The NFL's Pivotal Years

The NFL's Pivotal Years PDF Author: Brad Schultz
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476684391
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
Recent years have been among the most challenging in NFL history, culminating in the 2020-21 coronavirus and social justice issues. Yet a complete understanding of where the NFL is today begins with a five-year period that was the most transformative for the league. From 1957 to 1962, the NFL saw: the advent of unionization, with a landmark Supreme Court decision; the legendary 1958 title game, the first to go into sudden death overtime; a challenge from the American Football League that would have important consequences for decades; the introduction of computerization and statistical analysis; the first steps towards globalization; and the hiring of legends Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry, who both contributed to the league's growing mythology. This book describes in detail the key events that helped shape the modern NFL, and why this period was so momentous to the league and its fans.

The NFL's Pivotal Years

The NFL's Pivotal Years PDF Author: Brad Schultz
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476684391
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 246

Get Book Here

Book Description
Recent years have been among the most challenging in NFL history, culminating in the 2020-21 coronavirus and social justice issues. Yet a complete understanding of where the NFL is today begins with a five-year period that was the most transformative for the league. From 1957 to 1962, the NFL saw: the advent of unionization, with a landmark Supreme Court decision; the legendary 1958 title game, the first to go into sudden death overtime; a challenge from the American Football League that would have important consequences for decades; the introduction of computerization and statistical analysis; the first steps towards globalization; and the hiring of legends Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry, who both contributed to the league's growing mythology. This book describes in detail the key events that helped shape the modern NFL, and why this period was so momentous to the league and its fans.

The NFL in the 1970s

The NFL in the 1970s PDF Author: Joe Zagorski
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786497904
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 445

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Book Description
The 1970 merger between the American Football League and the National Football League laid the foundation for a stronger brand of gridiron competition, providing a new level of excitement for fans. This book examines each year of the NFL's pivotal decade in detail, covering the great names, great rivalries and great games, as well as the key changes in both strategy and rules. Along the way, the author explains how pro football developed into a near-religious American tradition.

The NFL, Year One

The NFL, Year One PDF Author: Brad Schultz
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1612345026
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A landmark year in the history of the game

The NFL's Pivotal Years

The NFL's Pivotal Years PDF Author: Brad Schultz
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476642966
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 246

Get Book Here

Book Description
Recent years have been among the most challenging in NFL history, culminating in the 2020-21 coronavirus and social justice issues. Yet a complete understanding of where the NFL is today begins with a five-year period that was the most transformative for the league. From 1957 to 1962, the NFL saw: the advent of unionization, with a landmark Supreme Court decision; the legendary 1958 title game, the first to go into sudden death overtime; a challenge from the American Football League that would have important consequences for decades; the introduction of computerization and statistical analysis; the first steps towards globalization; and the hiring of legends Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry, who both contributed to the league's growing mythology. This book describes in detail the key events that helped shape the modern NFL, and why this period was so momentous to the league and its fans.

League of Denial

League of Denial PDF Author: Mark Fainaru-Wada
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0770437567
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 457

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Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “meticulously documented and endlessly chilling” (The New York Times) exploration of the NFL’s decades-long attempt to deny and cover up mounting evidence connecting football and brain damage. “A first-rate piece of reporting [that] adds crucial detail, texture, and news to the concussion story, which despite the NFL’s best efforts, isn’t going away.”—Time ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Boston Globe, NPR “Professional football players do not sustain frequent repetitive blows to the brain on a regular basis.” So concluded the National Football League in a December 2005 scientific paper on concussions in America’s most popular sport. That judgment, implausible even to a casual fan, also contradicted the opinion of a growing cadre of neuroscientists who worked in vain to convince the NFL that it was facing a deadly new scourge: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a chronic brain disease that was driving an alarming number of players—including some of the all-time greats—to madness. Everyone knows that football is violent and dangerous. But what the players who built the NFL into a $10 billion industry didn’t know—and what the league sought to shield from them—is that no amount of padding could protect the human brain from the force generated by modern football. In League of Denial, award-winning ESPN investigative reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru expose the public health crisis that emerged from the playing fields and examine how the league used its power and resources to attack independent scientists and elevate its own flawed research—a campaign with echoes of Big Tobacco’s fight to deny the connection between smoking and lung cancer. They chronicle the tragic fates of players like Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster, who was so disturbed at the time of his death he fantasized about shooting NFL executives, and former San Diego Chargers great Junior Seau, whose diseased brain became the target of a scientific battle between researchers and the NFL. Based on exclusive interviews, previously undisclosed documents, and private e-mails, League of Denial is the story of what the NFL knew and when it knew it—questions at the heart of a crisis that threatens American football—and of the battle for the sport’s future.

NFL Century

NFL Century PDF Author: Joe Horrigan
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 1635653592
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book 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

Advancing the Ball

Advancing the Ball PDF Author: N. Jeremi Duru
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199792801
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Following the NFL's desegregation in 1946, opportunities became increasingly plentiful for African American players--but not African American coaches. Although Major League Baseball and the NBA made progress in this regard over the years, the NFL's head coaches were almost exclusively white up until the mid-1990s. Advancing the Ball chronicles the campaign of former Cleveland Browns offensive lineman John Wooten to right this wrong and undo decades of discriminatory head coach hiring practices--an initiative that finally bore fruit when he joined forces with attorneys Cyrus Mehri and Johnnie Cochran. Together with a few allies, the triumvirate galvanized the NFL's African American assistant coaches to stand together for equal opportunity and convinced the league to enact the "Rooney Rule," which stipulates that every team must interview at least one minority candidate when searching for a new head coach. In doing so, they spurred a movement that would substantially impact the NFL and, potentially, the nation. Featuring an impassioned foreword by Coach Tony Dungy, Advancing the Ball offers an eye-opening, first-hand look at how a few committed individuals initiated a sea change in America's most popular sport and added an extraordinary new chapter to the civil rights story.

THE HISTORY OF THE NFL

THE HISTORY OF THE NFL PDF Author: James Bren
Publisher: Gregory Groves
ISBN:
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
"The History of the NFL" by James Bren is a must-read for football fans and sports enthusiasts alike. This book chronicles the remarkable story of the National Football League, from its origins as a rag-tag collection of teams in the 1920s to the powerhouse that it is today. Bren's meticulous research and engaging writing style bring to life the iconic moments, players, and coaches that have shaped the league. From the dynasties of the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and San Francisco 49ers to the rise of modern-day superstars like Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, Bren covers it all. The book is organized chronologically, starting with the early days of the NFL and moving through each decade. Bren provides context for each era, discussing the social, political, and cultural events that influenced the league's development. He also delves into the game itself, analyzing the strategic innovations, rule changes, and technological advances that have made the NFL what it is today. Bren's attention to detail is impressive. He not only covers the major events in NFL history but also shines a light on lesser-known stories and forgotten heroes. From the first NFL draft in 1936 to the groundbreaking TV contracts of the 1960s, from the rise of Monday Night Football to the scandals that have rocked the league, Bren leaves no stone unturned. "The History of the NFL" is more than just a retelling of past events. It's a celebration of the game, its players, and its fans. Bren captures the passion and excitement that make football the most popular sport in America, and his book is sure to be a hit with anyone who loves the game.

Run to Glory and Profits

Run to Glory and Profits PDF Author: David George Surdam
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1496209702
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
The National Football League has long reigned as America's favorite professional sports league. In its early days, however, it was anything but a dominant sports industry, barely surviving World War II. Its rise began after the war, and the 1950s was a pivotal decade for the league. Run to Glory and Profits tells the economic story of how in one decade the NFL transformed from having a modest following in the Northeast to surpassing baseball as this country's most popular sport. To break from the margins of the sports landscape, pro football brought innovation, action, skill, and episodic suspense on "any given Sunday." These factors in turn drove attendance and rising revenues. Team owners were quick to embrace television as a new medium to put the league in front of a national audience. Based on primary documents, David George Surdam provides an economic analysis in telling the business story behind the NFL's rise to popularity. Did the league's vaunted competitive balance in the decade result from its more generous revenue sharing and its reverse-order draft? How did the league combat rival leagues, such as the All-America Football Conference and the American Football League? Although strife between owners and players developed quickly, pro-football fans stayed loyal because the product itself remained so good.

Brand NFL

Brand NFL PDF Author: Michael Oriard
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 0807899658
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 343

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Book Description
Professional football today is an $8 billion sports entertainment industry--and the most popular spectator sport in America, with designs on expansion across the globe. In this astute field-level view of the National Football League since 1960, Michael Oriard looks closely at the development of the sport and at the image of the NFL and its unique place in American life. New to the paperback edition is Oriard's analysis of the offseason labor negotiations and their potential effects on the future of the sport, and his account of how the NFL is dealing with the latest research on concussions and head injuries.