Description

Book Synopsis

Atlanta insurance salesman George Burnett found himself at the center of a football scandal when he overheard a phone conversation between University of Georgia athletic director Wally Butts and University of Alabama football coach Paul Bear Bryant. Butts seemed to be giving Bryant play formations that would help Alabama defeat Georgia 35-0 in the 1962 season opener.

When the Saturday Evening Post published Burnett''s story months later, Butts and Bryant successfully sued the magazine for libel. The case went to the Supreme Court where it was upheld in a landmark 5-4 decision that expanded the legal definition of public figures.

Referencing more than 3,000 pages of letters, depositions and trial transcripts, the author reveals new information about this scandal and its resulting trial.

Fumbled Call

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    A Paperback by David E. Sumner

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      Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 1/28/2018 12:02:00 AM
      ISBN13: 9781476671413, 978-1476671413
      ISBN10: 1476671419

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Atlanta insurance salesman George Burnett found himself at the center of a football scandal when he overheard a phone conversation between University of Georgia athletic director Wally Butts and University of Alabama football coach Paul Bear Bryant. Butts seemed to be giving Bryant play formations that would help Alabama defeat Georgia 35-0 in the 1962 season opener.

      When the Saturday Evening Post published Burnett''s story months later, Butts and Bryant successfully sued the magazine for libel. The case went to the Supreme Court where it was upheld in a landmark 5-4 decision that expanded the legal definition of public figures.

      Referencing more than 3,000 pages of letters, depositions and trial transcripts, the author reveals new information about this scandal and its resulting trial.

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