The Missing Ring

From the author of Montana, "a stunning look at how a bunch of overachievers was able to accomplish everything—except win a national title" (The Tampa Tribune).

Very few institutions in American sports can match the enduring excellence of the University of Alabama football program. Especially dominant during the era of the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant, the larger-than-life figure who towered over the landscape like no man before or since, Alabama entered the 1966 season with the chance to become the first college football team to win three consecutive national championships. The Crimson Tide cruised to a magical season, finishing as the nation's only undefeated, untied team. But something happened on the way to the history books.

The Missing Ring is the story of the one that got away, the one that haunts Alabama fans still, and native Alabamian Keith Dunnavant takes readers deep inside the Crimson Tide program during a more innocent time, before widespread telecasting, before scholarship limitations, before end-zone dances. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, the still-escalating Vietnam War, and a world and a sport teetering on the brink of change in a variety of ways, The Missing Ring tells an important story about the collision between football and culture. Ultimately, it is this clash that produces the Crimson Tide's most implacable foe, enabling the greatest injustice in college football history.

"Evocative and provocative." —Sports Illustrated

"Absolutely stunning. The Missing Ring left me breathless." —Paul Finebaum, Finebaum Radio Network

"When it comes to Alabama football, nobody does a better job of research and reporting than Keith Dunnavant, and this is another masterful job." —Tony Bernhart, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution