THE LONG PASS

A foot-in-the-door inside story of the saga of the New York Jets from their less than Titanic beginnings through the Super Bowl smash. Wismer, Werblin, the Weeb, and of course Broadway Joe are, for Mr. Sahadi, a Mount Rushmore cluster in Jet history. It was Lamar Hunt who founded the AFL and crafty Harry Wismer who organized the New York Titans. But it was impresario Sonny Werblin who revamped the bankrupt Titans, brought in the bands, the hoopla, the medicine shows at the Polo Grounds and then Shea Stadium to propel the Jets to popularity. Weeb Ewbank, the Jets' coach (once he had been relieved of the domination of Werblin) and Joe Namath did the rest. After the more distant history Sahadi recounts the paths of glory, the big games, and the vagaries of Broadway Joe, a respected team man, of startling inflammatory candor and a propensity toward the grand style in peccadilloes. On-the-spot game play, a few remarks-we-doubt-were-overheard-in-the-locker, and a barely contained wonder at the glory of it all make this a clear call for the football huddle.