Top 10 NFL Books

[JWL]

My favorite football book is The Pro Football Chronicle by Bob O'Donnell and Dan Daly.


Out of Their League by Dave Meggyesy- This is an anti-football book. Meggyesy wrote about the dehumanizing aspects of the NFL, drug abuse, racism, and other negatives. He played with the Cardinals in the late 1960s and early 1970s. That team had a racism problem that was covered in a longform article in Sports Illustrated. Meggyesy also wrote about his experiences at Syracuse. I read this book 17 years ago but I still remember the passages about the beatnik students Meggyesy had befriended. They did not care about football at all but would go to the games to mock the fans and the Syracuse head coach.


Last Team Standing by Matthew Algeo- This book covers everything you would want to know about the Steagles.


Building a Champion by Bill Walsh with Glenn Dickey- This book details how Walsh helped build the 49ers dynasty. Finding the Winning Edge is the more discussed Walsh book (and rare- I had two copies and sold one for $180). Finding the Winning Edge is more like a textbook. Building a Champion is the more enjoyable of the two books.



Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football by Robert W. Peterson

America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation by Michael MacCambridge- If you have not read either of these books, I recommend reading Pigskin first and then America's Game. The former does a great job covering the first four decades of the NFL and the latter does a great job with the next four decades.



Hey, Wait a Minute (I Wrote a Book!) by John Madden

One Knee Equals Two Feet (and Everything Else You Need to Know About Football) by John Madden





The Game That Was by Myron Cope



Pro Football's Rag Days by Bob Curran- these are two oral history books that feature players from the early years of the NFL

[JWL]

The Tom Danyluk books The Super '70s and Majesty and Mayhem are right up my alley. They have many great articles about the 1970s and 1980s, respectively. The one on the 1970s is more of an oral history book. Majesty and Mayhem contains a superb article on Earl Campbell. It is one of my favorite pieces of writing on football.

[TanksAndSpartans]

@JWL, thanks for the recommendation of Tom Danyluk's Majesty and Mayhem! I was able to pick one up from the author himself on eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/165992777219?c ... 1&mkcid=28

As an '80's Dolphins fan, the David Woodley chapter was special to me. I remember the long article about him that was linked on our main board a few years ago that got into the addiction, etc. Danyluk's is a great companion piece. Without spoiling anything, I'm glad I read them in the order I did.

His writing is irreverent and humorous as well as engaging and captivating. Each chapter is on a different subject. As soon as I finish one, I can't wait to start the next and learn something new.