They're Playing My Game

Hall of Fame football coach Hank Stram was a true innovator. From his start with the AFL’s Dallas Texans to their move to Kansas City in 1963 where they became the Chiefs, he revolutionized the game of football and led his team to victory year-after-year.

They’re Playing My Game by Hank Stram with Lou Sahadi (Foreword by Len Dawson and Special Tributes by Lamar Hunt and Dale Stram) is a unique look at Hank Stram and his incredible 17-year career as a football coach with the Texans/Chiefs (1960-1974) and New Orleans Saints (1976-1977) and his successful second career as an analyst for CBS television and in the radio booth on Monday Night Football.

His impressive overall 131-97-10 regular-season record and 5-3 record in the post-season is quite remarkable. Why it took 25 years for him to be inducted into the Hall of Fame is still a mystery to most, but They’re Playing My Game reveals for the first time the reasons why he was blackballed for so long.

Stram accomplished so much during his time as a football coach and was the first to do the following:

¨ The first to scout black colleges for players

¨ The first to have minicamps

¨ The first to hire a strength-and-conditioning coach

¨ First to wear a microphone in a Super Bowl game

¨ First AFC coach to appear in the Super Bowl

¨ First to introduce the moving quarterback pocket

¨ First to introduce the Tight End I formation

¨ First to introduce the Triple Stack defense

¨ First person to participate in the NFL championship game both as a winning coach, with the Kansas City Chiefs, and broadcaster

Stram’s influence was immense. His game-changing innovations are part of the reason the game of football is what it is today. He was resourceful, insightful and a true leader and teacher for his players. He looked at his team as a family and the players embraced his philosophies which helped them to win football games. Five of his players – Len Dawson, Bobby Bell, Buck Buchanan, Willie Lanier and Jan Stenerud -- have entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

They’re Playing My Game is a compelling look at a man who dedicated his life to the game of football and whose legacy will live on in professional football for years to come.