A football legend passed away last week. Lou Holtz spent his entire adult life around football, as a coach, a commentator, & an author.
Holtz was born January 6, 1937 in Follansbee, West Virginia & grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio. Holtz passed away March 4, 2026, in Orlando, Florida.
In the time in between, Holtz went to Kent State University, where he was a walk-on football player & a history major. He ended up getting his masters degree in education from the University of Iowa. He was assistant coach at: William & Mary, the University of Connecticut, University of South Carolina, & the Ohio State University. Holtz moved up the ranks in coaching to become the head coach at multiple colleges - the University of Arkansas, the University of Minnesota, Notre Dame University, & the University of South Carolina. During his coaching years, he received multiple awards - ACC Coach of the Year in 1972, the Woody Hayes Trophy in 1977 & 1988, the Bear Bryant Award in 1977 & 1988, & SEC Coach of the Year in 200. Holtz was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2020.
Many of us will know Lou Holtz from his coaching career, especially his time at Notre Dame & South Carolina. Others will remember him for his commentary as a football analyst on CBS & ESPN in the 2000's & the early 2010's.
Holtz wrote many books related to football and life: Winning Every Day: The Game Plan for Success; Wins, Losses, & Lessons: An Autobiography; & A Teen's Game Plan for Life.
If you're wanting to read about football in general (whether to reminisce or to learn), QPL has options for that:
Football (there is an endless amount of books titled Football)
Flag Football for Dummies
Football Nation: 400 Years of America's Game
NFL Football: A History of America's New Pastime
The Football Book
Why Football Matters: My Education in the Game
The Football 100
Tropic of Football: The Long & Perilous Journey of Samoans to the NFL
Football for Dummies (and there are a couple of issues of this book)
QPL also has options on the children's level, so you can read about football with your kids:
Football Frenzy: A Spot It Challenge
Football ABC
Football Colors
Football Champ
Football Genius
Goodnight Football
Dino-Football
The Football Cookbook: Simple Recipes for Kids
The Scholastic Ultimate Guide to Football
And if reading isn't your thing, DVDs are also an option:
The Longest Yard (QPL does have access to both the Burt Reynolds version & the Adam Sandler version)
Invincible
The Replacements
Friday Night Lights
Brian's Song
Rudy
Little Giants
The Longshots