Reynolds, Neil 1972-

PERSONAL:

Born 1972.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Boca Raton, FL.

CAREER:

Journalist and writer. Transmedia Group, Boca Raton, FL, supervisor of European operations. Has worked as a sportswriter covering the National Football League (NFL), beginning 1991, for British publications First Down and Gridiron; also has worked as manager of NFLEurope.com Web site; NFL's public relations manager for all of Europe; and founder of www.NFLUK.com Web site.

WRITINGS:

Pain Gang: Pro Football's Fifty Toughest Players, Potomac Books (Dulles, VA), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including Daily Telegraph, Sunday People, Dallas Morning News, and Green Bay Press Gazette; contributor to Web sites, including NFL.com and NFL team sites.

SIDELIGHTS:

Neil Reynolds has covered the U.S. National Football League (NFL) for British publications and has also served as a public relations manager for the NFL in Europe. In his first book, Pain Gang: Pro Football's Fifty Toughest Players, Reynolds writes about some of the toughest and most notorious players in the NFL's history, from the legendary Bronco Nagurski to modern players such as Brett Favre. Profiling players from various eras, Reynolds also provides insights into the lives and games of players such as the New York Giants linebacker Sam Huff and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rocky Bleier, who suffered a debilitating foot wound in the Vietnam War but came back to play on four Super Bowl teams for the Steelers. Although focusing primarily on the physical aspects of the game, the author also writes about players with mental toughness, such as San Francisco 49er quarterback Joe Montana. "Read this book and you'll never look at the NFL in the same way again," wrote Henry Hodgson on the NFLUK.com Web site. "You will find an even greater appreciation for the warriors who clash on the gridiron each weekend." In a review in Booklist, Bill Ott noted that "football fans … will enjoy reliving the bone-crunching exploits of yesteryear."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 1, 2006, Bill Ott, review of Pain Gang: Pro Football's Fifty Toughest Players, p. 48.

ONLINE

NFLUK.com,http://www.nfluk.com/ (May 23, 2007), Henry Hodgson, review of The Pain Gang; also brief profile of author.

TransMediaGroup.com,http://transmediagroup.com/ (May 23, 2007), brief profile of author.