Football, Startling Stories Behind the Records

Benagh, sports editor of the Guinness Book of World Records and a staff member of the sports department at the New York Times, delves into pro, college, even high-school football in this entertaining book. In anecdotal style, he recounts, for example, the 222-0 loss suffered by Cumberland College against Georgia Tech in 1916 (among other disasters for the team, Cumberland's quarterback was knocked unconscious on the first play); Ken Hall's record 899 points in a little more than four years in the early 1950s at Sugar Land (Texas) High School (including one game in which he scored a record 49 points); New York Jet Steve O'Neal's record 98-yard punt in 1969 (a mark that can be tied only, never beaten). This short volume will have football fans rooting for the real thing. (December)