“The Bouncing Football: Life Lessons on the Gridiron” by Rodrigo Barnes was nominated for the 2023 Eric Hoffer Book Award

Every year, everyone has been waiting for the great news. And now, the results for the Eric Hoffer Book Award have been released.

Rodrigo Barnes’ “The Bouncing Football: Life Lessons on the Gridiron,” published by Author Reputation Press, participated in the 2023 Eric Hoffer Book Award. 

The Eric Hoffer Book Award commemorates the memory of the famous American philosopher Eric Hoffer by honoring outstanding writing and the independent spirit of small publishers. Since its foundation, Hoffer has grown to become one of the most prestigious worldwide book awards for small, academic, and independent presses.

The Eric Hoffer Book Award committee has completed its judging process for another year. Each person who participated and submitted their entry is appreciated. Thank you for your support. The award is facilitated by The Eric Hoffer Project, dedicated to maintaining Hoffer’s work and legacy.

This heartwarming patronage has helped make the Eric Hoffer Book Award one of the world’s premium independent book awards. Every book was carefully read and evaluated. Being part of this is such an honor and privilege for many.

“The Bouncing Football: Life Lessons on the Gridiron” by Rodrigo Barnes is acclaimed by Toby Berry of the US Review of Books, who underscores that “for football fans, the book is extra rich. Barnes, ultimately a Super Bowl champion with the Oakland Raiders in the seventies, describes the practices, the injuries, the backroom deals, and the politics behind the scenes of the NFL. The result isn’t pretty or flattering to the league. Barnes, a supreme athlete in his formative years, has reached a pinnacle again, this time as a writing talent. His book is awakening and thought-provoking. It will assuredly help any reader understand what it was like growing up as a black youth in America during the fifties and sixties. It is a poignant book describing generational trauma and healing amidst the backdrop of sports.”

Rodrigo Barnes was born in 1950 in Waco, Texas. He is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, and Oakland Raiders. He played college football at Rice University.

The author’s autobiography is horrific in some parts, but Barnes doesn’t seek pity. He simply says how it was, what he did about it, and how his outlook evolved. He navigated the years with style, grace, and grit.

“The Bouncing Football: Life Lessons on the Gridiron” gives all this and more for readers who enjoy football, gravitate toward memoirs, or want insights into growing up black in the 1950s. It is a frank look into the hard-knock life of a black man from his childhood in Waco, Texas, up through his National Football League career and beyond. Barnes was a 1967 college football player when school desegregation was a fresh experiment for everyone.

This link will take you to a page where you can learn more about the 2023 ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARD RESULTS: https://www.hofferaward.com/Eric-Hoffer-Award-winners.html#.ZFA7unbMKUk.