If anyone reading this review enjoyed Pat Conroy's My Losing Season, you will surely enjoy No Offense, No Defense, No Hope! — Spoiler alert — there is so much hope!
Francesca Vollaro
★★★★★ · Verified Purchase
The underdog football memoir that shocked college sports
That's what the sportswriters said about Wake Forest football in 1970. They were wrong. While Kent State burned and the draft lottery determined who would go to Vietnam, seventy-three young men on a small Southern campus discovered what they were made of — and brought home the school's first ACC Championship.
It was a season picked dead last. It became the season nobody forgot.
In 1970, Wake Forest football entered the season with ten straight losing years behind it and sportswriters predicting more of the same. The new coach, Cal Stoll, had one mission: transform perennial losers into champions. The price was brutal conditioning designed to break them. Most quit. The ones who stayed would face a season where everything that could go wrong did — until it didn't.
The team started 0-3. A sportswriter called them the best no-win team in the country. Then they finished 5-1 in the ACC and 6-5 overall, claiming the school's first-ever ACC football championship. What happened next shocked the college football world.
But this isn't just about football. It's about a year when Kent State burned and the draft lottery determined who would go to Vietnam. It's about racism, loss, a pioneering female sportswriter, and young men who refused to accept impossible. It's about 1970 — a year that tested everyone who lived through it.
Written by David D. Doda, Ph.D. — a tight end on that 1970 championship team — No Offense, No Defense, No Hope! is the story of how an old-school coach transformed perennial underdogs into champions, and what it cost the boys who became men along the way.
From teammates and Wake Forest classmates to readers who'd never heard of the Demon Deacons — every reader, the same answer.
If anyone reading this review enjoyed Pat Conroy's My Losing Season, you will surely enjoy No Offense, No Defense, No Hope! — Spoiler alert — there is so much hope!
Not "just" a sports story. It's about grit, determination, hope, and resilience. About leadership and teamwork, brotherhood and bonding. It's historical and yet timeless. Sure to be a classic. I can't wait for the movie!
The story reads like a movie, full of energy and drama. I felt like I was right there on the sidelines watching it all unfold. I'm not even a Wake Forest fan, but I love a great underdog story.
Anyone who loves true stories about near-impossible victories and achievements will chuckle, shed a tear, and mutter "Go Deacs!" as they read this delightful book.
From the 1970 locker room to readers who'd never heard of the Demon Deacons.
I was a member of the WFU Class of '71 and a senior when David Doda '71 and his teammates and coaches won the ACC Championship. I stayed at Wake for the next 41 years as an alumni and development official. Dave's book is exceptional — beautifully written both from the quality of storytelling and the emotion he expresses. His research into the deeper story of Wake Forest and its football legacy is filled with quotes from contemporary sources. He also excels in describing that tumultuous period of racial and student unrest. While people with a Wake Forest affiliation will love it, I believe anyone who loves true stories about near-impossible victories will chuckle, shed a tear, and mutter "Go Deacs!"
Even if you are not a sports fan but enjoy a good story about an underdog who succeeds in spite of all odds, then you are going to love this book! David Doda gives the reader an inside look at the making of a football team and what all goes on behind the scenes to prepare for a season under a new coach. It is more than a feel-good story — it is also a very interesting story about the issues of the times, the Vietnam war and integration. The book is well written and well researched and you'll find yourself pulling for this group of Demon Deacons.
This book grabbed my heart and emotions from the beginning and still has not let go. It is such a beautiful story of determination, commitment to ideals, each other and a caring coach, and community spirit. David Doda's writing style is forthright and lyrical, wrapping in the highs and lows and the turbulence of the late '60s and early '70s via personal insights. If anyone reading this review enjoyed Pat Conroy's My Losing Season, you will surely enjoy No Offense, No Defense, No Hope! — Spoiler alert — there is so much hope!
Picked to finish last in the ACC before the 1970 football season started and then beginning the season 0-3, no one could have predicted at that moment that this group of young men would win Wake Forest's FIRST ACC Championship! David does a great job of telling the story of a two-year journey to that Championship along with incorporating what it was like to be a student at Wake Forest at that time! A must read for any sports fan!
Great trip down memory lane for anyone who knows anything about Wake Forest and wants the inside story of the magical 1970 Championship season. Yet, well written and worthwhile for a look back at the late '60s and America, even if you know or care little about the Deacs.
Every sports fan loves a great Cinderella story, and this one is right up there with the best of them. What I love about this book is, it isn't "just" a sports story, it's about grit, determination, hope, and resilience. It's about leadership and teamwork, brotherhood and bonding. It's historical and yet timeless. A compelling read, with just the right balance between action and description. Sure to be a classic. I can't wait for the movie!
I love football but haven't followed Wake Forest football that closely. It was a great story and very well written. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
This book is extremely well written and researched. David brings out a lot of background material that led to a remarkable season. I grew up in Winston-Salem and was a member of that team. The book not only brought back so many memories, it also educated me regarding a number of things that I had forgotten or didn't know. The lessons learned during this season helped to shape my life for the better. Thanks for writing it David.
Growing up, my friends and I played football all the time. When the college coaches knocked on my door and offered me a scholarship to Wake Forest University I was thrilled and jumped at the chance. Coach Stoll was a task master and was able to wring 100% of the talent and effort that was laid out before him. As freshmen, we were part of the scout team, and worked hard to give the varsity a picture of what they would see in the upcoming game. The book captures what it was like during those years. We felt helpless back in the dorms as our teammates made good on their vows. The boys that remained at the end were now battle-tested veterans capable of great things.
My husband, WFU '72, just finished this book. He loved it! So much that he called the author to tell him directly!
If you love football you will really enjoy this gem of a book. Learning just how a no-nothing college team managed to win the ACC championship reveals so much about the heart needed to not only win but to savor this amazing sport. Likewise, it illuminates what may be missing most from struggling teams in today's leagues.
Excellent read for a Wake Forest grad!
I couldn't put this book down! The story reads like a movie, full of energy and drama. I felt like I was right there on the sidelines watching it all unfold. I'm not even a Wake Forest fan, but I love a great underdog story no matter who it's about, and this one really delivers.
Since I was there I know all that was written by David Doda. Wonderful write and an easy read. Highly recommend.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable underdog story, not just for fans of college football. And the best part about it is that it's true!
David and his book vividly brought me back to my days as a student at Wake Forest University in 1970. I roomed with David for a semester and graduated with him in 1971. The football story was pure Cinderella — a magical season that happened only after hard work and preparation. Through the book, you could feel the pain and sweat. The realities of the happenings of the outside world also are shared. I will never forget the night our draft numbers were read on the radio. This was life or death for many of us. I remember seeing the National Guard on the streets of Winston-Salem on the way to one of our football games. The book is a must read for not only Wake Forest grads, but for all those in college during the late 1960s and 1970s. For me, it was a trip down memory lane.