What a Game They Played: An Inside Look at the Golden Era of Pro Football

by Richard Whittingham

Book Overview

In their own words, the pioneers and legends of professional football tell of the early glory years of the National Football League. From the 1920s through the 1940s, pro football players were paid only hundreds of dollars per game and rarely had substitutes. The conditions and times of this era are vividly recalled by such players as Red Grange, Johnny Blood, Clarke Hinkle, Ace Parker, Shipwreck Kelly, Mel Hein, Sammy Baugh, Don Hutson, and Sid...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803298196
• ISBN13: 9780803298194
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Length: 235 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent look at early NFL

This book is a collection of semi-autobiographies of many of the most famous NFL football players of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s when the league was just getting started and fighting for its spot in the sun. Each chapter centered around one player such as Sammy Baugh, Sid Luckman and host of other legendary players still alive to write their story. Its an insightful look of the "good old days" NFL, often funny and other time, amazing. The book has been well edited and reading is superbly entertaining as well as educational. Each chapter also got couple of short anecdotal stories on some of the legends of the game long gone like Jim Thorpe or Bronko Nagurski. When I read this book, there is no doubt in my mind that men who played this game back then, were probably the toughest players ever to played NFL football. Sure there are guys today who are built bigger, faster and all that, but these stories in this book make any reader realized how tough and mean, NFL used to be compared to today's soft touch rules design to lessen injuries. These players were in the game for 60 minutes, they have to be good in both offense and on defense. Compared that with the specialized players of today. This book is should be read by any fan of the NFL to give such a fan a good perception on how the NFL evolved and developed during the past 75 years.

The Early NFL As Told By The Era's Players

In the same vein as Lawrence Ritter with "The Glory Of Their Times," Richard Whittingham interviewed several of the diminishing handful of participants in the NFL's early days, took their words and wove an interesting and insightful book. Much like baseball when it started professionally, scheduling, paychecks, record-keeping and crowd size was often haphazard in those days, and players often played out of love of the game or to pick up some extra money aside from their regular jobs, mostly the latter. But the stories that they tell are wonderful - rugged men playing in football's infancy, helping to build the league that we know today through their legendary work. Many of the players included in the book are enshrined in the Hall of Fame, so these guys had the opportunity to be around a long time and see a lot of changes going on. It's a fascinating book about the birth and growth of the league, told by the guys who were there to help it grow - I highly recommend reading this book.

A GOOD READ ABOUT EARLY NFL

THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT NFL STARS THAT PLAYED IN THE 1920'S THRU THE 1940'S. SUCH STARS AS RED GRANGE, SAMMY BAUGH, DON HUTSON, AND SID LUCKAMN ARE FEATURED. THEIR STORIES AND INSIGHTS ARE VERY INTERSTING AND ENTERTAINING. I BELIEVE THE AUTHOR RICHARD WHITTINGHAM, DID A GREAT JOB. THIS WAS AN ERA WHEN MEN WERE MEN, THEY PLAYED THE ENTIRE GAME. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED HOW THE GAME WAS PLAYED BACK THEN OR ARE A REAL HISTORIAN OF PRO FOOTBALL THIS IS A GREAT READ FOR YOU. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.

Sport stories that are unknown and insightful

Stories about great athletes that were famous and not so famous. Each of the chapters talks about an athlete that contributed to the sport in very unique ways. After reading it, I wanted to know more about some of the characters that were great athletes and times very humorous. It's a book I will re-read and recommend highly.