Football History

Any number of writers could spend an entire season with an NFL team, from the first day of training camp until the last pick of the draft, and come up with an interesting book. But only Roy Blount Jr. could capture the pain, the joy, the fears, the humor - in short, the heart - of a championship team.

Football has a long and storied history. In this book, I cover how football originated in Europe, some of the popular European leagues, descriptions of a few of the most famous young, mid-career, and older players, as well as the historical context of club rivalries and individual player rivalries.

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are perhaps the two greatest quarterbacks of all time. They are living legends who have come to embody the quarterback position and shape an entire generation of the NFL. They have also been fierce rivals every step of the way, and their many epic duels have not only ranked among the best and most exciting games ever played; they have fundamentally shaped the lives and careers of both men.

From its early amateur days played in the Corinthian Spirit, Preston North End's "Invincibles" of 1888 and great players like Stanley Matthews and Pelé, to the Premier League glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, A History of Football is the story of the dominant teams, memorable occasions, and larger-than-life characters that shaped the game throughout its development. For all lovers of the beautiful game, this is an essential reference to its 150-year history.

The most popular college football team in the early 20th century belonged to an institution called the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Its story begins with Lt. Col. Richard Henry Pratt, a fierce abolitionist who believed that Native Americans deserved a place in American society. In 1879, Pratt made a treacherous journey to the Dakota Territory to recruit Carlisle's first students. Years later, three students approached Pratt with the notion of forming a football team.

The authors of the New York Times best seller 50 Years, 50 Moments celebrate the first 100 years of the National Football League, interweaving history, personal stories, memories, and observations of some of its greatest players, coaches, and advocates to chronicle football’s amazing evolution from a fledgling regional fly-by-night operation into a multi-billion global brand and one of America’s leading franchises.

University of Miami football is more than national championships, 30-game winning streaks, and being a pipeline to the NFL. It’s the Gator Flop, defeating Tulane on a fifth down, and playing three games in eight days. It’s converting third and 44 against Notre Dame, Michael Irvin talking smack with Florida State’s Deion Sanders, and Vinny Testaverde being sacked by hamburgers.

How Football Explains America is a fascinating, first-of-its-kind journey through the making of America's most complex, intriguing, and popular game. ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio explores just how crucial football is to understanding the American psyche. Paolantonio tackles varying American themes from Manifest Destiny to “fourth and one” as he goes deep in order to answer the age-old question: Why does America love football so much?

Against the backdrop of the call to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, the National Women’s Football League was founded as something of a gimmick. However, their star team, the Toledo Troopers, emerged to challenge traditional gender roles and amass a win-loss record never before or since achieved in American football. The players were housewives, factory workers, hairdressers, former nuns, high school teachers, bartenders, mail carriers, pilots, and would-be drill sergeants. Most of all, they were athletes who had been denied the opportunity to play a game they were born to play.

From their humble beginnings to iconic victories on the global stage, Goal by Goal: The Rise of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) charts the transformative journey of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT). Dive deep into the highs, lows, challenges, and successes of a team that not only revolutionized women's soccer but also pioneered change off the pitch. Discover the battles for equality, the evolution of their playing style, and the emergence of new stars carrying the legacy forward. This comprehensive account offers readers an inside look at the team's indomitable ...

It was the end of an era in professional football. After years of competing against each other, the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) merged to form one football powerhouse in 1970. After the merger, the league split into two conferences: the AFC and the NFC. In the year 1970, 13 teams would battle in each conference to meet in Super Bowl V. After a history of tough losses in big games, two teams rose to the top—the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Colts.

The inside story of the most colorful decade in NFL history - pro football's raging, hormonal, hairy, druggy, immortal adolescence. Between the Immaculate Reception in 1972 and The Catch in 1982, pro football grew up. In 1972, Steelers star Franco Harris hitchhiked to practice. NFL teams roomed in skanky motels. They played on guts, painkillers, legal steroids, fury, and camaraderie. A decade later, Joe Montana's gleamingly efficient 49ers ushered in a new era: the corporate, scripted, multibillion-dollar NFL we watch today.

Get ready to kick back, relax, and indulge in a laughter-filled journey through the world of soccer's funniest moments. In Kicks and Giggles: Interesting Stories from Soccer History, prepare to be entertained as we explore the lighter side of the beautiful game. From bizarre world records that defy logic to comical mishaps on the pitch, this book is a delightful collection of side-splitting stories and amusing anecdotes that will leave you in stitches. Discover the mischievous pranks played by players, uncover the peculiar traditions and superstitions of the sport, and relish in the ...

With breathtaking scope and unparalleled knowledge of the game, The Age of Football explores soccer's vital role in our social, political, and economic lives: its connections to social discord in the Middle East and political division in Europe; the reasons behind its surprising surge in popularity in China, India, and the United States; and its use (and misuse) in the global advance of equality and human rights. Goldblatt proves that whether you call it football or soccer, you can't make sense of the modern world without understanding its most popular sport.

Telling the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team's story in expert prose, Pride of a Nation is a lavish tribute to one of the most beloved teams in sports, revisiting their historic four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals, as well as unforgettable players across the generations, such as Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Briana Scurry, Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, Sophia Smith, Rose Lavelle, Catarina Macario, Mallory Pugh, and more.

In the spring of 1942, the United States government forced 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona and sent them to incarceration camps across the West. Nearly 14,000 of them landed on the outskirts of Cody, Wyoming, at the base of Heart Mountain. Behind barbed wire fences, they faced racism, cruelty, and frozen winters. Trying to recreate comforts from home, they established Buddhist temples and sumo wrestling pits. Kabuki performances drew hundreds of spectators — yet there was little hope.

In The World’s Biggest Cash Machine, informed by interviews with key figures behind the scenes, award-winning journalist and commentator Chris Blackhurst charts the gripping story of the world’s biggest football club - as well as exploring the wider transformation of the Premier League into a playground for billionaire owners.

Very few institutions in American sports can match the enduring excellence of the University of Alabama football program. Across a wide swath of the last century, the tradition-rich Crimson Tide has claimed twelve national championships, captured 25 conference titles, finished 34 times among the country's top ten, and played in 53 bowl games.

From the featurette that was published in RedNews186 comes a brief stand alone kindle edition - such was its popularity - of the history of those infamous set of Manchester United fans, 'The Cockney Reds'. Their history, one of its leaders interviewed, and Newcastle away in 1981 and Turin in 1984 remembered as particularly memorable trips. This contains adult content as a historical record of those times. February 2024 update to include 'Euston to Manchester. The trains' chapter and a tribute to Gurney. Red News is an unofficial, independent, satirical Manchester United supporters’ ...

MBS is the untold story of how one man fought his way to the summit of power in Saudi Arabia, the wealthiest country in the Middle East and a key ally of the United States. Even in his youth as an obscure prince among the vast Saudi royal family, Mohammed bin Salman nurtured sweeping ambitions to accumulate power and reshape his staunchly conservative kingdom and its interactions with the world.