The De La Salle football team in Concord, California, until recently, boasted the longest winning streak in football history. Last year, their winning streak ended with 151 consecutive wins. Many people wonder how a program could achieve something of this magnitude. “When the Game Stands Tall” is a book about the history of this remarkable program.

“The Story of the De La Salle Spartans and Football’s Longest Winning Streak” is about the 2002 team with history interspersed within the chapters. Written by Neil Hayes, who has covered De La Salle for the Contra Costa Times, it is a behind-the-scenes look at the program. Read how Coach Bob Ladouceur came to De La Salle and started the program.

If you are looking for just the Xs and Os of football then you will be disappointed. This book is about something greater. It is about the commitments of the players and their attitudes that lead to their unbelievable streak of 151 consecutive wins. The book attempts to explain how Ladouceur ran his coaching record to an astonishing 274-14-1 (at the time of publishing). The book’s appendix contains the yearly game-by-game record of De La Salle while under the direction of Ladouceur.

There are people that dislike De La Salle because they claim they recruit. I don’t believe they recruit. But my response to them is that NFL teams recruit every year and don’t win 151 games start. In fact, the longest winning streak in NFL history was 17 games by Chicago between 1933 and 1934. There has to be another answer for why they are so good. They surely do not play a weak schedule, as they routinely schedule teams who are highly ranked in national polls and who are often bigger than the Spartans. Read this book and decide for yourself.

* Even though this is a great book about dedication and the winning spirit, there is language that may not be suitable for younger readers.

Click here for your copy of When the Game Stands Tall .