• You don’t know what it feels like to hoist the National Championship trophy above your head in an on-field celebration—but you may know the relief of beating cancer.
• You don’t know the pride of playing in three Pro Bowls, winning a Super Bowl, and being inducted to the NFL Hall of Fame—but you may know what it feels like to manage a sales team.
• Our heroes see both sides of the coin—they eventually all become mortals.

These are the stories of the players from the 1972 University of Southern California football team. That season, USC went 12-0, winning the NCAA National Championship, and fielding one of the greatest teams in college history. But each and every player from that ’72 team, whether as powerful as fullback Sam “Bam” Cunningham, as intellectually gifted as defensive back Marvin Cobb, or as massive as offensive lineman Pete Adams, eventually became one of us. A mortal.

William Block’s Immortal Team of Mortal Men tells the story of USC football players, beyond their glory days on campus, and into their everyday lives as men.

The book tells the tale of the starting Trojan defensive lineman who spent eight years in the NFL before being forced to retire at age 30 because of numerous concussions; a man whose playing days left him physically unable to work beyond the gridiron, but who would fight the powerful NFL for seventeen years before finally receiving his much deserved disability benefits.

You’ll meet the three-time All-American—one of only three in USC’s storied football history—who was deeply humbled by winning only five games in his first three years in the NFL; a man who later struggled to find a coaching job in the game he loved, but still persevered by finally landing a spot coaching football in Europe.

You’ll learn the unusual story of the USC player who risked losing his fiancée when he turned his back on an insurance career in order to pursue his dream of becoming a Hollywood stuntman.

An Immortal Team of Mortal Men tells the stories of 46 players from USC’s legendary ’72 National Championship team through their eyes. You’ll find humor, you’ll find sorrow, and you’ll find football. Most of all, you’ll find lessons about being mortal.