Joe Horrigan

From the executive director of the NFL Hall of Fame comes a sweeping and lively history of the NFL, timed to coincide with the NFL's 100th anniversary season. The NFL has come a long way from its founding in Canton, Ohio, in 1920. In the hundred years that have passed since that fateful day, the former scrappy upstart league that once struggled to stay afloat has become America's most popular and lucrative professional sport. Along the way, it has survived a host of challenges--the Great Depression and World War II, controversies and scandals, battles over labor rights and competition from rival leagues--even as it has produced American icons like Vince Lombardi, Joe Montana, and Tom Brady. It is an extraordinary and entertaining history that could be told only by Joe Horrigan, executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and perhaps the greatest living historian of the NFL. By drawing upon decades of NFL archives, Joe has written the definitive history of the NFL. Compelling, eye-opening, and authoritative, NFL Century is a must-read for NFL fans and anyone who loves the game of football.

Very little has been documented about the early days of pro football and the pioneers who had a major influence in the history of the NFL. Chris Willis, head of the Research Library at NFL Films, seeks to address this neglect. In this collection of original and archival interviews, former players, owners, fans, family members and league officials provide a rare glimpse into the origins of professional football. Full of rich anecdotes, early stars such as Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, Dutch Clark, Glenn Presnell, and Pete Henry are brought back to the playing field. The interviews also reveal how small towns in Ohio such as Canton, Akron, Columbus, and Dayton came to host franchises, as the state became a major force in the founding and growth of the NFL. Old Leather provides the reader with a firsthand look at a period that has largely been ignored. It recalls what the era of professional football was like in the age of leather helmets, no television, dirt fields, small salaries and when playing for the love of the game was its own reward. This book will appeal not only to historians, sportswriters, and scholars, but also to die-hard fans and general history buffs who can never get enough of America's favorite sport. Contains 17 photographs of players, owners, and teams.