Four Championship Seasons of Curtis Viking Football
Lucey, Bob
Lichty, Don T.
Paperback
Men of Troy: The Epic Afternoons, Wild Nights, and Enduring Legacy of Pete Carroll's Usc Trojans
Burke, Monte
Hardcover
Brain Games - Football Goats (Greatest of All Time) Word Search: Players, Coaches, Games, Mascots, & More!
Publications International Ltd
Brain Games
Paperback
Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play Like a Champion
Garin, Kristoffer A.
Carroll, Pete
Roth, Yogi
Paperback
From the Outhouse to the Penthouse: The Football Journey of Hall of Famer Larry Little
Zagorski, Joe
Paperback
The Complete Book of Football Trivia: Test Your Knowledge with 750 Questions
Holloway, Jerrett
Paperback
A Big Mess in Texas: The Miraculous, Disastrous 1952 Dallas Texans and the Craziest Untold Story in NFL History
Fleming, David
Hardcover
Pep Guardiola Attacking Tactics - Tactical Analysis and Sessions from Manchester City's 4-3-3
Terzis, Athanasios
Paperback
Bart's Heart: A Journey of Family, Friendship, Football and Faith
Lee, David T.
Burrell, Bart
Hardcover
Unbreakable: How I Turned My Depression and Anxiety Into Motivation and You Can Too
Glazer, Jay
Paperback
Hail to the Redskins: Gibbs, the Diesel, the Hogs, and the Glory Days of D.C.'s Football Dynasty
Lazarus, Adam
Paperback
The Unseen Battle: My Journey through the World of CTE with Mike Webster
Vodvarka, James
Hull, Annette C.
Hull, Warren R.
Hardcover
Bo's Lasting Lessons: The Legendary Coach Teaches the Timeless Fundamentals of Leadership
Schembechler, Bo
Paperback
Still Growing, Still Learning, Still Me: A Journey of Protest, Healing, and Personal Transformation
Stills, Kenny
Hardcover
American Odyssey: A Journey Into the Heart of the Revolution in College Football
Schipper, Mark
Hardcover
Jurgen Klopp - 102 Passing, Counter-pressing Possession Games, Speed & Warm-ups Direct from Klopp's Training Sessions
Soccertutor Com
Paperback
The Lions Finally Roar: The Detroit Lions and the Road to Redemption in the NFL
Morris, Bill
Paperback
The Eagles of Heart Mountain: A True Story of Football, Incarceration, and Resistance in World War II America
Pearson, Bradford
Paperback
A Love Letter to the American Fullback: The Rise, Reign, and Eternal Legacy of Football's Guardian Warrior
Hughes, Matthew Patrick
Paperback
The Sweet Season: A Sportswriter Rediscovers Football, Family, and a Bit of Faith at Minnesota's St. John's University
Murphy, Austin
Paperback
Iron in the Blood: How the Alabama vs. Auburn Rivalry Shaped the Soul of the South
Busbee, Jay
Hardcover
Coaching Transition Play - Full Sessions from the Tactics of Simeone, Guardiola, Klopp, Mourinho & Ranieri
Tsokaktsidis, Michail
Paperback
Jail Blazers: How the Portland Trail Blazers Became the Bad Boys of Basketball
Eggers, Kerry
Paperback
Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football
Dent, Jim
Paperback
If These Walls Could Talk: Pittsburgh Steelers: Stories from the Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box
Wolfley, Craig
Wexell, Jim
Paperback
The Franchise: Seattle Seahawks: A Curated History of the Legion of Boom Era
Dugar, Michael-Shawn
Paperback
American Odyssey: A Journey Into the Heart of the Revolution in College Football
Schipper, Mark
Paperback