Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Real All Americans: The Team that Changed a Game, a People, a Nation
    Unavailable
    The Real All Americans: The Team that Changed a Game, a People, a Nation
    Unavailable
    The Real All Americans: The Team that Changed a Game, a People, a Nation
    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    The Real All Americans: The Team that Changed a Game, a People, a Nation

    Written by Sally Jenkins

    Narrated by David Pittu

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Sally Jenkins, bestselling co-author of It's Not About the Bike, revives a forgotten piece of history in The Real All Americans. In doing so, she has crafted a truly inspirational story about a Native American football team that is as much about football as Lance Armstrong's book was about a bike.

    If you'd guess that Yale or Harvard ruled the college gridiron in 1911 and 1912, you'd be wrong. The most popular team belonged to an institution called the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Its story begins with Lt. Col. Richard Henry Pratt, a fierce abolitionist who believed that Native Americans deserved a place in American society. In 1879, Pratt made a treacherous journey to the Dakota Territory to recruit Carlisle's first students.

    Years later, three students approached Pratt with the notion of forming a football team. Pratt liked the idea, and in less than twenty years the Carlisle football team was defeating their Ivy League opponents and in the process changing the way the game was played.

    Sally Jenkins gives this story of unlikely champions a breathtaking immediacy. We see the legendary Jim Thorpe kicking a winning field goal, watch an injured Dwight D. Eisenhower limping off the field, and follow the glorious rise of Coach Glenn "Pop" Warner as well as his unexpected fall from grace.

    The Real All Americans is about the end of a culture and the birth of a game that has thrilled Americans for generations. It is an inspiring reminder of the extraordinary things that can be achieved when we set aside our differences and embrace a common purpose.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 8, 2007
    ISBN9780739343357
    Unavailable
    The Real All Americans: The Team that Changed a Game, a People, a Nation
    Author

    Sally Jenkins

    Sally Jenkins has been a columnist and feature writer for The Washington Post for more than twenty years. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2020 and in 2021 was named the winner of the Associated Press Red Smith Award for Outstanding Contributions to Sports Journalism. She is the author of twelve books of nonfiction including The Real All Americans, the story of the Carlisle Indian School and its use of football as a form of resistance following the close of the Indian Wars. Her work for The Washington Post has included coverage of ten Olympic Games. In 2005, she was the first woman to be inducted into the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in 1982 and resides in New York.

    More audiobooks from Sally Jenkins

    Related to The Real All Americans

    Related audiobooks

    Native American History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Sports Book Roundup: Cubs Books In Time For Opening Day And More

      Mar 28, 2018

      "Try Not to Suck" by Bill Chastain and Jesse Rogers; Triumph (304 pages, $25.95) Cubs fans hope the Joe Maddon story isn't finished just yet. They would like to see him add a couple more World Series titles to his tale. However, this new biography sh

      3 min read

    • Article

      Forced Into Camps, Japanese Americans Found Respite In Football

      Jan 13, 2021

      In “The Eagles of Heart Mountain,” Bradford Pearson provides a compelling and necessary history of Japanese American incarceration in World War II.

      2 min read

    • Article

      Looking Beyond Chief Wahoo

      Feb 6, 2018

      Looking Beyond Chief Wahoo
      5 min read

    • Article

      Adopted Son

      Oct 1, 2022

      Adopted Son
      3 min read

    • Article

      ‘I Guarantee It’

      Feb 5, 2022

      ‘I Guarantee It’
      6 min read

    • Article

      Giant Missteps

      May 11, 2018

      In the 1960s, the San Francisco Giants were poised to become the best team in baseball. Not only did their roster sport such fan favorites as Willie McCovey and Willie Mays, but the team had positioned itself to take advantage of the new wave of tale

      9 min read

    • Article

      Tally-Ho to Tradition

      Mar 16, 2020

      Tally-Ho to Tradition
      3 min read

    • Article

      Pinch Hitters

      Mar 7, 2023

      In 1941, nineteen-year-old Margaret “Marnie” Danhauser of Racine began working as a book binder at Western Printing and Lithographing—a good, if unglamorous, job with an average salary of about thirty-two dollars a week.1 She was a 1938 graduate of S

      22 min read

    • Article

      Southern Comfort

      Nov 13, 2019

      Southern Comfort
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Change Of Fortunes

      Sep 21, 2023

      A Change Of Fortunes
      7 min read

    • Article

      Fielding Dreams Of The Show

      Jul 1, 2023

      Fielding Dreams Of The Show
      6 min read

    • Article

      Clarence Page: Washington’s Slur Is An Easy Call, But ‘Blackhawks’ Has Value

      Jul 15, 2020

      Now that Washington’s NFL team has announced its “retirement” of the racial slur that has been its brand name since 1933, I am tempted to gloat a little. I feel as if I have earned it. But I didn’t have much chance to do so before new and thornier qu

      3 min read

    • Article

      Clarence Page: Washington’s Slur Is An Easy Call, But ‘Blackhawks’ Has Value

      Jul 15, 2020

      Now that Washington’s NFL team has announced its “retirement” of the racial slur that has been its brand name since 1933, I am tempted to gloat a little. I feel as if I have earned it. But I didn’t have much chance to do so before new and thornier qu

      3 min read

    • Article

      Clarence Page: Washington’s Slur Is An Easy Call, But ‘Blackhawks’ Has Value

      Jul 15, 2020

      Now that Washington’s NFL team has announced its “retirement” of the racial slur that has been its brand name since 1933, I am tempted to gloat a little. I feel as if I have earned it. But I didn’t have much chance to do so before new and thornier qu

      3 min read

    • Article

      Clarence Page: Washington’s Slur Is An Easy Call, But ‘Blackhawks’ Has Value

      Jul 15, 2020

      Now that Washington’s NFL team has announced its “retirement” of the racial slur that has been its brand name since 1933, I am tempted to gloat a little. I feel as if I have earned it. But I didn’t have much chance to do so before new and thornier qu

      3 min read

    • Article

      Clarence Page: Washington’s Slur Is An Easy Call, But ‘Blackhawks’ Has Value

      Jul 15, 2020

      Now that Washington’s NFL team has announced its “retirement” of the racial slur that has been its brand name since 1933, I am tempted to gloat a little. I feel as if I have earned it. But I didn’t have much chance to do so before new and thornier qu

      3 min read

    • Article

      Clarence Page: Washington’s Slur Is An Easy Call, But ‘Blackhawks’ Has Value

      Jul 15, 2020

      Now that Washington’s NFL team has announced its “retirement” of the racial slur that has been its brand name since 1933, I am tempted to gloat a little. I feel as if I have earned it. But I didn’t have much chance to do so before new and thornier qu

      3 min read

    • Article

      Clarence Page: Washington’s Slur Is An Easy Call, But ‘Blackhawks’ Has Value

      Jul 15, 2020

      Now that Washington’s NFL team has announced its “retirement” of the racial slur that has been its brand name since 1933, I am tempted to gloat a little. I feel as if I have earned it. But I didn’t have much chance to do so before new and thornier qu

      3 min read

    • Article

      Clarence Page: Washington’s Slur Is An Easy Call, But ‘Blackhawks’ Has Value

      Jul 15, 2020

      Now that Washington’s NFL team has announced its “retirement” of the racial slur that has been its brand name since 1933, I am tempted to gloat a little. I feel as if I have earned it. But I didn’t have much chance to do so before new and thornier qu

      3 min read

    • Article

      Clarence Page: Washington’s Slur Is An Easy Call, But ‘Blackhawks’ Has Value

      Jul 15, 2020

      Now that Washington’s NFL team has announced its “retirement” of the racial slur that has been its brand name since 1933, I am tempted to gloat a little. I feel as if I have earned it. But I didn’t have much chance to do so before new and thornier qu

      3 min read

    • Article

      Clarence Page: Washington’s Slur Is An Easy Call, But ‘Blackhawks’ Has Value

      Jul 15, 2020

      Now that Washington’s NFL team has announced its “retirement” of the racial slur that has been its brand name since 1933, I am tempted to gloat a little. I feel as if I have earned it. But I didn’t have much chance to do so before new and thornier qu

      3 min read

    Reviews for The Real All Americans

    4/5

    30 ratings3 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This is absolutely one of the best sports history books I’ve ever read. Sally Jenkins tells the full history of the Carlisle Indian football team, truly an amazing part of football history.

      The Carlisle Indian Industrial School was opened by Lt. Col. Richard Henry Pratt in 1879. Pratt had been the Superintendent of a prison for Indians incarcerated during the various outbreaks of violence on the plains where he taught Indians to read and write and believed they were every bit the equal of white men. When Pratt opened the school, some of the students were sons of the very same men imprisoned by the U.S. government under Pratt, and in fact some of the students were essentially hostages of the U.S. government. Pratt believed that through education, discipline, and adoption of white man’s ways, that Indians could fully succeed in the growing American nation. While horribly paternalistic, it was enlightened for the times, as Pratt firmly believed Native Americans were every bit the equal of white men if given the chance to succeed.

      Once the school opened some of the students became enamored of a new game evolving, American football, then dominated by the Ivy League schools, especially Yale and Harvard. Pratt agreed to put together a team called the Carlisle Indians, and eventually hired Glen “Pop” Warner to be its head coach. The school opened its inaugural football season in 1895, when they went 4-4 despite being robbed by the referees in some games. Given a very small recruiting pool and the violence of the game in that era, Pop Warner eventually made an undersized, and often undermanned team competitive with the likes of the dominant Yale, Harvard, and Army teams of the era.

      The team soon had one of the most famous athletes in American history, Jim Thorpe. Jenkins does an excellent job of providing a mini-biography of Thorpe in this book and what he meant to the school. Thorpe was a somewhat eccentric, fun loving, even lazy character but his athletic prowess was amazing. Jenkins does an fantastic job of exploring Thorpe and the way Pop Warner got the best out of him, most of the time.

      This book succeeds on many, many levels. First, it acts as a history of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and the regime of Pratt. It fully places this amazing football team within the context of its times and what it meant for a team, all Native Americans, to be facing and competing equally with the scions of high society, and military teams, on the football field. She also puts the football team into the context and mission of the school itself, which was to instill education and discipline among its students, and how the team gave the school an additional reason to be proud. In fact, the team’s successes, and even its character when being cheated against by referees, was proof of Pratt’s philosophy and a showcasing of the proud, smart, solid character of its students.

      Second, it acts as a biography, of sorts, of Glen “Pop” Warner and his unique coach-player relationship with the often recalcitrant Jim Thorpe. Warner was able to get the best out of Thorpe, and is the man who shepherded him to his gold medals in the Olympics. Further, Jenkins brings out how Warner was an innovator in the game, loving trick plays, but also devising strategies to take advantage of the smaller but speedier Indian teams against larger foes in an era when smashing into the line of scrimmage and sheer brawn and violence was the norm.

      Third, she brings the team and drama to life in some of its biggest accomplishments and its biggest games. Maybe the most storied game of the Carlisle Indian team was its defeat of Army in 1912, only 22 years removed from the Army massacre of Indians at Wounded Knee. The Carlisle team featured Jim Thorpe, and the Army team included Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Indians won and had a great trick play. Read about it.

      Finally, she follows the later careers of the players on this team. Some went on to serve in the U.S. military, including World War I. Others became successful in law or business. Yet others went home and become militant agitators for Indian rights. Not something Pratt had in mind, but their independence and intelligence was also something instilled in them at Carlisle.

      This is a fabulous, well researched, and well written history of a forgotten team. It is a piece of history that goes beyond sports and beyond football. I highly recommend it.



    • 3/5
      In The Real All Americans author Sally Jenkins tells the history of the founding of the Carlisle Indian School and its famous football team. Founded by Lt. Col. Richard Henry Pratt in 1879, the Carlisle Indian School was a misguided attempt to help the Native Americans cope with the ever encroaching white man. Pratt was disgusted at the ill use the Native Americans experienced at the hands of the Indian Bureau, but felt the best way to help was to separate children from their families, strip them of their culture, and try to teach them employable skills. Out of this experiment, the school started a football team which become legendary. Coached by Pop Warner, the team was a national force to be reckoned with and had players such as the legendary Jim Thorpe. Yet, like the school itself, the team is largely forgotten in history and their accomplishments rarely discussed. An episode of Radiolab about football prompted me to pick up this book. Though enjoyable, I felt the story lacked in comparison to other good sports histories that I've read (The Boys in the Boat for one). Jenkins tries to tell the whole history of the team and the history surrounding the school, but there lacks a central driving conflict. I never get the sense of a dramatic climax. I'm not sure if that is because there isn't one main event that is focused on or if there isn't enough exploration of different rivalries and conflicts. Still, with the dramatic nature of sport, I guess I was hoping there would be something more.I did enjoy learning about a team that I think is largely neglected in history, as well as school which had good intentions but horrific methods. The brutality of early football was also fairly fascinating. I would recommend this to fans of the game who want to know more about its early history. To the casual reader though, it might seem a bit tedious.
    • 4/5
      Ostensibly about the early development of football (the North American kind) and the under-appreciated contribution of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School to that sport, this book is about much more. Jenkins provides an overview of the history of the Carlisle School from its inception through its closing to provide context to the contributions made by the athletes that played on the Carlisle football team. I found the passages about the School and its founder, Richard Pratt more interesting than the accounts of the games. The idea that you could "Kill the Indian and save the man" is certainly anathema to modern ears, but was the founding principle of the School and was actually progressive for its times. This book was a fascinating read and was most enjoyable, working both as a history of the Carlisle School and of the roots of football.