Top 100 Pro Football Books of All-Time

[BD Sullivan]

In the 8/21/68 Dallas Morning News, Pugh was quoted as saying,"As for him (Kramer) being offside, I can't say. I was too busy concentrating on other things." Pugh also lamented the fact that he should have been lower on the play.

[Jay Z]

It helped that Kramer was the focal point of getting Bart Starr in the end zone--legally or illegally, depending on who is commenting. Had they failed to score and ended up losing, I suppose the book still would have been published, but it would have been long forgotten.

Was there ever anyone else that complained about Kramer being offsides/in motion?

Oh yes, Cowboy fans to this day say Kramer was in motion. I was only in the 7th grade at the time, and of course, there was no Internet or social media. But to tell you the truth, I don't recall Cowboy fans at the time complaining about Kramer possibly being offside. I wonder if current fans are retroactively "mis-remembering" based on Kramer's admissions long after the fact?

In Next Year's Champions by Steve Perkins, the author himself speculates that if the flat pass to Chuck Mercein had gone to the 10 yard line instead of the 11, the Packers couldn't have gotten a first down and would have had fewer chances. Of course, in that case doesn't Anderson's plunge that gets the first down get a touchdown instead?!?

[JWL]

Joe Zagorski's book "The NFL in the 1970s" has a good shot to make this list if Chris updates it someday.

[JWL]

Murray Olderman's 3 books are also top notch...I liked "The Defenders" the best because of the strategy sections.

I agree that one is good. I stumbled upon a copy at a baseball card shop the other day. I just wish it was in better condition.

[Throwin_Samoan]

Then there's Lee Grosscup's book Fourth and One,

I picked this up at a charity book sale last year and quite enjoyed it. It's a rare, unvarnished look at a journeyman's ups and downs over the course of a season.

Grosscup was neither a star nor a great writer, but the raw truth of the uncertainty of the game is compelling to read. Where else can you read a first-hand account of the early 1960s NFL AND the AFL? I recommend this.

This might not be in the top 100, but I had a copy as a kid and found one a couple years back: Football Coaching by John McKay from 1966. It's a really good look inside the mind and daily preparation and overall program direction of one of college football's great coaches (who tried to apply some of those concepts in the NFL, to mixed results).

This is obviously not about the NFL per se, but I just finished The Unforgettable Buzz the history of Tudor Games and electric football. I enjoyed it. It got a bit formulaic about halfway through, but it's an interesting read about a facet of the overall game that we don't always think about.

Rozelle: Czar of the NFL was a good read. Namath was good, too (as was, in a campy way, I Can't Wait Until Tomorrow...'Cause I Get Better Looking Every Day.)

The $1 League for sure if you were a USFL fan. Bernie Parrish's They Call It A Game is a good look inside that time period from a guy very active in the players' union.

Stefan Fatsis' A Few Seconds of Panic is well-written and takes you inside the minds of players who aren't stars (as well as Mike Shanahan).

In the fiction category, any of Peter Gent's books (the best-known, obviously, is North Dallas Forty, but I have read The Franchise several times and North Dallas After Forty is also good) and Dan Jenkins' Semi-Tough (the sequels just fall off a cliff).

And, of course, all the encyclopedias. In fact, the earlier the better. I have a few from the mid-70s that may not have as much information as you can find online, but which are charming in their own rights and have interesting quirks.

YMMV as to where things rank in the top 100, but it's good to have recommendations from folks.

[Throwin_Samoan]

Santa brought me The Yucks and End Zones and Border Wars, so I'm looking forward to reading those.

[ChrisBabcock]

Santa, well ok my brother in law, bought me a certain book written by Joe Zagorski. I flipped through it and so far the content and detail looks impressive. Can't wait to read it!

[Rupert Patrick]

I was reading in today's MMQB column that Bill James tweeted that the Chuck Noll biography by Michael McCambridge is the best sports biography he has ever read. I've never known James to comment on a football book before, which I think is the strongest praise the book can possibly receive. I have it and read the introductory chapter, but I think after the first of the year I may have to break my rule against reading football history books and read this one.