Fatso: Football When Men Were Really Men

The 340-pound Donovan was a professional football player in the 1950s, when the league was taking shape and the game was particularly attractive to players who enjoyed mayhem. Such a player was Donovan, born in the Bronx, son of a famous boxing referee of the '30s and '40s. He and New York Newsday staffer Drury here present a picture of the sport when annual pay ranged from $5,000 to $20,000, and there were only 12 teams with 33 players to a team, so everyone lived in fear of being cut. Donovan began his pro career with inferior teams like the New York Yankees and the Dallas Texans, both now defunct, but ended his playing years with the great Baltimore team of the late '50s, joining such stars as Johnny Unitas and Alan Ameche. His autobiography is an entertaining bit of sports nostalgia. (September 29)