Book recommendation?

Jeremy Crowhurst · Post by **Jeremy Crowhurst** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 2:57 am

I'm a big fan of "America's Game", by Michael McCambridge, but for the most part, his book begins with Paul Brown and the formation of the AAFC. I think he has about 20 pages covering everything that came before then.

Can anybody recommend a similarly well-written book that covers the early history of the league in the same kind of detail that McCambridge (and others) cover the years that came later?

JeffreyMiller · Post by **JeffreyMiller** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 8:34 am

I really liked Pigskin by Robert Peterson. You won't get a ton of detail about the formation of the league, but really good history of the early pro game.

John Grasso · Post by **John Grasso** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 5:27 pm

JeffreyMiller wrote:I really liked Pigskin by Robert Peterson. You won't get a ton of detail about the formation of the league, but really good history of the early pro game.

I didn't realize he wrote a book on football - I'll have to get it.
I know of him as the author of Only the Ball was White - one of the first books on the baseball Negro Leagues
and From Cages to Jumpshots - an excellent book on early pro basketball.

James · Post by **James** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 9:43 pm

I really like The Story of Pro Football by Howard Roberts published in 1953.

JeffreyMiller · Post by **JeffreyMiller** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 9:40 am

John Grasso wrote:
JeffreyMiller wrote:I really liked Pigskin by Robert Peterson. You won't get a ton of detail about the formation of the league, but really good history of the early pro game.
I didn't realize he wrote a book on football - I'll have to get it.
I know of him as the author of Only the Ball was White - one of the first books on the baseball Negro Leagues
and From Cages to Jumpshots - an excellent book on early pro basketball.

Pigskin was an easy but educational read ... sort of a primer on football history. Highly recommend!

TanksAndSpartans · Post by **TanksAndSpartans** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:31 pm

If you're willing to go back a little earlier than the formation of the league, I highly recommend: "The Sunday Game: At the Dawn of Professional Football" by Keith McClellan. I haven't been able to find a comparable book for the 20s and 30s. I've had to piece those years together from several books. One of the nice things about Pigskin (mentioned above) is the bibliography. Since it's really an overview, you can check the bibliography for anything you want to dig deeper into.

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