NFL Football: A History of America's New National Pastime

Sport and Society

By: Richard C. Crepeau

Narrated by: Marlin May

This wide-ranging history synthesizes scholarship and media sources to give the listener an inside view of the television contracts, labor issues, and other off-the-field forces that shaped the National Football League. Historian Richard Crepeau shows how Commissioner Pete Rozelle's steady leadership guided the league's explosive growth during the era of Monday Night Football and the Super Bowl's transformation into a mid-winter spectacle. Crepeau also delves into the league's masterful exploitation of media from radio to the Internet, its ability to get taxpayers to subsidize team stadiums, and its success in delivering an outlet for experiencing vicarious violence to a public uneasy over the changing rules of masculinity.

Probing and learned, NFL Football tells an epic American success story peopled by larger-than-life figures and driven by ambition, money, sweat, and dizzying social and technological changes.

The book is published by University of Illinois Press.

©2014 the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A solid resource for researchers and historians." ( Library Journal)

"A readable, engaging narrative history. Recommended." ( Choice)

"No understanding of the history of the NFL and its societal impact is complete without reading this book." (John A. Fortunato, author of Commissioner: The Legacy of Pete Rozelle)

A thorough history of the NFL

Crepeau offers a comprehensive history of the National Football League, from the days of passing interest in the sport to becoming a national juggernaut. The author recounts the days the league determined a yearly champion by a vote to offering the annual extravaganza known as the super bowl. In this extensive history, the author tackles (no pun intended) the evolution of the rules, the league's survival during the great depression and second world war, the battles with other football leagues, the mergers, the color barrier, and expansion. This work also covers the birth of the NFL draft, and its eventual move to prime time television and the phenomenal success of Monday Night Football. "NFL Football" focuses of the many legal battles the league fought over the years, labor strife, the changing of commissioners, and clearly establishes how we ended up with today's 32 NFL teams. This book scores a touchdown!

A wonderful telling

of the history of the National Football League. From its humble beginnings to the 800 pound gorilla sports. All is told of the highs and lows of the league. This book is a must read for all who want to know the histpry of league

Great listen

Sheds important light on some of the challenging topics of NFL history.
Backroom deals
Racism
Elites

Entertaining and 0bviously well researched.

I enjoyed listening to this book, after having read it when it was first released, I knew it was a well researched narrative of a great story in American sport history. Listening to it was most enjoyable, bringing back parts of the book I had forgotten or glossed over the first time around. It reads as a story, an interesting perspective of how so many people, so many different forces of nature and society came together to create such a dominating force in all of American society.
The author does an excellent job putting complex subjects into perspective, helping the reader see both sides of controversial issues and understanding why and how the League emerged as such a powerful organization. Along the way, I got to relive the "greatest game ever", the Baltimore Colts-New York Giants championship game in 1958 and re-connect with Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, Paul Hornung, and other great players and memorable games from throughout the League's history.
I particularly enjoyed and appreciated the author's discussion of racism and integration in the NFL, violence and injuries, and the business of football. Great book, great performance!

Good but too formal

I find the story of football interesting, but the voice was too formal for the subject matter in my opinion.

Stupendous

This book is an excellent history of the NFL. Very detailed. If you are an NFL fan then this is must read/listen.

Pretty good

Enjoyable and informative. A bit long winded at times but worth the listen. This is a great book for NFL fans to get a lot of behind the scenes knowledge.