Remembering Pete Gent, Who Wrote 'North Dallas Forty' -

RIP: Pete Gent, Who Wrote "North Dallas Forty"

It's a very good football book, because it's basically a true story with the names and some details changed. The main characters in the book represent Gent, Tom Landry, Dandy Don Meredith, Roger Staubach and the rest of the Dallas Cowboys in the late 60s when Dandy was exiting.

Gent himself was a real oddity. He made the Cowboys roster despite never having played any college ball. (He was a basketball star!)

The movie version? Well, it was too Hollywood, but I still enjoy it. It focuses sharply on 1969, when Gent was cut from the team. Nick Nolte played the Gent surrogate.