Behind Closed Doors

By Bob Woolf

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451074238
• ISBN13: 9780451074232
• Release Date: April 1977
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7

Customer Reviews

The Beginning Of The Superagent

The making of the modern superagent began in the Winter of 1966 by telephone. Pitcher Earl Wilson had hired attorney Bob Woolf to handle his tax matters and personal appearances while playing for the Boston Red Sox. After being dealt to the Detroit Tigers after the 1966 season, Wilson approached Woolf with an idea that ultimately changed the way player contracts were handled; he wanted his attorney to assist in negotiations. And this is how it was done; Wilson would discuss a point with Tiger management, excuse himself from the office and then call Woolf for guidance. A contract was agreed upon, though the Tiger brass did not know at the time that Wilson was working with an agent. Once word got out what Woolf did for his client, needless to say the doors swung wide open for the flamboyant attorney to assist athletes in many sports with the litany of contracts that were tossed to them by teams, advertisement agencies and promoters. Woolf writes about the retirement from baseball of Ken Harrelson when he was dealt to Cleveland from the Red Sox, and the deal that was struck for the "The Hawk" to accept the trade. His work with other clients from the golden era of Boston sports - John Havlicek, Sam Jones, Derek Sanderson and Jim Plunkett - along with deals he handled for Marvin Barnes and John Matuszek, in which Woolf played the CFL off the NFL for maximum leverage, are chronicled in the book. The importance of Woolf's writing Behind Closed Doors some 30 years ago was great, since it was the outline on how deals were struck in a period where there was no blueprint to follow. It remains a great read today on the art of the deal.

A must-have for Sports-nuts

Behind Closed Doors was written by Bob Woolf, one of America's first sports attorneys. Not only was Mr. Woolf one of the first, he was arguably the premeire sports attorney. In the book, Bob discusses how he helped professional athletes get "fair market value" for their services. The phrase "fair market value" is used repeatedly throughout the book. Often the chapters begin by telling a story about how a GM of a team does not want to give his client fair market value. Then Woolf goes into how he put pressure on the GM without talking down to the GM. Woolf is a textbook negotiator. He negotiates ethically and always gets what he wants, if not more. Reading his stories about negotiating not only served as interesting sport anecdotes, but also gave me valuable perspectives I did not before consider: "The draft, which is really the spinal cord of our professional sports system, may also be the biggest con game going. Everybody cons everybody. As a result, at times, almost total confusion reigns." Next paragraph, he concludes: "I don't mean to suggest that those involved in sports are incompetent when it comes to judging talent. To the contrary, they seldom overlook one who can play. But at the time of the draft the pressure is on, for real, and some unaccountable decisions are made. I learned never to take anything for granted in the draft, or the recruitment that takes place before and after that process, a large subject worth exploring." Then in chapter 10, he discusses the broad picture of pressure in sports, and concludes, "Players get complacent, even owners, but never coaches. They are aware, when they take the job, that it belonged to someone who was fired."