American football Books

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Book SynopsisThe compelling story of how American football was used to boost morale and inject camaraderie between the Allied forces in wartime London.In December 1943, as London faced a fifth Christmas of blackouts and no sign of World War Two ending, a chance encounter at an English pub between a Canadian and an American officer led to the staging of a football game: the Tea Bowl.A few weeks later, 30,000 Canadian and American troops, as well as some confused British spectators, were gifted respite from the devastation. The game involved players who had paused their football careers back home to serve their country in foreign lands.The Canadians won, so a rematch was arranged in front of 50,000 at London's White City Stadium. They called it the Coffee Bowl. A few ringers were even drafted from the NFL, including Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tommy Thompson.With first-hand accounts and detailed reports of the games, this is the first time the fascinating tales of the Tea and Coffee Bowls have been shared in one place.Trade Review"An impressive story, well told. Rating: 9/10." -- Mark Watkins * Dare Radio *

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Book SynopsisThe epic and tumultuous story of the Lions, the Ford family, the city of Detroit—and how all three have come together on the cusp of a new era.On Nov. 22, 1963, William Clay Ford, the youngest grandson of auto pioneer Henry Ford, made a successful bid to buy the Detroit Lions of the National Football League for the unheard-of sum of $6 million. As Ford and his entourage settled down to a celebratory luncheon, their waitress delivered the news that President John F. Kennedy had been shot dead in Dallas. Born under a bad sign is how Bill Ford’s ownership of the Lions began. After a decade of supremacy, Ford led the team on a half-century slog of mediocrity, the fruit of his mercurial nature and undying loyalty to the wrong people. The Lions Finally Roar is bursting with the colorful ruffians who have made the team one of America’s most beloved sports franchises despite its years of futility. Readers meet the hell-raising quarterback Bobby

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Book SynopsisThe winning philosophy for creating and inspiring success that will help you triumph at work and in life from renowned football coach Nick Saban—with a foreword by Bill BelichickExcellence doesn’t happen overnight. It comes from hard work, consistency, the drive to be the best, and a passion for what you do. Few understand this better than Nick Saban. With more than three decades of experience as a player and coach, Saban has worked alongside some of the game’s legends and has seen firsthand how great leaders encourage greatness in others. In this candid and thoughtful guide, he shares his unique wisdom:• Organization, Organization, Organization: Create an environment where everybody knows his or her responsibilities—and each is responsible to the entire group.• Motivate to Dominate: Understand the psychology of teams and individuals, and use that knowledge to breed success.• No Other Way than Right:

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Book Synopsis_____________________________THE NEW YORK TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER on the murder behind the Netflix documentary Killer InsideHe had it all. A $40 million NFL contract. Fame. Adoration – until he was convicted of murder, and jailed for life without parole.A true story told by the master of crime fiction, All-American Murder is the tale of Aaron Hernandez, once the NFL's youngest player, a star for the New England Patriots and a Super Bowl veteran. His every move played out in the headlines, and yet he led a secret life – one that ended in a maximum-security prison. What drove him to go so wrong, so fast?This explosive account of the rise and fall of a life cut short in the dark shadow of fame, culminating in Hernandez's own untimely death behind bars, is built on original, in-depth reporting. Was Hernandez a victim himself, suffering violence-inducing brain damage from the sport that meant everything to him – or was he just a heartless killer?_____________________________‘The man behind the hugely popular Alex Cross series has interviewed those closest to Hernandez to get the full, winding story on the NFL star turned murderer.’ The Sun‘Patterson unravels Hernandez’s complicated and troubling story.’ CBS News'This disturbing true-crime thriller is another fast and captivating Patterson read.' USA TodayTrade ReviewThe man behind the hugely popular Alex Cross series has interviewed those closest to Hernandez to get the full, winding story on the NFL star turned murderer. * Sun *Patterson unravels Hernandez’s complicated and troubling story. * CBS News *This disturbing true-crime thriller is another fast and captivating Patterson read. * USA Today *

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Book SynopsisOver almost a century, the NFL has provided fans with hundreds of unique personalities, countless unforgettable moments and some of the greatest feats of sporting brilliance ever seen. From its humble beginnings in the American Midwest to the global phenomenon it has become today, the league has evolved and changed almost beyond recognition. But the exploits of the footballing heroes of years past continue to stand the test of time In NFL - Legends we've collected stories on dozens of the league's most celebrated players. With expert commentary and lavish photography, you'll explore and rediscover the attributes that made these players, coaches and teams iconic, as well as the moments that propelled them to greatness. From early innovators like Don Hutson and Jim Brown, to modern giants such as Tom Brady, there's something for every NFL fan here. Over 50 Iconic Players Unforgettable Games Legendary Coaches

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Book SynopsisFatigued by bloated big-game football and bored of samey big cities, Daniel Gray went in search of small town Scotland and its teams. At the time when the Scottish club game is drifting towards its lowest ebb once more, Stramash singularly fails to wring its hands and address the state of the game, preferring instead to focus on Bobby Mann's waistline. Part travelogue, part history and part mistakenly spilling ketchup on the face of a small child, Stramash takes an uplifting look at the country's nether regions. Using the excuse of a match to visit places from Dumfries to Dingwall, Gray surveys Scotland's towns and teams in their present state. Stramash accomplishes the feats of visiting Dumfries without mentioning Robert Burns, being positive about Cumbernauld and linking Elgin City to Lenin. It is a fond look at Scotland as you've never seen it before.Trade ReviewThere have been previous attempts by authors to explore the off-the-beaten paths of the Scottish football landscape, but Daniel Gray's volume is in another league. - THE SCOTSMAN Truly splendid' - ARTHUR MONTFORD An excellent book about the country's smaller teams - [Stramash] captures the vague romance that still clings to these smaller Scottish clubs. It will make a must-read for every non-Old Firm football fan - and for many Rangers and Celtic supporters too. - DAILY RECORD As he takes in a match at each stopping-off point, Gray presents little portraits of small Scottish towns, relating histories of declining industry, radical politics and the connection between a team and its community. It's a brilliant way to rediscover Scotland. - THE HERALD A great read, because Gray doesn't write about just football, he uses football as an excuse to explore the histories of small towns in Scotland. - THE SKINNY Why do the Gers and Hoops have retail outlets in the capital? Why do buses depart for Glasgow on a Saturday morning from every corner of Scotland? Gray's book is a splendid attempt to answer these questions, and more besides - The result is sociology at its best, which is to say eminently readable - Stramash may turn out to be a memoir of the way we were, and an epitaph. - SUNDAY HERALD I defy anyone to read Stramash and not fall in love with Scottish football's blessed eccentricities all over again - Funny enough to bring on involuntary laugh out loud moments. - THE SCOTTISH FOOTBALL BLOG

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Book SynopsisIn 2007, at the age of thirty-four, Mike Tomlin was hired as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Replacing Hall of Famer Bill Cowher—and two years removed from the team’s Super Bowl XL victory—there was immense pressure on the first-year head coach, who many fans and those in the media were largely unfamiliar with. After five seasons as an assistant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a single season as the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, the hiring came as a surprise to many. From his first day at the helm, numerous questions began to be asked: Was this young coach able to lead a veteran team that still had championship hopes? Could the newly hired, soft-spoken coach be able to fill the shoes of the great Cowher, known for being brash and outspoken? Was his hiring based solely on the “Rooney Rule”—named after Steelers owner Dan Rooney—which states that every team must interview at least one minority candidate for their open head coaching position? Not only did Tomlin rise above the questions and criticism about his credentials, he continued the franchise’s reputation of excellence. The youngest coach to win a Super Bowl in only his second season at the helm, Tomlin has yet to have a losing record in sixteen seasons with the team. He is also the second-most tenured head coach in the league, only behind Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots. But the question still unanswered is, who is Mike Tomlin? Known for giving little to the media and keeping his thoughts and opinions private, those outside the locker room and Steelers offices know little about the future Hall of Fame coach. Even as one of the most successful African American head coaches in NFL history, and one that has handled numerous locker room “personalities” over the years, much of what is written and reported about the coach is only above the surface. That’s where John Harris comes in. A veteran journalist who covered Tomlin’s hiring for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Harris works to pull back the curtain on the mystique behind this “coaching unicorn.” Beginning with his days as a wide receiver at William & Mary, his several years in the college coaching ranks, to getting hired by Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy with the Buccaneers and his single season with the Vikings, Tomlin shares how a young man from Hampton, Virginia, was able to establish himself as a leader of men in a business with so much turnover, earned the respect from his peers and players, and has continued to be someone that is looked up to by so many in the league. With interviews from former players, coaches, and executives, Harris lets readers in on what it’s like to play for Tomlin, why he is (or is not) beloved in Pittsburgh, and how his continued success has helped change the landscape of what NFL franchises look for in hiring a head coach. All from a man that chooses to give all the success to his players and coaches—past and present—than take it for himself: exactly what every franchise hopes for from the leader of their team.

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Book SynopsisIn the 1980s, Neil Hornsby was one of very few National Football League fans in England. Never one to do anything casually, he began keeping hand-written score sheets of every game using his own tracking system. Soon he'd enlisted some fellow British super fans in his mission to take football information an extra layer deeper. This was the beginning of Pro Football Focus, an analytics company that now supplies data to all 32 NFL teams and every major broadcasting corporation. PFF player grades appear on the screen during Sunday Night Football broadcasts, and PFF's pioneering research and analysis informs discussions at the highest level, from coaching to drafting to game-planning and player evaluation. In Football is a Numbers Game, Matthew Coller chronicles this improbable start-up tale with unprecedented access, exploring the company's origin as a band of obsessive outsiders, its pivotal acquisition by Cris Collinsworth, and its role in the proliferation of data in the NFL and professional sports. Featuring a cast of memorable characters, this is a portrait of an unlikely business success as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the forces guiding modern NFL teams as they search for a competitive edge.

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Book SynopsisOn 4 July, 2018, a sporting era seemed to pass as Hawthorn champion Cyril Rioli announced his retirement from AFL football, two weeks shy of his 29th birthday. Once the shock had subsided, the football world paused and applauded a one-of-a-kind player whose brilliance transcended club allegiances and old rivalries. Paying tribute to his star pupil, Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson summed it up best: His ability to influence a contest with a minimal amount of disposals is like no player I have ever seen and thats why the whole footy world loves watching him play. A pure footballer whose speed and skill delighted even hardened cynics, Cyril was one of the most decorated stars of League football, winning four Premierships and three All-Australian guernseys in 189 games as a key contributor to Hawthorns golden run under Clarkson. In 2015 Cyril followed in the footsteps of his uncles Maurice Rioli and Michael Long, claiming the Norm Smith Medal with a scintillating display as the Hawks secured that remarkable hat-trick of Premierships. On Grand Final day, no player struck fear into opposition hearts as did Cyril Rioli. From Cyrils first thrilling days as a fresh-faced rookie in Hawthorns 2008 Premiership season, AFL Media photographer Michael Willson has been right on the spot, documenting the unpredictable genius of a football superstar in the compelling images in CYRIL: Celebrating a Hawthorn Champion. Emerging from Willsons stunning photographs is a unique and intimate portrait of a football star -- not just showcasing the spectacular marks, freakish goals and thrilling tackles, but taking fans inside Hawthorns inner sanctum and letting us see the private Cyril. A must for Hawthorn fans and lovers of the Australian game, CYRIL is a beautiful keepsake in honour of an irreplaceable player.

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Book SynopsisThe incredible true story of a a football team in the United States made up of refugee children.Trade Review‘Remarkable … Like all good books about sport, this is about much more than sport …This is a marvellous story, all the more moving for being written straight by a talented reporter.’ Mike Atherton, The Times ‘“Outcasts United” succeeds so emphatically because, just as the Fugees are so much more than a football team, this is much more than a sports book … a dense and unjudgmental portrait of America in the 21st century (and a vital primer to African and colonial history in the last one).’ Tim Lewis, Observer ‘Mufleh – a heady mixture of Brian Clough, Alex Ferguson and Martin Luther King – has wrought an astonishing transformation in the boys and their families, becoming not just a coach but a surrogate parent and stand-in social worker. St John’s expertly told account has been described as “heartwarming”, as if Mufleh has solved all the problems of multiculturalism at a stroke. Not yet, she hasn’t, but she has proved the truth of another football cliché: sometimes it is, indeed, more than just another game.’ Chris Maume, Independent

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Book SynopsisBill Belichick is one of the titans of today’s game of football. Now, sports commentator and bestselling author Michael Holley follows three NFL teams—the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and Atlanta Falcons—from training camp 2010 through the Super Bowl and into the April draft, opening a new window into Belichick’s influence on the game. This one-of-a-kind exploration takes football fans behind the scenes of the most popular sport in America, with unprecedented insider access to the head coaches, scouts, trainers, and players who make the game what it is—including new insights from Bill Parcells, Todd and Dick Haley, and Belichick himself. For true fans of the game, and for readers of Badasses, Patriot Reign, and Boys Will Be Boys, Holley’s War Room is not to be missed.

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Book SynopsisFrom fighting for his life to pursuing a career in the NFL, ACC Player of the Year and star Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner has lived a story offering wisdom and advice for anyone who has faced adversity.During his first two years at the University of Pittsburgh, running back James Conner became one of the Panthers’ biggest stars, breaking records and winning the adoration of fans. Then, in the first game of his junior year, disaster struck in the form of a torn MCL. During rehab, James’s health continued to inexplicably deteriorate until a chest X-ray and biopsy confirmed the unthinkable: a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Suddenly, it wasn’t just the dream of an NFL career that was in jeopardy; it was James’s life. Yet when he shared the news of his diagnosis publicly, James rallied family, friends, and fans, with his message of hope and courage: “

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Babb takes us to a place most of us would never go, telling us a story we’d never know. This book is so important.” — PETER KING, NBC Sports "A penetrating, wide-screen story of what it means to mentor under the toughest of circumstances." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “This spectacular book carefully fuses voice and tone to transport the reader into a world few can imagine and transforms the tales of disparate individuals into a narrative that is both touching and tragic.” — DeMAURICE SMITH, executive director, NFL Players Association “ Masterful . . . an equal parts heartbreaking and life-affirming look at a city, a school, and a football team whose players and coaches spend as much time fighting for survival as they do grid triumph.” — JEFF PEARLMAN, New York Times bestselling author of Three-Ring Circus "This is the story the country needs to read--raw, expertly told, stripped of political agendas and preconceived notions. This is not a story about football, but about what football can mean." — MICHAEL ROSENBERG, senior writer, Sports Illustrated "A moving and evocative portrait of football and life" — Publishers Weekly "I've always thought the best books are those that combine great reporting and great writing. That's exactly what Kent Babb's Across The River does. It combines deeply detailed inside reporting with a wonderfully told story." — JONATHAN FEINSTEIN, New York Times Bestselling author of A Good Walk Spoiled “At the Karr High School introduced to us by Kent Babb there is the expression, ‘Give Em The Real.' This book is ‘the real.' It’s as real as birth and death and all the heartache in between. Through Babb’s eyes, the story of Karr football is so much more than a sports book. This is the other America that too many people don’t know - or care to know – exists.” — DAVE ZIRIN, sports editor, The Nation "a literary masterpiece. Lyrically written and deeply reported, Across the River reads like a gripping, can’t-put-it-down novel.” — LARS ANDERSON, New York Times bestselling author of The Mannings and Chasing the Bear “This is an essential American read and an intimate look into the soul of New Orleans.” — WRIGHT THOMPSON, ESPN senior writer and author of Pappyland “There is no better storyteller in the country than Kent Babb. Period. I’ve never learned more about the fabric of one of America’s greatest cities than I did in this book.” — IAN RAPOPORT, NFL Network Insider “In Across the River Kent Babb keeps it real as he deftly and eloquently negotiates the sidewalks, the sidelines, and the streets of New Orleans.” — GLENN STOUT, editor, The Year’s Best Sports Writing

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Book SynopsisOn the west bank of the Mississippi lies the New Orleans neighborhood of Algiers. Short on hope but big on dreams, its mostly poor and marginalized residents find joy on Friday nights when the Cougars of Edna Karr High School take the field. For years, this football program has brought glory to Algiers, winning three consecutive state championships and sending dozens of young men to college on football scholarships. Although he is preparing for a fourth title, head coach Brice Brown is focused on something else: keeping his players alive. An epidemic of gun violence plagues New Orleans and its surrounding communities and has claimed many innocent lives, including Brown’s former star quarterback, Tollette “Tonka” George, shot near a local gas station. In Across the River, award-winning sports journalist Kent Babb follows the Karr football team through its 2019 season as Brown and his team—perhaps the scrappiest and most rebellious group in the program’s history—vie to again succeed on and off the field. What is sure to be a classic work of sports journalism, Across the River is a necessary investigation into the serious realities of young athletes in struggling neighborhoods: gentrification, eviction, mental health issues, the drug trade, and gun violence. It offers a rich and unflinching portrait of a coach, his players, and the West Bank, a community where it’s difficult—but not impossible—to rise above the chaos, discover purpose, and find a way out.Trade Review“Babb takes us to a place most of us would never go, telling us a story we’d never know. This book is so important.” — PETER KING, NBC Sports "A penetrating, wide-screen story of what it means to mentor under the toughest of circumstances." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “This spectacular book carefully fuses voice and tone to transport the reader into a world few can imagine and transforms the tales of disparate individuals into a narrative that is both touching and tragic.” — DeMAURICE SMITH, executive director, NFL Players Association “ Masterful . . . an equal parts heartbreaking and life-affirming look at a city, a school, and a football team whose players and coaches spend as much time fighting for survival as they do grid triumph.” — JEFF PEARLMAN, New York Times bestselling author of Three-Ring Circus "This is the story the country needs to read--raw, expertly told, stripped of political agendas and preconceived notions. This is not a story about football, but about what football can mean." — MICHAEL ROSENBERG, senior writer, Sports Illustrated "A moving and evocative portrait of football and life" — Publishers Weekly "I've always thought the best books are those that combine great reporting and great writing. That's exactly what Kent Babb's Across The River does. It combines deeply detailed inside reporting with a wonderfully told story." — JONATHAN FEINSTEIN, New York Times Bestselling author of A Good Walk Spoiled “At the Karr High School introduced to us by Kent Babb there is the expression, ‘Give Em The Real.' This book is ‘the real.' It’s as real as birth and death and all the heartache in between. Through Babb’s eyes, the story of Karr football is so much more than a sports book. This is the other America that too many people don’t know - or care to know – exists.” — DAVE ZIRIN, sports editor, The Nation "a literary masterpiece. Lyrically written and deeply reported, Across the River reads like a gripping, can’t-put-it-down novel.” — LARS ANDERSON, New York Times bestselling author of The Mannings and Chasing the Bear “This is an essential American read and an intimate look into the soul of New Orleans.” — WRIGHT THOMPSON, ESPN senior writer and author of Pappyland “There is no better storyteller in the country than Kent Babb. Period. I’ve never learned more about the fabric of one of America’s greatest cities than I did in this book.” — IAN RAPOPORT, NFL Network Insider “In Across the River Kent Babb keeps it real as he deftly and eloquently negotiates the sidewalks, the sidelines, and the streets of New Orleans.” — GLENN STOUT, editor, The Year’s Best Sports Writing

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Book SynopsisIn the state of Texas American football is a religion. And nowhere is more fanatical about its football than the small town of Odessa. There, every Friday night from September to November, a bunch of seventeen-year-old kids play their hearts out for the honour of their high school. In front of 20,000 people. In 1988 H.G. Bissinger spent a season in Odessa discovering just what makes a town pin its hopes on eleven boys on a football field. He lived with the students, coaches and townspeople who dedicate their lives to their team, sharing their joys and triumphs, their pains, injuries and bitter disappointments. He returned with a compassionate but hard-eyed story of a town riven by money, race and class, where a high school can spend more on medical supplies for its athletic program than on its English department. Friday Night Lights is one of the best books about sport ever written. It is the story of how dreams and reality collide, at once glorious and immensTrade ReviewSuperb and disturbing - More than a sports book, it's a search for the America of ordinary people. * Newsday *A remarkable book, fascinating from start to finish, full of surprises. * David Halberstam *Friday Night Lights offers a biting indictment of the sports craziness that grips ... most of American society, while at the same time providing a moving evocation of its powerful allure. * New York Times Book Review *Just about everything you could ask for in a sports book * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisNFL Films changed the way Americans view football. This book traces the subsidiary's development from a small independent film production company to the marketing machine that Sports Illustrated named "perhaps the most effective propaganda organ in the history of corporate America."Trade Review"Vogan is able to conclude that by NFL Films' "manufacturing pro football's significance" the average fan was "taught" how to watch football, eventually leading to the replacement of baseball as "America's Pastime" with NFL football as "America's Game."--Journalism History"Keepers of the Flame is the definitive study of major-league media subsidiaries in the United States. It merits wide readership by historians of sports, media, and journalism."--Sport History Review"A readable and interesting book with a lot of descriptive history. Recommended."--Choice"Keepers of the Flame is an insightful and deeply-researched interrogation of the cultural, economic, and institutional forces that allowed a small production company to become regarded as 'perhaps the most effective propaganda organ in the history of corporate America.'"--Sport in American History"Keepers of the Flame is an impressive book that advances the historical body of knowledge concerning sports media. Vogan writes clearly, with a highly accessible style. . . . highly recommended."--Journal of Sports Management"NFL Films changed the way we thought not just about football, but, in many ways, about film. We televise sports in countless ways, from IMAX cameras to our iPhones, and no one does it as well as them. Travis Vogan captures why NFL Films is important and tells a vivid, smart tale of how they've survived, and thrived."--- Will Leitch, author of Are We Winning? and God Save The Fan, senior editor Sports On Earth, founder Deadspin"A well-conceived, persuasively argued, and consistently illuminating account of the most important and influential producer of sports films. Keepers of the Flame: NFL Films and the Rise of Sports Media is exactly the book we need to understand the significance of NFL Films over its roughly fifty-year history. Vogan's discussions of its archives and of the relationship between art and commerce are particularly original, enlightening, and provocative."--Michael Oriard, author of Brand NFL: Making and Selling America's Favorite Sport"Keepers of the Flame represents a significant, original contribution to the field of sports and media studies. Vogan's history and analysis of NFL Films and its cultural significance makes expert use of a variety of voices, from scholars to professional memoirs, popular press sources, interviews with NFL Films executives, and close analysis of films and programs."--Victoria Johnson, author of Heartland TV: Prime Time Television and the Struggle for U.S. Identity

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Tamte has produced a well-researched account of Walter Camp's wide-ranging life and careers that particularly included his actively working on the early development of the game of American football, and his many years at Yale. This is an easy to read and valuable look at one of sport's amazing pioneers."--Raymond Schmidt, College Football Historical Society"Embedded in this biography is a fantastic narrative history of how and why football exploded in popularity on college campuses and in American popular culture. Superbly researched and well written, this book will appeal to sports enthusiasts and scholars alike. Highly recommended." --Choice "Tamte skillfully weaves myriad details of two interconnected stories. . . . A definitive study." --Journal of American Culture"Author Roger R. Tamte put together a well-researched book about the life of Walter Camp."--Knup Sports"Author Roger R. Tamte put together a well-researched book about the life of Walter Camp."--Knup Sports"In Roger R. Tamte's expansive review of Camp's life and contributions, a reader gleans insight into Camp's formative years up through his death." --Journal of Sport History"This is a painstakingly researched and wonderfully written book on the most important individual in the development of American football, Walter Camp."--Ronald A. Smith, author of Pay for Play: A History of Big-Time College Athletic Reform

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A superb cultural history."--Publisher's Weekly"Jesse Berrett's Pigskin Nation is an insightful account of how professional football intersected with politics between 1966 and 1974, and how the sport "became both a metaphor for American achievement and an effective means of reaching voters."" --Journal of American History"The book is extensively researched throughout, and Berrett includes copious notes, which will prove helpful for sports historians and general readers alike. Recommended." --Choice"Accessible, well-researched, and insightful, Pigskin Nation is a compelling book." --Journal of Sport History"Pigskin Nation makes an important contribution and should find a welcome home in sport history courses and among general readers interested in how pro football became a commonplace part of political culture." --Sport History Review"Pigskin Nation: How the NFL Remade American Politics offers much to chroniclers of the relationship between popular culture and politics. . . . In its all-encompassing depiction of the decades-long relationship between American football and American politics that can, in turn, provide a more productive way to consider the political realities and ramifications of football in the twenty-first century." --Journal of American Culture"The current collision of football and politics boils out of a half-century of violence, skullduggery, idealism, and greed brilliantly exposed in this fascinating and fast-paced scrimmage of a book."--Robert Lipsyte, author of SportsWorld: An American Dreamland"With an acute eye for detail, especially notable in the brilliant analysis of NFL films, Jesse Berrett shows how pro football and Richard Nixon's America arose coterminously and in reinforcing ways. One of the best books I have read on the politics and culture of sports in the modern United States. This terrific study shows how football both reflected and transformed American politics and culture during the long 1960s."--Larry Glickman, author of Buying Power: A History of Consumer Activism in America "This is a terrific book—smart, lively, and deeply researched, full of surprises to delight the casual fan and the seasoned historian alike. If you want to know how a not-quite-respectable sport of the 1950s within two decades became 'America's Game,' not just the country’s most popular sport but also the one most entangled in partisan politics and competing visions of American life, this book is for you."--Michael Oriard, author of Brand NFL: Making and Selling America's Favorite Sport "For this devotee of Sam Huff's New York Giants and Dave Meggyesy's Syracuse Orangemen, Jesse Berrett's fascinating book is an absolute pleasure to read. Moving with the tempo of a two-minute drill, the narrative will inform both gridiron fans and political scholars alike. How many knew, for instance, that during the Vietnam War that the best way to avoid fighting the NLF was to play in the NFL? Masterfully researched, brimming with well-mined quotes, and leavened with astute analysis, the book makes the difficult job of good writing appear effortless. Anybody wanting to know how football got so big, and politics got so mean, needs to pick up Pigskin Nation."--Thomas M. Grace, author of Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"An entertaining tale of two cities with big league dreams and ambitions. Balancing civic identity and cohesion against unsustainable expenses and diverted funds is a circle most American cities have failed to square. While there are no 'solutions' to these challenges, Ehrlich analyzes the responses of Oakland and Kansas City in a balanced and informed way, offering lessons for other cities--and there are many of them--in similar positions."--Jerald Podair, author of City of Dreams: Dodger Stadium and the Birth of Modern Los Angeles"What a wonderful book for the sports fan or urban historian! Kansas City and Oakland were two second-class cities struggling for respect. This book tells the story of the competition between their big-league teams. Both baseball and football had exciting and high-profile rivalries, with expansion, free agency, the building of new stadiums, and strikes claiming attention in each town. The author also integrates the sports history with the dramas of the long 1960s--civil rights confrontations, labor troubles, cultural clashes over Vietnam, and urban problems. This is a great and informative read."--Bruce Kuklick, author of To Every Thing a Season: Shibe Park and Urban Philadelphia, 1909–1976

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Book SynopsisCollege football's collected "tales of the tape".

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Book SynopsisNFL Films changed the way Americans view football. This book traces the subsidiary's development from a small independent film production company to the marketing machine that Sports Illustrated named "perhaps the most effective propaganda organ in the history of corporate America."Trade Review"Vogan is able to conclude that by NFL Films' "manufacturing pro football's significance" the average fan was "taught" how to watch football, eventually leading to the replacement of baseball as "America's Pastime" with NFL football as "America's Game."--Journalism History"Keepers of the Flame is the definitive study of major-league media subsidiaries in the United States. It merits wide readership by historians of sports, media, and journalism."--Sport History Review"A readable and interesting book with a lot of descriptive history. Recommended."--Choice"Keepers of the Flame is an insightful and deeply-researched interrogation of the cultural, economic, and institutional forces that allowed a small production company to become regarded as 'perhaps the most effective propaganda organ in the history of corporate America.'"--Sport in American History"Keepers of the Flame is an impressive book that advances the historical body of knowledge concerning sports media. Vogan writes clearly, with a highly accessible style. . . . highly recommended."--Journal of Sports Management"NFL Films changed the way we thought not just about football, but, in many ways, about film. We televise sports in countless ways, from IMAX cameras to our iPhones, and no one does it as well as them. Travis Vogan captures why NFL Films is important and tells a vivid, smart tale of how they've survived, and thrived."--- Will Leitch, author of Are We Winning? and God Save The Fan, senior editor Sports On Earth, founder Deadspin"A well-conceived, persuasively argued, and consistently illuminating account of the most important and influential producer of sports films. Keepers of the Flame: NFL Films and the Rise of Sports Media is exactly the book we need to understand the significance of NFL Films over its roughly fifty-year history. Vogan's discussions of its archives and of the relationship between art and commerce are particularly original, enlightening, and provocative."--Michael Oriard, author of Brand NFL: Making and Selling America's Favorite Sport"Keepers of the Flame represents a significant, original contribution to the field of sports and media studies. Vogan's history and analysis of NFL Films and its cultural significance makes expert use of a variety of voices, from scholars to professional memoirs, popular press sources, interviews with NFL Films executives, and close analysis of films and programs."--Victoria Johnson, author of Heartland TV: Prime Time Television and the Struggle for U.S. Identity

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Book SynopsisCast as the ultimate hardhats, football players of the 1960s seemed to personify a crewcut traditional manhood that channeled the Puritan work ethic. Yet, despite a social upheaval against such virtues, the National Football League won over all of Americaand became a cultural force that recast politics in its own smashmouth image. Jesse Berrett explores pro football''s new place in the zeitgeist of the 1960s and 1970s. The NFL''s brilliant harnessing of the sports-media complex, combined with a nimble curation of its official line, brought different visions of the same game to both Main Street and the ivory tower. Politicians, meanwhile, spouted gridiron jargon as their handlers co-opted the NFL''s gift for spectacle and mythmaking to shape a potent new politics that in essence became pro football. Governing, entertainment, news, elections, celebrity--all put aside old loyalties to pursue the mass audience captured by the NFL''s alchemy of presentation, television, and high-steppiTrade Review"A superb cultural history."--Publisher's Weekly"Jesse Berrett's Pigskin Nation is an insightful account of how professional football intersected with politics between 1966 and 1974, and how the sport "became both a metaphor for American achievement and an effective means of reaching voters."" --Journal of American History"The book is extensively researched throughout, and Berrett includes copious notes, which will prove helpful for sports historians and general readers alike. Recommended." --Choice"Accessible, well-researched, and insightful, Pigskin Nation is a compelling book." --Journal of Sport History"Pigskin Nation makes an important contribution and should find a welcome home in sport history courses and among general readers interested in how pro football became a commonplace part of political culture." --Sport History Review"Pigskin Nation: How the NFL Remade American Politics offers much to chroniclers of the relationship between popular culture and politics. . . . In its all-encompassing depiction of the decades-long relationship between American football and American politics that can, in turn, provide a more productive way to consider the political realities and ramifications of football in the twenty-first century." --Journal of American Culture"The current collision of football and politics boils out of a half-century of violence, skullduggery, idealism, and greed brilliantly exposed in this fascinating and fast-paced scrimmage of a book."--Robert Lipsyte, author of SportsWorld: An American Dreamland"With an acute eye for detail, especially notable in the brilliant analysis of NFL films, Jesse Berrett shows how pro football and Richard Nixon's America arose coterminously and in reinforcing ways. One of the best books I have read on the politics and culture of sports in the modern United States. This terrific study shows how football both reflected and transformed American politics and culture during the long 1960s."--Larry Glickman, author of Buying Power: A History of Consumer Activism in America "This is a terrific book—smart, lively, and deeply researched, full of surprises to delight the casual fan and the seasoned historian alike. If you want to know how a not-quite-respectable sport of the 1950s within two decades became 'America's Game,' not just the country’s most popular sport but also the one most entangled in partisan politics and competing visions of American life, this book is for you."--Michael Oriard, author of Brand NFL: Making and Selling America's Favorite Sport "For this devotee of Sam Huff's New York Giants and Dave Meggyesy's Syracuse Orangemen, Jesse Berrett's fascinating book is an absolute pleasure to read. Moving with the tempo of a two-minute drill, the narrative will inform both gridiron fans and political scholars alike. How many knew, for instance, that during the Vietnam War that the best way to avoid fighting the NLF was to play in the NFL? Masterfully researched, brimming with well-mined quotes, and leavened with astute analysis, the book makes the difficult job of good writing appear effortless. Anybody wanting to know how football got so big, and politics got so mean, needs to pick up Pigskin Nation."--Thomas M. Grace, author of Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"An entertaining tale of two cities with big league dreams and ambitions. Balancing civic identity and cohesion against unsustainable expenses and diverted funds is a circle most American cities have failed to square. While there are no 'solutions' to these challenges, Ehrlich analyzes the responses of Oakland and Kansas City in a balanced and informed way, offering lessons for other cities--and there are many of them--in similar positions."--Jerald Podair, author of City of Dreams: Dodger Stadium and the Birth of Modern Los Angeles"What a wonderful book for the sports fan or urban historian! Kansas City and Oakland were two second-class cities struggling for respect. This book tells the story of the competition between their big-league teams. Both baseball and football had exciting and high-profile rivalries, with expansion, free agency, the building of new stadiums, and strikes claiming attention in each town. The author also integrates the sports history with the dramas of the long 1960s--civil rights confrontations, labor troubles, cultural clashes over Vietnam, and urban problems. This is a great and informative read."--Bruce Kuklick, author of To Every Thing a Season: Shibe Park and Urban Philadelphia, 1909–1976

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Book SynopsisThe life and times of the late, great Tony HinkleTrade ReviewA faithful and warm portrait of an exceptional coach. * Indiana Magazine of History *Table of ContentsFOREWORD BY BOB KNIGHTPREFACEACKNOWLEDGMENTS1. Finale with Overture2. Splinter Hall to Fairview3. Hoosier Roots and the Move North4. Undergraduate Days5. Launching of a Legend6. Coping, Courting, and Coaching7. Suspension, Reinstatement, and Promotion8. Early Football Years9. The Hinke System10. Home Life and Hoosier Hysteria11. Navy Years12. Bountiful Basketball and Buckshot13. Football's Destiny14. Pain and Disappointment15. Basketball's Lean and Plump Years16. Football and Fundamentals17. The Loss That Lingered18. Football Glory Years19. Basketball's Tourney Times20. The Late Seasons21. Last Teams and Farewell22. Transition and the New Life23. Tony in the NinetiesThe Hinkle StatisticsIndex

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Book SynopsisNotre Dame’s Happy Returns brings together the allure of Ireland and the Emerald Isle Classic football game between Notre Dame and Navy in this beautiful photobookTrade Review"The book offers an illustrated history of Dublin and an essay on Notre Dame's growing presence in Ireland . . . A third section chronicles American football in Ireland, culminating in the September 1 game against Navy. 'If you went to the game here's a memoir,' Ó Conchubhair says in describing the project. 'If you didn't go to the game, here's what you missed.'" —Notre Dame Magazine"Notre Dame's Happy Returns: Dublin, The Experience, The Game is much more than a look back at Notre Dame's 50-10 season opening victory against the Midshipmen across the Atlantic Ocean. Rather, it is a photographic archive of the city of Dublin and the fanfare leading up to the Emerald Isle Classic, as seen through the lens of Matt Cashore with a look at the culture and history of Dublin as told by . . . Brian Ó Conchubhair and . . . Susan Mullen Guibert. . . . Serving as a photographic tour book of sorts, the reader will have an opportunity to relive or visually experience the week leading up to the football game. . . . Lastly, there are some stunning and vivid action shots from the game." —examiner.com“Cashore selected nearly 200 of his favorite shots for this large-format book, capturing the sights, historic places and culture of Ireland.” —Today@ND“The book was a delight to read. . . . I’d recommend the book for the pictures alone. You’ll see dozens and dozens of beautiful large photographs of Dublin and once you’re finished it actually feels like you finished your own personal trip to Ireland.” —OneFootDown.com“A winning photographic essay, a travel book, a sports guide. It is all about what makes Ireland special for fans of the Fighting Irish and contains an exploration of the intro of American football in Ireland and the role of Notre Dame enhancing the sport’s existence there.” —Epoch Times“Recounts the Fighting Irish’s springboard to the BCS National Championship Game, a Sept. 1 whooping of Navy in the Emerald Isle Classic in Ireland.” —ESPN The Magazine“A travel guide, a sports book, and a lush photographic essay all in one, Notre Dame’s Happy Returns is a must have for anyone who attended the Notre Dame-Navy game in Aviva Stadium in Ireland as well as for all Notre Dame football fans. Matt Cashore’s photographs capture the sights, historic places, and cultural riches that make Ireland special for fans of the fighting Irish.” —Irishamericannews.com“A winning photographic essay, a travel book, a sports guide. It is all about what makes Ireland special for fans of the Fighting Irish and contains an exploration of the intro of American football in Ireland and the role of Notre Dame enhancing the sport’s existence there.” —baseballguru.com“A book of photography focusing on the University of Notre Dame and its strong connections to its Irish Homeland from the historical Indiana university. Collecting photographs from the university, focusing on Ireland and the strong connection that is between Ireland and America through the university, capturing landmarks, landscapes, people, and many other topics. Full color and glossy, any fan of the Fighting Irish will do well with ‘Notre Dame’s Happy Returns’ as a choice coffee book photography selection, highly recommended.” —The Midwest Book Review“The result is a book that captures the pageantry that surrounded the game that went by the name of the Emerald Isle Classic. ‘Notre Dame’s Happy Returns’ features game photographs as well as pictures of the kind of events leading up to the game that will remind longtime fans of the kind of activities that take place prior to any home game.” —South Bend Tribune

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Book SynopsisFinalist for the 2022 Washington State Book Award for General Nonfiction, sponsored by The Washington Center for the Book and the Seattle Public LibraryThe inside story of one of the most electrifying college football teams of all timeIn 1984 the University of Washington Huskies won every game but one, ranking second in national polls. For most coaches, such a season would be a career pinnacle. But for Don James second place motivated him to set aside what he knew about football and rethink the game. James made radical changes to his coaching philosophy, from recruitment to becoming one of the first college teams willing to blitz on any down and in any situation. His new approach initially failed, yet it finally culminated in one of the most explosive teams in college football history. In Fear No Man, Mike Gastineau recounts the riveting story of Don James and the national championship team he built. Undefeated, the 1991 Huskies outscored opponents by an average of 31 points per gameTrade Review"[A] chronicle long overdue about the University of Washington's 1991 football national championship run, delivered to us on the 30th anniversary of one of the city's most glorious sporting triumphs." * Sports Illustrated *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A] chronicle long overdue about the University of Washington's 1991 football national championship run, delivered to us on the 30th anniversary of one of the city's most glorious sporting triumphs." * Sports Illustrated *

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Book SynopsisLegendary chairman of the five-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, Dan Rooney, tells his life story for the first time. From growing up on Pittsburgh's notorious North Side, to vying with Johnny Unitas for top high school quarterback honors in Western Pennsylvania, from learning how to run a major sports franchise from his father, Art Rooney (“the Chief”), to helping shape the modern NFL, Rooney serves up a fascinating account of personal and professional achievement.He also discusses his relationships with players, coaches, NFL commissioners, his beloved family, and the devoted fans known as “Steelers Nation.” Whether advocating hiring more minority head coaches through creation of the Rooney Rule or helping pave the way for the merger of the AFL and NFL, Rooney reveals the dynamics that have made him such a respected force in pro football. Trade ReviewBlogcritics.org, 2/27/09 "A must for all Steeler fans."

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Book SynopsisIn a town deep in the Florida Everglades, where high school football is the only escape, a haunted quarterback, a returning hero, and a scholar struggle against terrible odds.The loamy black “muck” that surrounds Belle Glade, Florida once built an empire for Big Sugar and provided much of the nation's vegetables, often on the backs of roving, destitute migrants. Many of these were children who honed their skills along the field rows and started one of the most legendary football programs in America. Belle Glade’s high school team, the Glades Central Raiders, has sent an extraordinary number of players to the National Football League – 27 since 1985, with five of those drafted in the first round. The industry that gave rise to the town and its team also spawned the chronic poverty, teeming migrant ghettos, and violence that cripples futures before they can ever begin. Muck City tells the story of quarterback Mario Rowley, whose dream

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Book SynopsisIn the NFL there is only one certainty: that every day, someone will have to be the Next Man Up. Football is an unrelentingly punishing sport, played and practiced at undiminished intensity, and it devours its players. Confronting injuries, trades, and the grim reality of competition, every NFL team prepares constantly for the likelihood -- the certainty -- that even franchise players can go down at any time. And someone new must be ready, trained, and primed to step in at the highest level. Bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein persuaded one NFL team to lift the extraordinary secrecy that shrouds the sport and let him see how a team operates at the closest level. One team let him join every practice, every coaches'' meeting, every players'' gathering, every strategy debate. From the give-and-take of draft day, into the grinder of summer training camps, and from 100-degree practice games to the last game in frigid conditions, Feinstein reveals how a football team works -- or fails to work -- as no writer has done before. Next Man Up unveils rituals (what a coach tells a player at the moment he cuts him); rules (the inanities of league-appointed uniform Nazis); conflicts (the scouts vs. the coaches, the general managers vs. the agents, the offense vs. the defense, the special teams coaches vs. everybody); money (how much a journeyman makes, and how his life differs from the multi-million-dollar-a-year star players)-every nuance of a team''s life, from the owner''s goals to the coach''s day-to-day travails to the feeling of the sleet-soaked ball in the hands of a receiver on artificial turf. The access John Feinstein enjoyed allows him to discuss with equal understanding the owner''s management strategy, the coaches'' and coordinators'' plans for each new game, and how it all affects the players themselves. Anyone who loves football -- any team, in any era -- will savor the thousands of details revealed here for the first time, and the extraordinary drama that goes into following week after week, the most sensational sport in America.Trade Review'John Feinstein has become sportswriting's John Grisham' - David Kindred, Sporting News

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Book SynopsisIn the tradition of Phil Jackson's Eleven Rings and David Ross' Teammate, an inspiring memoir about how Doug Pederson coached his underdog Philadelphia Eagles to the most memorable Super Bowl win in recent memory.

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Book SynopsisThe inside story of the most colorful decade in NFL history—pro football’s raging, hormonal, hairy, druggy, immortal adolescence.Trade Review"A head-slap of a book. Whap, yeah, that’s how it was." -- Roy Blount, Jr., author of About Three Bricks Shy of a Load and Alphabet Juice"Wired, crazy, hard-hitting, a pure winner." -- Jeff Pearlman, author of Boys Will Be Boys and Sweetness"About as subtle as a kick in the head." -- Scott Simon, NPR"Featuring arguably the greatest collection of weirdos, maniacs, misfits, heroes and villains ever gathered under any dome other than the U.S. Capitol." -- Greg Schneider - Washington Post"Kevin Cook celebrates the rough-edged heroes of the 1970s NFL, vividly re-creating some of the game’s unforgettable moments." -- Jonathan Mahler, author of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning

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