Super Short Summary

In When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss delivers a balanced and comprehensive biography of Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, tracing his journey from growing up in a working-class Italian-American family in Brooklyn to becoming one of the most successful NFL coaches. The book highlights Lombardi's career milestones, religious upbringing, initial struggle against discrimination, and his eventual triumphs. Maraniss covers Lombardi's coaching philosophy, his role in leading the Packers to five NFL championships, and his complicated personal traits, including his dedication to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, alongside the more challenging aspects of his character and personal life. The narrative includes themes of familial neglect and alcohol use.