Red Grange and the Rise of Modern Football

by John Martin Carroll

Book Overview

Before the Super Bowl, before "Monday Night Football," even before the NFL, there was Red Grange. Catapulted into the public eye in 1924 by scoring four touchdowns in twelve minutes for the University of Illinois, the "Galloping Ghost" went on to a trailblazing career as a professional player, Hollywood football idol, and broadcaster. He ranked with Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey in the 1920s as the most heralded figures in America's "golden age of sport,"...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0252023846
• ISBN13: 9780252023842
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.2" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

When Humility Still Mattered

This book does a great job of giving interesting detail and thoughtful perspective so you can see how an individual fit into the times and how the events of the single life mirrored the larger developments in society. You learn a lot about football, about men of that era and what character traits they valued, and about the role of the media and it's use of celebrity to create an audience. I enjoyed this so much I bought another Carroll book on a different early football hero - Fritz Pollard - and that is just as informative and insightful.

Red Grange is Number One!

My father always talked about Red Grange. I never really knew who he was. This book brings everything into perspective. Mr. Carroll captures the essence of Red Grange, but more than that, he makes clear why Grange was the most important college player of this century and how he created the momentum which led to the explosion of pro football