Anyone remember Inside Football?

I was a subscriber for many years. Before the Internet, it was a lifeline for a Giants fan living out of the Giants area. Enjoyed it most during the time of "The Editor".

He was a frequent guest pre WFAN days on Art Rust Jr's show and on Dave Sims SportsNight.

not Inside Football.

It was put out by Howard Livingston, not a beat writer at all but a professor of English lit at Pace (and a devotee of Ernest Jones's Freudian interpretation of
Shakespeare). He was also a big NYG fan, and their move to Pace as the venue of summer training camp gave him the idea of an insider newsletter since he was on campus every day, and in those less-uptight days had easy access to players, coaches, practices.
He and his wife hosted me graciously, and we maintained a friendship for some years.

.

I was a subscriber for years starting in the early to mid 1980s. It was superb. And l’m not old. ;-)

that wasn't easily available. Definitely something to look forward to each week. Not even sure how I first found about it.

author bio for Patricia Traina, does this help?

Quote:

....It was a “Letter to the Editor” that brought Patricia to the attention of Dr. Howard Linvingston, the founding editor/publisher of the little-known Giants-related Inside Football newsletter. Having discovered the uniqueness of the publication and wanting to learn more about the Xs and Os, Patricia worked up the never to answer Dr. Livingston's call for a website developer. ....

at a printshop in Elmsford, NY where my uncle worked.

:thumbsup:

in the archives. I will seek them out.

waited for it each week here in FL

Couldn't wait to get in the mail.

My Dad saved the inside football, Giants insider and the local newspaper from Monday for the 86 to 91 season .
He gave me 2 big boxes a couple years ago.
I am 52 he is 80 I asked him why he felt the need to save him, he said after 85' he just felt it was going to be something special.

and it was the first piece of mail that i read (I could do this since I was the Boss) I made a copy and sent it back to new York to my brother He carried it around with him all the time.It was the only source of Giant news as I was living in St Louis

Was a subscriber. In fact week had a get together at a restaurant in Berkeley.

This was a pretty good one

because of it's commentary on every player's performance in every game, something that I find very valuable. Now, of course, it comes electronically so one reads it much closer to the actual game.

I usually got it on Thursday until I moved south and then it was Friday or Saturday depending on what time the Giants played their previous game. If they were on MNF, I knew I was getting after the next game which sucked.

In comment 16399021 US1 Giants said:

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I was a subscriber for many years. Before the Internet, it was a lifeline for a Giants fan living out of the Giants area. Enjoyed it most during the time of "The Editor".

Me too.

I first encountered it on the desk of a math teacher at my boarding school. Turns out, he was a huge Giants fan. He used to give me his copy when he was done reading it, until I got my own subscription.

There was nothing else even close to IF's level of analysis and depth. I so loved diving into those mimeographed, oddly type-faced sheets of paper each week. I believe their tagline was, "For the best informed Giants fan." What a great publication.

In comment 16399184 Jerry in 329 said:

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because of it's commentary on every player's performance in every game, something that I find very valuable. Now, of course, it comes electronically so one reads it much closer to the actual game.

Wait, what? It's still in business?! That's cool. Still run by the same peeps?

At our house, we would all read every word. And the training camp issues were always the most informative. We would get the heads up on guys lighting it up at training camp who we would root for. Dan Doornink is one i remember. Even with many more beat reporters covering the Giants in those days, you always got more insights fromt he newsletter.

Very low tech .Usually 8 or so pages crammed together in blue print sometimes with spacing issues.

founded and operated by Howard Livingston, not to be confused by a Giants DB with the same name.

Here is his obituary.

It was a superb publication and his annual interview with George Young was worth the price of the annual subscription.
https://www.csog.com/obits/howard-francis-livingston/ - ( New Window )

I subscribed to it one season in the late 70’s while in college. At the time the was no internet, Sunday ticket, or regular source of Giants news for the serious Giants fans. I found an “Inside Football" advertisement in a magazine and was so psyched to find it and ordered it immediately; it $30 for the year, which was a lot of money at the time. But that’s where the excitement ended. I forget the frequency, but it was nothing more than a typed letter that was copied and mailed to subscribers. IMO, the content was very poorly written (very amateur), it didn’t provide any real Giants news that you couldn’t get off half time shows of games, and it pissed me that I spent so much money on something I felt was complete garbage. To this day, I still want my money back.

In comment 16399261 Beer Man said:

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I subscribed to it one season in the late 70’s while in college. At the time the was no internet, Sunday ticket, or regular source of Giants news for the serious Giants fans. I found an “Inside Football" advertisement in a magazine and was so psyched to find it and ordered it immediately; it $30 for the year, which was a lot of money at the time. But that’s where the excitement ended. I forget the frequency, but it was nothing more than a typed letter that was copied and mailed to subscribers. IMO, the content was very poorly written (very amateur), it didn’t provide any real Giants news that you couldn’t get off half time shows of games, and it pissed me that I spent so much money on something I felt was complete garbage. To this day, I still want my money back.

Sounds like you are confusing it with something else. Livingston was an English professor at Pace. The newsletter was exceptionally well written and had better content than later publications such as Giants Extra and Giants Newsweekly.

In comment 16399269 Eric from BBI said:

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In comment 16399261 Beer Man said: Quote: I subscribed to it one season in the late 70’s while in college. At the time the was no internet, Sunday ticket, or regular source of Giants news for the serious Giants fans. I found an “Inside Football" advertisement in a magazine and was so psyched to find it and ordered it immediately; it $30 for the year, which was a lot of money at the time. But that’s where the excitement ended. I forget the frequency, but it was nothing more than a typed letter that was copied and mailed to subscribers. IMO, the content was very poorly written (very amateur), it didn’t provide any real Giants news that you couldn’t get off half time shows of games, and it pissed me that I spent so much money on something I felt was complete garbage. To this day, I still want my money back. Sounds like you are confusing it with something else. Livingston was an English professor at Pace. The newsletter was exceptionally well written and had better content than later publications such as Giants Extra and Giants Newsweekly.

Nope, it was Inside Football, when I first starting coming to BBI in 1998 I looked them up and saw Patty had joined them at some point. Maybe they improved after 1978, idk. In 1978, after I received the first 3 or 4 letters they all went straight into the waste bin without opening.

No, I was a subscriber before Patti bought it.

Odd that you would feel that way. It was a great publication (no pictures, just text).

that I subscribed were from 1984 to probably about 1990 or so.

In comment 16399213 ciggy said:

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At our house, we would all read every word. And the training camp issues were always the most informative. We would get the heads up on guys lighting it up at training camp who we would root for. Dan Doornink is one i remember. Even with many more beat reporters covering the Giants in those days, you always got more insights fromt he newsletter. Very low tech .Usually 8 or so pages crammed together in blue print sometimes with spacing issues.

Yeah, the spacing issues were funny. Sometimes he squeezed things into the margins sideways.

In comment 16399040 Josh in MD said:

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It was put out by Howard Livingston, not a beat writer at all but a professor of English lit at Pace (and a devotee of Ernest Jones's Freudian interpretation of Shakespeare). He was also a big NYG fan, and their move to Pace as the venue of summer training camp gave him the idea of an insider newsletter since he was on campus every day, and in those less-uptight days had easy access to players, coaches, practices. He and his wife hosted me graciously, and we maintained a friendship for some years.

You are absolutely correct. I started out as a subscriber in 1983 when I moved to MD. I met Howard for the first time at his get together before SB 21 and we developed a friendship. After he sold the publication to Adam Epstein and Patty Triana took over the day to day coverage, Patty took me on as their field photographer from 199-2004, which opened some doors for me. It gave me an opportunity to form a great and lasting friendship with David Oliver. I was the infamous "Dr.Joe" Dave would refer to, as we travelled up I-95 and the turnpike to cover the games. Being associated with Inside Football was a fun ride.

A friend and I noticed Howard continually wrote the observation, “ . . . However, and it’s a big however . . . ..
Blue print, single spaced, with no pictures and I read every word and couldn’t wait for the next copy.

Thanks for filling me in on the identity of The Editor! As I said, I met him a few times at Pace summer camp, but I had no idea what his connection was the the college. Those days at Pace were very special. There was almost no security. You could walk right up to players, coaches and talk with them. George Young would come out and sit in the stands with us and discuss football, history, politics, etc. I think the first time I met Howard (I can call him that now) was in 1976. We were standing along the low fence by the practice field in a four way conversation with two rookie linebackers #53 Harry Carson and #54 Dan Lloyd. Great, great days!

In comment 16399040 Josh in MD said:

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It was put out by Howard Livingston, not a beat writer at all but a professor of English lit at Pace (and a devotee of Ernest Jones's Freudian interpretation of Shakespeare). He was also a big NYG fan, and their move to Pace as the venue of summer training camp gave him the idea of an insider newsletter since he was on campus every day, and in those less-uptight days had easy access to players, coaches, practices. He and his wife hosted me graciously, and we maintained a friendship for some years.

Somehow I missed your post. You beat me to the punch on Howard.

I mailed The Editor an essay in the mid 90's with an analysis of strategies to deal with the newly developed salary cap. I was shocked when I got a call from him asking if he could print it in its entirety! I floated for a day or two! :-)

Have every issue from the Superbowl 21 season somewhere. Training camp until the Superbowl. Great story of how that team came together. The training camp and post draft issues were the best!

Sent to me when I was stationed on the island of Guam in the Navy back in the early 80's. I can remember reading the debate over who Should The Giants draft. George Rogers or Lawrence Taylor. I didn't know who Lawrence Taylor was. But I FOUND OUT WHEN I GOT BACK TO THE STATES IN 1981 !! Man do I Miss That Giants type defense !!

In comment 16399280 Eric from BBI said:

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No, I was a subscriber before Patti bought it. Odd that you would feel that way. It was a great publication (no pictures, just text).

Let me elaborate a little bit as I can see where my choice of words could be misleading. During 77-78 I also had a subscription to Sporting News. During the NFL season SN would always provide a couple quick paragraphs of what their writers were hearing/witnessing with the Giants (as they did for all teams). It was the kind of meat you wanted to hear about the team and was all football focused; but it was always too short and left you wanting more info on the team. On the other hand, the Inside Football letter was several pages of fluff. It was like the writers didn’t have a lot of Giants news or insider info to report so they improvised with descriptions of their journey to see the Giants training camp (which I believe was at PACE University), how the coffee tasted that morning, what the weather was like, how they had seen Mara on the sidelines and shouted out to him, etc., but not a lot of the Giants football news that I hoped to get. My expectations when I subscribed was that I would be getting something from a true insider/sport writer and not something that looked like Jane Austen had written it.

Again, it doesn't sound like you were reading the same thing. There was NO fluff at all in Inside Football.

Also there were no "writers"... there was only Howard.

the newsletter used blue ink on white paper. It was 8 pages (folded). On the top it read "for the best informed Giants fan" or something like that. There was nothing to identify the author at all.

After each game, there would simply be position reviews. I think there were "Letters to the Editor" too.

BTW, I also bought TSN for the same reason you did. But there was no comparison with IF's coverage of training camp. It's why he had such a diehard readership. No one was covering training camp like that. And no one had one hour 1-on-1 interviews with George Young.

Their post-draft coverage (for the time) was pretty good.

forget if it was before or after the draft. It was an every-year event.

In comment 16399736 Eric from BBI said:

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BTW, I also bought TSN for the same reason you did. But there was no comparison with IF's coverage of training camp. It's why he had such a diehard readership. No one was covering training camp like that. And no one had one hour 1-on-1 interviews with George Young. Their post-draft coverage (for the time) was pretty good.

Epic I'm not disputing what you got from them starting in 1984, it was 7 years after my subscription and sounds like it greatly improved. But in the 1977/78 time frame I subscribed, it was exactly as I described it; otherwise I would have continued with it.

..The Giants Newsweekly.

Came out weekly during the season and maybe monthly during the offseason? Dave Klein was a writer but I believe he then left to maybe start Inside Football?

In comment 16399759 BillKo said:

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..The Giants Newsweekly. Came out weekly during the season and maybe monthly during the offseason? Dave Klein was a writer but I believe he then left to maybe start Inside Football?

No, Howard Livingston founded and was the sole author of Inside Football.

Klein's publication went out of business. That's a sore subject with a lot of Giants fans and Klein has e-mailed me in the past complaining about the complainers. He's got a thin skin.

In comment 16399766 Eric from BBI said:

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In comment 16399759 BillKo said: Quote: ..The Giants Newsweekly. Came out weekly during the season and maybe monthly during the offseason? Dave Klein was a writer but I believe he then left to maybe start Inside Football? No, Howard Livingston founded and was the sole author of Inside Football. Klein's publication went out of business. That's a sore subject with a lot of Giants fans and Klein has e-mailed me in the past complaining about the complainers. He's got a thin skin.

Klein still owes me money.

You and me both.

In comment 16399728 Eric from BBI said:

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the newsletter used blue ink on white paper. It was 8 pages (folded). On the top it read "for the best informed Giants fan" or something like that. There was nothing to identify the author at all. After each game, there would simply be position reviews. I think there were "Letters to the Editor" too.

That is correct Eric. He responded to every letter, referencing the writer by initial and state. He loved "ER(CT)" who was an engineer and always offered detailed analysis.