In June of 1979, Alan Page stepped across the finish line at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth and became the first NFL player to finish a marathon - anywhere - and he added yet another record to a long list of athletic accomplishments. Page had a remarkable football career, but perhaps his most important accomplishment came long after his football days were over. In 1992, Page was elected to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
The aptly titled "All Rise: The Remarkable Journey of Alan Page" by Bill McGrane recounts Page's own rise from modest beginnings as the son of a professional gambler in Canton, Ohio, through college at Notre Dame, to the NFL, where he played first as one of the storied Vikings "Purple People Eaters" and later as a Chicago Bear. Meanwhile, in 1978 he earned a law degree and 12 years later he put on the robe of Supreme Court Justice.
As a professional football player from 1967 and 1981, Page compiled an incomparable collection of stats: 238 consecutive starts, 28 blocked kicks, 173 sacks, nine-time Pro-Bowl selection, named to the Sporting News' list of the top 100 NFL players of all time, and named NFL MVP in 1971, the first defensive player ever to receive that honor. In 1985 Page was elected to the Professional Football Hall of Fame - the second year he was eligible.
The book is a biography but it reads like a novel. I knew the broad strokes of Page's life but I wanted to know more about the hows and whys of what happened to him along the way and, more importantly, what motivated him to succeed so amazingly. On that count, the book did not disappoint. This is a very meaty, detailed account of his life that doesn't shy away from challenging subjects such as his role as a union rep with the Vikings in the 1970s or controversial court decisions.
After reading this book, I feel as though I know a lot more about Alan Page, beyond the purple No. 88 jersey, beyond the black judicial robes ...
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The book "All Rise: the Remarkable Journey of Alan Page" is written by Bill McGrane and published by Triumph Books. It is 256 pages.
Writer JP Rennquist is helping to organize the third annual Minnesota Fathers Forever on March 5 at FDLTCC where Page will deliver the keynote
address.
