Neil Leifer // Guts & Glory. Art Edition No. 101–200 ‘Alan Ameche’

In 1958, sports photographer Neil Leifer took the picture that remains one of his most famous to this day. The day he got the shot—Alan Ameche’s game-winning “Sudden Death” touchdown—was Leifer’s 16th birthday. This game, called “The Greatest Ever Played,” signaled football’s emergence as America’s new national pastime; formerly half-empty stadiums welcomed sold-out crowds seemingly overnight, while football surpassed pro baseball and college football in national television ratings. 

Starting then, on any given Sunday, Leifer was most likely shooting a football game somewhere in America. His 1961 photo of legendary Giants quarterback Y. A. Tittle dropping back to pass landed Leifer his first cover for Sports Illustrated and cemented his close connection to the sport.

Following an introduction assembled from the best football columns of the era by famed sports columnist Jim Murray, this collection is divided into four chapters: “On Any Sunday” is Leifer’s homage to the game. “The Legends” includes heroes like Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Namath, Dick Butkus, Frank Gifford, and “Mean” Joe Greene. “The Bosses” delves into the victories on and off the field of immortal coaches Vince Lombardi, John Madden, Tom Landry, Weeb Ewbank, and others. Finally, “The Big Game” traces major championship games from 1958 through Super Bowl XII. The in-depth captions put the images into their historical context, making the book highly accessible and informative.

This Art Edition comes with Jim Murray’s top football columns of the era, and a signed print by Neil Leifer showing “The Iron Horse” Alan Ameche scoring the winning touchdown against the New York Giants at the 1958 NFL Championships.