Review of "Great Quarterbacks #2: Kilmer, Hadl, Bradshaw, Phipps," by Bill Gutman

 Review of

Great Quarterbacks #2: Kilmer, Hadl, Bradshaw, Phipps, by Bill Gutman ISBN 044807429X

Three out of five stars

Choice of subjects is questionable

This book was published in 1974, when there were some all-time great quarterbacks still active. Fran Tarkenton, Bob Griese, Len Dawson and Joe Namath were all active at the time and are now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While Bradshaw made it into the Hall of Fame, the other three in this book did not.

 At the time of publication, Bradshaw had only been a starting quarterback for four years and his lifetime completion percentage was 0.484. Phipps had been a starter for only two complete seasons and his completion percentage was 0.470. Furthermore, Bradshaw had thrown for 41 touchdowns with 73 interceptions while Phipps had thrown 24 touchdown passes and had 45 intercepted. These are hardly the stats of great quarterbacks.

While the writing is good, the subject matter is questionable. At the time, these were not elite NFL quarterbacks, belying the phrase “Great Quarterbacks” in the title.