Winning in the Trenches

Forrest Gregg epitomizes the old-school approach to football. During his Hall of Fame career he set an NFL record by playing in 188 consecutive games. Though annually chosen All-Pro at tackle, he  switched to guard when teammates suffered injuries—and was elected All-Pro at that position. His selfless dedication to team success explains why Vince Lombardi called Gregg the “finest  player I ever coached.”

Winning in the Trenches presents Gregg’s story, beginning in Birthright, Texas, where his  impoverished family picked cotton. He used his athletic talent to earn a scholarship at  Southern Methodist University, and then was drafted by the lowly Green Bay Packers, a team that  would later dominate its era.

Gregg played on the winning team in three Super Bowls. All told, he played on six NFL  championship teams, a record he shares with two other players. After moving to the sidelines, he was selected Coach of the Year with the Cleveland Browns and then led the Cincinnati Bengals to an AFC Championship. He later returned to coach the Packers before going back to SMU, where he rebuilt the program after an NCAA “death penalty.”

Gregg provides riveting accounts of his hand-to-hand battles with the NFL’s best as well as of his later battles with owners, players, and the press. He credits family, friends, teammates, and mentors for helping him along the way. Winning in the Trenches is a candid, powerful story of achieving the American dream through grit, humility, and determination.