You Can't Catch Sunshine

Chicago, Illinois: Triumph Books, 2010. CV6 - A first edition (no additional printings) hardcover book SIGNED by Don Maynard with "H.o.f. '87' '13'" written on the front free endpaper in very good condition in very good dust jacket. Dust jacket has some wrinkling and chipping on the edges and corners, small tear on the front top right corner, some scattered light scratches and rubbing, tanning and light shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners, moderate tanning and shelf wear. Foreword by Joe Namath. 9.25"x6.25", 269 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Donald Rogers Maynard is a former American football player who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals; the American Football League (AFL) with the New York Jets; and the World Football League (WFL) with the Shreveport Steamer. He was selected in the ninth round (109th overall) of the 1957 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. In 12 games as a rookie, he had 12 rushes for 45 yards (3.8 yards per carry), caught five passes for 84 yards (a 16.8 yard average) and played on special teams. After being released by the Giants during their 1959 training camp, he played one season in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, catching just one pass for 10 yards. In the off-season, he worked as a plumber and a teacher. Maynard became the first player to sign with the New York Titans in 1960 (the team was renamed the Jets in 1963). This came about because the Titans' first head coach, Sammy Baugh, had coached against Maynard in college and knew his talent. Although scorned by the New York press as an "NFL reject" in 1960, he teamed with Art Powell to form the first professional wide receiver tandem to each gain over 1,000 yards on receptions in a season, with the pair achieving this milestone again in 1962. Over the next 13 years Maynard put up receiving numbers that would earn him a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. Collecting 72 pass receptions in his first year as a Titan, he went on to compile four more seasons with 50 or more catches and 1,000 yards receiving, and held the professional football record for total receptions and yards receiving. A four-time AFL All-Star, he is sixth in all-time pro football touchdown receptions, and is a member of the All-time All-AFL Team. In 1965 Maynard was teamed with rookie quarterback Joe Namath. Maynard had 1,218 yards on 68 receptions and 14 touchdowns in Namath's first season (Namath had 22 touchdown passes that year). In 1967, Maynard caught 1,434 of Namath's historic 4,007 passing yards. The receiving yards were a career-high for Maynard and led the league; he also had 71 receptions, 10 touchdowns, and averaged 20.2 yards per catch. In the 1968 season opener against Kansas City, Maynard had 200+ receiving yards for the first time in his career and passed Tommy McDonald as the active leader in receiving yards, where he remained for the next six seasons until his retirement. He added a career-best 228 yards in Game 10 against Oakland. Maynard had 57 receptions for 1,297 yards (22.8 yards per catch) and 10 of Namath's 15 touchdowns that year. In the 1968 AFL Championship Game, a 27-23 Jets victory over the Oakland Raiders, Maynard caught six passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. His 14-yard catch in the first quarter gave the Jets the lead and his six-yard catch in the fourth quarter proved to be the game winner. The Jets would go on to win Super Bowl III, 16-7 over the NFL's Baltimore Colts, which was hailed as the first "upset" in Super Bowl history. Maynard played, but had no catches while suffering the effects of a hamstring injury in the AFL title game. Maynard remarkably did not wear a chin strap on his helmet, instead using special cheek inserts that held the helmet tightly in place. After the 1972 season, he played for one year with the St. Louis Cardinals before finishing his playing career in 1974 with the Houston Texans / Shreveport Steamer of the WFL. One of only 20 players who were in the AFL for its entire 10-year existence, Maynard was also one of only seven players who played their entire AFL careers with one team. Maynard finished his career with 633 receptions for 11,834 yards and 88 touchdowns. His 18.7 yards per catch is the highest for anyone with at least 600 receptions. Maynard was the first receiver to reach 10,000 yards and retired as pro football's all-time leading receiver which stood until Charlie Joiner surpassed him in 1986. . Signed by Author. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.