In this lively and fascinating book, noted writer and Auburn alum Paul Hemphill tells the story of the progress of Auburn from that first game coached by Auburn legend George Petrie through the team’s growth and development into the national force it is today. Hemphill records the many highs and occasional lows, and the heartbreak and jubilation each caused, noting the standouts great and small on the way.

A Tiger Walk through History contains 172 photographs, many of them rare and surprising. The text and photos capture the many great players and coaches in the Auburn football experience: Auburn’s first bowl appearance in 1936; coaching eras of innovative football genius John Heisman, after whom the Heisman trophy is named;  “Iron Mike” Donahue; Ralph “Shug” Jordan, who brought Auburn its first national championship in 1957; Pat Dye, Terry Bowden, and present coach Tommy Tuberville; Auburn’s two Heisman trophy winners Pat Sullivan and Bo Jackson; and victories over rivals Alabama and Georgia. The 2007-2008 season is highlighted, including the sixth straight win over Alabama and a bowl victory over Clemson. As the game has grown, Auburn and its team have grown with it, and Auburn now ranks as a perennial power both in its conference and in the nation.

Vince Dooley states in his foreword that “beyond the famous coaches and players and their heroics on behalf of the Orange and Blue, A Tiger Walk through History is also about time-honored traditions—rallying cries like ‘Sullivan-to-Beasley’ and ‘Punt Bama Punt’ and ‘Rolling Toomer’s Corner’—that echo in resounding fashion from the pages of Paul Hemphill’s remarkable book.”

No fan, whether casual or devoted, can afford to miss this riveting account of the Plainsmen’s journey from the very beginning to today, which is the record of a great university as well as the story of the development of a great football team.

Paul Hemphill was sports editor of the Auburn Plainsman during the National Championship season of 1957 and is the author of sixteen books, most recently Lovesick Blues, the best-selling biography of Hank Williams; Leaving Birmingham, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; and four novels, one of them (Long Gone) filmed to much acclaim by HBO. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, Susan Percy, a graduate of Georgia who keeps him on his toes.

Vince Dooley was a player and a coach at Auburn and Georgia. As a quarterback and defensive back at Auburn, he led the Tigers to a Gator Bowl appearance in 1953.  As an assistant coach for Ralph “Shug” Jordan, he helped celebrate Auburn’s 1957 National Championship.  He became head football coach at Georgia in 1964 and ended his four decades with the Bulldogs as Athletic Director.  Now retired, Dooley is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.