Sunday's Fools: Stomped, Tromped, Kicked and Chewed in the NFL (With Tom Beer; Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1974)

Decades before the New England Patriots became the National Football League's dominant franchise, they inspired fear throughout the league for another reason:

It was every NFL player's nightmare that he might one day be traded to the Patriots. And Tom Beer was.

Some 37 years after its publication, Sunday's Fools remains a cult favorite among football fans.

(From Amazon.com reader reviews):

"A brilliant tragicomic memoir full of sidesplitting anecdotes penned in a wonderfully sardonic style. Most football autobiographies are written by successful players on championship teams, and to read about the experiences of an obscure player on a league doormat is an enlightening experience. I first read Sunday's Fools many years ago when I was in the eighth grade, and I love it just as much now as I did back then."
-- Todd M. Pence

"An extremely funny account of the bumbling Patriots and pathetic Bronco days of the late sixties and early seventies. We New Englanders know all about Clive Rush, Duane Thomas, the opening of Schaefer Stadium, Harpo Gladieux and Steve Kiner. These folks are minor myths here, but if you are from outside the area, this book is a history of the team's mishaps."
-- Timothy Gager