American Football History

In the 1970s, Joe DeLamielleure led a Buffalo Bills offensive line affectionately called the Electric Company, because they turned the power up. A starter from the first game of his rookie season in 1973, DeLamielleure led the way to the first 2,000-yard season in NFL history.

At five feet ten inches tall, running back Walter Payton was not the largest player in the NFL, but he developed a larger-than-life reputation for his strength, speed, and grit. Nicknamed “Sweetness” during his college football days, he became the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing and all-purpose yards, capturing the hearts of fans in his adopted Chicago.

After his bestselling home run books Why We Love Baseball and The Baseball 100, Joe Posnanski turns from the national pastime to the number one sport in America. Why We Love Football is Posnanski’s newest must-have deep dive into the archives and legends of the sport, and the result is a rousing tale of the 100 greatest moments in football lore. This is the best kind of sports writing. Entertaining, enlightening, heartbreaking, hilarious, and always fascinating, these stories of the sport offer a panoramic look across its history.

The NFL has come a long way from its founding in Canton, Ohio, in 1920. In the 100 years since that fateful day, football has become America’s most popular and lucrative professional sport. The former scrappy upstart league that struggled to stay afloat has survived a host of challenges to produce American icons like Vince Lombardi, Joe Montana, and Tom Brady. It is an extraordinary and entertaining history that could be told only by Joe Horrigan, former executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and perhaps the greatest living historian of the NFL.

Bill Parcells may be the most iconic football coach of our time. During his decades-long tenure as an NFL coach, he turned failing franchises into contenders. He led the ailing New York Giants to two Super Bowl victories, turned the New England Patriots into an NFL powerhouse, reinvigorated the New York Jets, brought the Dallas Cowboys back to life, and was most recently enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Catching up with the greatest Aggies players - newly updated! Since the beginning of A & M football, in 1894, the Aggies have produced some of the greatest athletes to ever come out of Texas. Legendary players have plowed their way to greatness while carving their names into the heart of Texas fans under the Aggies banner. But what happened to these juggernauts after the final score was tallied and the game was over? The answer can only be found in this newly updated edition of Texas A & M Where Have You Gone?

Win one for The Gipper. Has there ever been a better-known and widely-used exhortative phrase in sports? Not likely. But who was the "Gipper", this mythical-like sports figure whose nickname has aroused, in turn, awe, wonderment, curiosity, and amusement since the second decade of the 20th century, and why is his story important? Answering those questions is the formidable task taken on here by veteran sportswriter Jack Cavanaugh.

For the first time ever, legends of the Longhorns share their greatest football moments. How did Earl Campbell prove that he was worthy of the Heisman? How did a Snickers bar help convince Ricky Williams to return to Texas for his senior year? What was Vince Young really thinking just before the 2006 Rose Bowl? In Game of My Life: Texas Longhorns, fans will find the answers to these questions and many more as 20 of the greatest players relive the moment that shaped their college football career.

At The Athletic, home to the best newsroom in sports, this question would become a labor of love for dozens of the best football writers on the planet, including Mike Sando and Dan Pompei. Over the course of 100 riveting profiles—each drawing upon unparalleled access and superlative storytelling to offer intimate perspective on what made the greatest players tick—these writers reveal their findings. In the process, they also uncover the history of football.

Endzone tells the story of how college football's most successful and respected program nearly lost it all in less than a decade and entirely of its own doing. It is a story of hubris, greed, and betrayal, a tale more suited to Wall Street than the world's top public university.

Few sports franchises can match the long, storied history of the New York Giants. Fewer still can match their rich legion of passionate, loyal fans. In Tales from the New York Giants Sideline, memories, anecdotes, names, faces, games, cheers, and tears come rushing back, along with new twists. Without a doubt, Tales from the New York Giants Sideline is a must-listen for any Giants fan.

No one knows Mountaineers football better than Don Nehlen, head coach of the Mountaineers from 1980 until 2001. Now fans of this dynamic collegiate powerhouse will relive the greatest moments in West Virginia football through the eyes of its most successful coach. When Coach Nehlen arrived in Morgantown in December 1979, he had a large task in front of him - turn a losing team into a force to be reckoned with. In this book, he shares how he made it happen. Nehlen explains his theories about coaching, the staff that supported him, and the strategies that he employed to create a stronger team.

In this newly revised edition of Tales from the New Orleans Saints Sideline, author Jeff Duncan chronicles the flamboyant history of the franchise, its highs and lows, the great coaches and players, and the colorful characters that have made it one of the most interesting clubs in NFL history. Primed and ready to achieve the glory that has thus far eluded them, the New Orleans Saints have hundreds of stories to be told, and thousands of moments to share.

For 33 years, Bobby Bowden was the heart and soul of Florida State football. Now Seminoles fans of every generation will get to relive the glory and passion of Florida’s winningest coach in this edition of Tales from the Florida Seminoles Sideline. In this gripping narrative, Bobby Bowden and Steve Ellis bring readers right up to the sideline to experience pivotal moments in Florida’s football history.

The numbers appear to be incongruous. The University of Michigan has won more football games than any other Division I-A school, yet the program has only produced three Heisman Trophy winners and precious few winners of other individual awards. The numbers are understandable, however. The focus of Michigan football has always been on the team rather than the individual. "The Team, The Team, The Team" has for decades been one of the program’s best known mantras.

In Game of My Life: Florida Gators, listeners will step onto the field and re-live the greatest football moments through the eyes of 30 of the most famous Gators players. In this enthralling collection, Pat Dooley brings together Florida football players of the past and present to share their fondest single game experience and memories - some involve championship games, while others seem ordinary save for the extraordinary personal meaning.

The pro football season of 1963 was dominated by the unexpected. In April, months prior to the beginning of play, it was revealed that two All-Star players, Paul Hornung and Alex Karras, were gambling on the sport and would be suspended from play for at least a year. Even worse, in May, one of the league’s bigger-than-life personalities, Big Daddy Lipscomb, was found dead, with police saying he perished from a heroin overdose, something those who knew him best still dispute.

Since the creation of the Minnesota Vikings in 1960, this football team has been more than just another franchise. To the fans who love them, and the haters who can’t help but admire them, the Minnesota Vikings are an unstoppable force in the NFL. In this heartwarming and inspirational book, Jim Bruton takes a look beyond the game and examines what the Minnesota Vikings have meant to fans and communities across the country.

Relive the greatest moments in Colts football—newly updated! With roots that go back to 1913, the Indianapolis Colts are one of the most storied franchises in the NFL. But the real legacy of achievement began in 1984 when the Colts arrived in Indianapolis after a midnight escape from Baltimore.

Even in their worst of seasons, the Philadelphia Eagles maintained their tradition of toughness, thanks to great players - from legends like Chuck Bednarik and Steve Van Buren to modern-day heroes. In Tales from the Philadelphia Eagles Sideline, veteran football writer Gordon Forbes profiles the individuals who have thrilled Philadelphia fans since the team’s inception in 1933 through Andy Reid’s last championship contenders during his 14 years as head coach.