Montana and the NFL

When conversations arose with Helena, Mont., author Brian D'Ambrosio about the research he was doing on his latest book, Montana and the NFL, the typical response was "it's going to be a small book. I'm sure."

Montana and the NFL, however, is anything but a short read and clocks in at just under 300 pages and is filled with player bios, stats and photos. This book could easily be completely read in a few sittings or over a longer period of time a few players at a time and would be a great thing to have on the coffee table while entertaining friends with football on TV on Saturdays and Sundays.

Montana and the NFL is published by Arcadia Publishing and The History Press who has published over 12,000 titles and nearly 100 of them cover Montana topics including Fort Missoula, the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, and Fort Benton. These books mainly deal with narratives of local heroes, tragic losses, collections of homegrown recipes, historical mysteries, and everything in between,"according to their website: http://www.arcadiapublishing.com where all their books can be purchased, including D'Ambrosio's latest efforts about Big Sky Country gridiron greats making it to the National Football League (ebook editions of this book can also be purchased at the website.

D'Ambrosio sets the stage in his introductions and explains that Montana and the NFL includes "only players who were born in Montana, raised in Montana or attended high school or college in Montana" and then went on to play in the NFL.

The book is broken down into four different eras of players in the big league, starting with the 1920's through the 1950's and ending with the 2000s to present. The book has write-ups of over 100 players and some are accompanied by photos and statistics. Some players gained great accolades and enjoyed long careers in the NFL (see Hall of Fame kicker Jan Stenerud who played at Montana State University and quarterback John Elway who played Little Grizzly Football in Missoula) to players who had very little fame in professional football. A total of 69 athletes born in Montana went on to play in the NFL, two from neighboring city and high school football rival Glasgow (Ted Illman would play for the Chicago Cardinals in 1928 and Brian Salonen who suited-up for 32 games as a Dallas Cowboy in the mid 1980's) and one player with Phillips County roots: Don Stewart Cosner.

"Born in Malta in 1917, Don Cosner attended Montana State University and played professional football for the Chicago Cardinals in 1939," D'Ambrosio writes, going on to say that the Cards posted a record of 1-10 that year (yikes!)

D'Ambrosio writes about current NFL players with Montana ties as well, including Brock Oswiler, a Kalispell native trying to win a roster spot with the Cleveland Browns, and Marc Maraini, a Havre High grad who played with the Tennessee Titans last season and is one of the players featured on the cover of Montana and the NFL.

D'Ambrosio has written several books and more than 250 articles about Montana people, places, and things. His latest book, Montana and the NFL, was sent to the Phillips County News for this review and was then donated to the Phillips County Library where it can be borrowed.