One Giant Leap

This autobigoraphy assumes a special timeliness now that Hostetler has been named the Giants' starting quarterback by the team's new coach. Hostetler's six-season-long wait as a gridiron backup for starter Phil Simms was nothing new to the Pennsylvania native. A high school star courted by 50 schools, he chose Penn State with an understanding that he would lead the team. Coach Joe Paterno, however, made him a linebacker, so after two years Hostetler transferred to the University of West Virginia, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and had great success as a quarterback. His deeply religious Mennonite upbringing enabled him to endure frustration on the field; the trials of his oldest son, a ``blue baby'' who barely survived infancy, put his sports career into perspective. With Fitzgerald ( Pro Quarterback: Johnny Unitas ), Hostetler does a fine job, presenting the adversities of his life without melodrama. Photos not seen by PW . (Nov.)