NFL Century
The One-Hundred-Year Rise of America's Greatest Sports League
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
From the former executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame comes a sweeping and lively history of the National Football League, timed to coincide with the NFL’s 100th anniversary season.
“I can think of no one better qualified—or more enthusiastic—to chronicle the National Football League’s century-long history than Joe Horrigan.”—Marv Levy, Hall of Fame NFL coach
The NFL has come a long way from its founding in Canton, Ohio, in 1920. In the hundred years since that fateful day, football has become America’s most popular and lucrative professional sport. The former scrappy upstart league that struggled to stay afloat 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—to produce 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, former 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. Compelling, eye-opening, and authoritative, NFL Century is a must-read for NFL fans and anyone who loves the game of football.
Advance praise for NFL Century
“Joe Horrigan takes the reader on a delightful tour of the seminal moments of the NFL in the past one hundred years—the players, owners, coaches, executives, and historical events that made the game of football the most popular in America. It’s a wonderful walk down memory lane for any football fan, young or old.”—Michael Lombardi, author of Gridiron Genius
“There is no one—and I mean no one—who knows more about the history of the NFL than Joe Horrigan, the heart and soul of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As the gold standard of sports leagues celebrates its one hundredth season, it’s appropriate that the gold standard of sports historians has written NFL Century, an entertaining and educational journey.”—Gary Myers, New York Times bestselling author of Brady vs Manning
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Horrigan, curator of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, delivers an expansive and celebratory history of the NFL. He takes readers from the rough and tumble origins of professional sports beginning in the 1890s, through the founding of the first football league in 1920, and on to current issues, including players' increasing salary demands and college eligibility, which determines when players can be considered for the NFL draft. Horrigan's work is expansive without being dry as he considers such sports notables as Red Grange, the "Galloping Ghost" who played halfback for the Chicago Bears in the 1930s, and Johnny Unitas and his historic Colts teams of the 1960s. He also delves with exacting detail into the controversies the league has faced, including how commissioner Pete Rozelle forced the Redskins to integrate in 1962 and how current commissioner Roger Goodell handled the New England Patriots "Spygate" saga of 2007, but Horrigan notably avoids current controversies involving concussions or players kneeling during the national anthem. Even so, sports fans will find plenty to sink their teeth into, as Horrigan provides detailed and lively depictions of stars and coaches from various teams, including Joe Namath and the Jets' legendary Super Bowl III triumph, the successes of the 1972 undefeated Dolphins, and the recent Patriots dynasty. This fast-paced history will thrill football fans of all allegiances.
