It should surprise no one that the National Football League is a business - how else to account for the stratospheric salaries of the players and coaches? Yet most people are unaware of how that business developed. This book details the growth of an industry that generates billions of dollars in revenue, as it explains the intricacies of the league's expansions and mergers, territories and relocations, the operation and organization of franchises, the role of stadiums and markets, as well as the effect of the NFL on domestic and foreign affairs.

Do you cringe when a linebacker flattens a quarterback? Hold your breath when a field goal sails toward the goalpost? Watch in amazement as a touchdown pass spirals down the field? Behind those big hits, long kicks, and sensational throws is a science that will give you a whole new perspective on the game of football.

A combination of Stephen Hawking and Mike Ditka, physicist and football fan Timothy Gay breaks down the fundamental laws of physics that govern America's most exciting spectator sport. To illustrate the science behind the game, he highlights some of football's recent memorable moments, along with legendary feats from the likes of Franco Harris and Joe Montana.

Did you Know? Newton's Second Law of Physics proves that Dick Butkus hit running backs with the force of a small killer whale. The average force with which a football must be kicked during kickoff is 450 lbs. But for an instant, the force may be as much as a ton. Shaun Rogers, firing off the line of scrimmage, can develop as much as four horsepower by himself.

"A rough-and-tumble pop-culture look at the history of this storied game."
--National Review Online

"The 100-Yard War" showcases two great football teams who want nothing more than to beat each other, celebrating their storied history and going behind the scenes with the players and the fans to reveal the bitterness, the passion, and the pride surrounding the Game.

ESPN called it the number one sports rivalry of the century. It transcends the years, the standings, and all other distractions. And thanks to the countless remarkable football games between Michigan and Ohio State--and hundreds of thousands of devoted alumni and followers--the rivalry is now an enormous cultural event.

"Go Bucks!"

"Go Blue!"

ESPN called it the number one sports rivalry of the century. It transcends the years, the standings, and all other distractions. And thanks to the countless remarkable football games between Michigan and Ohio State-and hundreds of thousands of devoted alumni and followers-the rivalry is now an enormous cultural event. The 100-Yard War showcases two great football teams who want nothing more than to beat each other, celebrating their storied history and going behind the scenes with the players and the fans to reveal the bitterness, the passion, and the pride surrounding the Game.

"Emmanuel does a marvelous job of conveying not only the competition between the athletes but the less than ideal game conditions, the spirit of the marching bands and, in particular, the loyalty of classmates and family that go into making this a special competition."
-Publishers Weekly

From the time he was old enough to remember, Jim Hock was told stories of his dad's glory days playing football in LA. A member of the 1950s LA Rams, John Hock, Jim's dad, was a member of Hollywood's Team, a football team that redefined what a sports team looked like, sounded like, and acted like, all while revolutionizing the sport of football. But Jim didn't know John the football star, he just knew the sweet, funny guy he called Dad. In a warm and aching memoir of childhood, good dad's, and what it is to realize that your parents had a life and successes before you came along.

Chronicling Yale football from its 1827 inception to the present, this volume gives comprehensive coverage of the most important games, including all Yale-Harvard contests, most Yale-Princeton, record-making performances, great plays and more. Human-interest anecdotes offer a sidebar to the game or era covered, giving color to the storied history of Yale football. The evolution of rules is traced, that transformed a game combining soccer and rugby into the football we know today.

Of all the great National Football League coaches, none have earned the level of respect and reputation that Vince Lombardi merited during his tenure as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. Both feared and beloved by players and peers, Lombardi coached the Packers to five NFL championships and victories in the first two Super Bowls ever played. Over ten seasons, his Green Bay teams compiled a remarkable 98-30-4 record, although it was Lombardi's relentless, uncompromising tactics and values that defined him and his career more than the victories could by themselves.<P" Remember Vince Lombardi takes readers back to a bygone era when professional football was a game of guts, grit, and spit, not the corporate, dollar-driven entertainment vehicle it is today. Lombardi embodied greatness, and he demanded it from his staff and players. In this book, dozens of people familiar with Lombardi, many of them personal acquaintances, talk about him in their own words. Former players, assistant coaches, opponents, and league officials are among the people whose memories reveal Lombardi as the genuine legend he was, on and off the field.<P>Among the many memorable events and circumstances included in I Remember Vince Lombardi are his days as an assistant coach with the New York Giants and colleague Tom Landry, his relationships with players and assistants, the unforgettable "Ice Bowl" NFL title game of 1966, his two Super Bowl victories, his sudden departure from the Packers, and his short-lived position as coach of the Washington Redskins. Many aspects of Lombardi's personal and professional life are covered in this book, offering a new and refreshing look at one of football's greatest icons.

The ConverseR® All Sta^TM team scores with this jam-packed book on the basics of football. From warm-up to touchdown, kickoff to completed pass, you'll learn the techniques, the terms, and the teamwork you need to master:

• The Passing Game
• The Running Game
• Blocking
• Tackling
• Receiving
• Punting
• Place Kicking
• Offensive Strategies
• Defensive Lineups
• Man-to-Man vs. Zone Coverage
• Game Plans
• And much more

This fact-filled guide to gridiron glory delivers dazzling action shots, step-by-step diagrams, drills, and games to play with others or on your own. Here's everything you need to be your best at this exciting sport.

"This book's going to raise a howl," promises Deacon Jones. "You wait and see!" From a small rural town in Florida to the NFL Hall of Fame, this is the story of Deacon's rise to the top of the heap in the National Football League. "Headslap" refers to the lightning move popularized by Jones in the early days of the game, when a player could rattle the cage (or at least the helmet) of a blocker by belting him alongside the head. And Deacon did this better than anyone in the game. They weren't jabs; they were full left hooks and right crosses. So devastating was this move that the League outlawed it.More than a simple sports story, Headslap brings to full view the NFL during the 1960s and 1970s - a time of incredible social upheaval and change in the United States. Deacon's story reveals the difficulties that all black players confronted trying to break into the NFL.

The "Football Coaching Bible" features many of the game's most successful coaches. Each shares the special insight, advice, and strategies they've used to field championship-winning teams season after season.

The 27 chapter contributing coaches span six decades of the sport and reach into every corner of the United States. The impressive list of contributors:

-Joe Paterno

-Hayden Fry

-Phil Fulmer

-Dick Foster

-Grant Teaff

-Gene Stallings

-Jim Tressel

-R.C. Slocum

-LaVell Edwards

-Bobby Bowden

-Jim Young

-Frosty Westering

-Mack Brown

-Larry Kehres

-Bill Snyder

-Lou Holtz

-Ken Sparks

-Tom Osborne

-Sonny Lubick

-Mike Bellotti

-Barry Alvarez

-Fisher DeBerry

-George Curry

-Bo Schembechler

-Joe Tiller

-Frank Beamer
They cover every aspect of the game: coaching principles, program building, player motivation, practice sessions, individual skills, team tactics, offensive and defensive play-calling, and performance evaluation.

Developed by the American Football Coaches Association, this coaching guide establishes a new standard of excellence in the sport.

Bringing the Heat is the story of one team's season-long campaign for the NFL championship, told through the personal stories of the men on the field and the coaches, managers, and owner on the sidelines. The team is the 1992 Philadelphia Eagles, a group of players assembled in the iconoclastic image of their former head coach Buddy Ryan. They are known throughout the league for their ferocious defense and for the otherworldly talents of their quarterback Randall Cunningham.

Award-winning journalist Mark Bowden gets deep inside the world of professional football in a way no writer has ever done before, with an insightful and hilarious portrait of one of the most exciting teams ever to play the game. He spares none of the game's ugliness -- the greed, the racism, and the often sadistic violence -- while capturing the beauty of athleticism at its highest level, the courage of men who face each play knowing that one bad hit can end a career, and above all the exultant glory of victory that inspires their struggle to be the best.

Perhaps even more than the Boston Red Sox, the New England Patriots are the team of the entire northeast from Rhode Island to Canada. Here, sports historian Robert W. Cohen ranks the 50 best players to ever take the field for the Patriots. Who can forget Wes Welker, Troy Brown, Jim Nance, Ted Bruschi, and Tom Brady. They're all here in this fascinating collection of bios, stats, quotes from opposing players and former teammates, photographs, and recaps of memorable performances and seasons. This book is a must-read not only for Patriots fans, but for all fans of professional football.

The NFL in the 1950s and 1960s was full of iconic players and legendary coaches. Future Hall of Famers battled it out on the gridiron and roamed the sidelines, making for incredible games and memorable moments. In Remembering the Greatest Coaches and Games of the NFL Glory Years: An Inside Look at the Golden Age of Football, Wayne Stewart tells of the men and events that made this era unforgettable. Through dozens of interviews with players such as Tom Matte, Mike Ditka, Raymond Berry, Don Maynard, Chuck Mercein, and Rick Volk, Stewart shares the players' unique perspectives on the Greatest Game Ever Played, the Ice Bowl, the Heidi Game, and Super Bowl III. The second part of the book features profiles of the Hall of Fame coaches who led their teams to victory-including George Halas, Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, and Don Shula-with the players reflecting on the impact these coaches had on and off the field. Remembering the Greatest Coaches and Games of the NFL Glory Years not only shares anecdotes that reveal the warm and humorous sides of the Hall of Fame coaches but also includes breakdowns of the key decisions they made during the featured games. With exclusive insight provided by the players, this book offers readers a deeper understanding of professional football during this era directly from those who lived it.

"Mr. Gildea's book is at once an elegy and a eulogy... In this volume, every word is from the heart."-- "New York Times"

"William Gildea's "When the Colts Belonged to Baltimore" is to football what Roger Kahn's "The Boys of Summer" was to baseball. It's one of the best reads in a long, long time and should be a best seller."--Larry King

In this personal and moving book, William Gildea blends reminiscences of his boyhood in Baltimore with profiles of famous Colts players such as Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore, Gino Marchetti, Raymond Berry, Art Donovan, Y. A. Tittle, and others. Recalling his relationship with his father and the love they shared for a team, Gildea evokes the spirit of 1950s America, when professional athletes were workaday neighbors and community was more than a political slogan. This is a story, too, about the geography of the heart: why something so simple as a team can arouse such emotional attachments, how a group of players with horseshoes on their helmets could have been part of the generational glue between parent and child. Written with feeling and insight, this is an affecting tribute to a team and a time etched in memory.

Bill Yoast is the real-life hero of Remember the Titans, the inspirational hit movie that chronicled the struggles of black and white high school football athletes to create a championship season in racially charged Alexandria, Virginia, in 1972. Will Patton played Yoast's role and Denzel Washington played the role of Head Coach Herman Boone. Uniting in a common effort, Yoast and Boone led T.C. Williams High School to an undefeated season, and in the process brought the school and polarized community together. The real-life Yoast is even more compelling than his film version. At one time, the former World War II veteran considered going into the ministry. Fortunately, for the hundreds of young men and women whose lives he helped mold, he found his calling in coaching.

In the past, sport, particularly football, has been defined as a male domain. Women s interest stereotypically ranges from gentle tolerance to active resistance. But increasingly, women are proudly identifying themselves as supporters of their teams, and have become highly desirable audiences for sport organizations and merchandisers. Football provides a unique site at which to examine the complex interplay between three theoretical areas: identity formation and maintenance, commercialization of cultural practices, and gender hegemony. This book explores how women experience their fandom, and what barriers exist for the female fan.

Between 1979 and 1937, Hall of Fame coach Jock Sutherland took the championship program at the University of Pittsburgh that was built by his mentor Glenn ""Pop"" Warner, and won five of the nine national championships the school now claims. While a successful period, it was also controversial: Sutherland employed the help of wealthy boosters named the Golden Panthers, who helped him secure the services of the best players western Pennsylvania had to offer. While they made sure the players had what they needed, the school also made sure the players had enough money to be comfortable. Critics accused Pitt of employing what amounted to professional athletes in a college sport. These accusations not only embarrassed the school administration, but led to the end of their dynasty and its coach. This book tells the exciting tale of their championship run, and describes how their downfall began what has since been a continual academics-versus athletics tug-of-war at the school.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is one of the most storied and decorated football programs in NCAA history--since its inception in 1890, the program has claimed five National Championships, all of which are explored in this essential guide, along with the personalities, events, and facts that any and every Cornhuskers fan should know. The book recalls the key moments and players from Tom Osborne's reign on the Nebraska sidelines from the 1970s to the 1990s--an unprecedented period that included 13 conference championships and three national championships--as well as the program's early years and recent success under head coach Bo Pelini. Author Sean Callahan also includes the unforgettable players who have worn the Scarlet and Cream, including Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, Tommie Frazier, and Ndamukong Suh. More than a century of team history is distilled to capture the essential moments, highlighting the personalities, games, rivalries, and plays that have come together to make Nebraska one of college football's legendary programs.

Combining off-the-wall trivia questions with hardcore stats and nickname puzzlers, The All-Time, All-Team Pro Football Quiz contains stumpers for even the most well-versed football fan. Whether you're a Cheesehead or a Broncomaniac, you'll find quizzes for every team in the league-from the teams you love to the teams you love to hate. Which former NFL player had a role in Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles? True or False: Gerald Ford was the only U.S. president to play in the NFL? Who was the first black coach in NFL history? How many teams that won NFL championships are now defunct?

On the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of the New York Jets' historic achievement, a nostalgic, inside look from the men who composed the team behind Joe Namath's Super Bowl III win, filled with exclusive insights and stories from the surviving players, coaches, and management of that championship team whose victory changed the landscape of American football. On January 12, 1969, the New York Jets astonished the nation when they beat the favored Baltimore Colts to win Super Bowl III. The key to the Jets' success was quarterback Joe Namath, whose superstar talent, revolutionary personality, cockiness, and charm made him an instant celebrity. But Namath didn't do it alone. In Beyond Broadway Joe, the members of that legendary team share for the first time their often funny, sometimes poignant, and always perceptive personal stories and memorable anecdotes about the Super Bowl team, its players and coaches, and that legendary win. They reminisce about how they became Jets, their success on the gridiron--ten of them were AFC All Stars that magical year of 1968--and reveal for the first time the tactic Namath used to frustrate the Baltimore Colts' defense. They speak about their reactions to Namath's guarantee of a Jets' Super Bowl victory, and how the 39 Forgotten Jets behind him enabled Joe to fulfill that boast. Furthermore, Lederer has interviewed members of the Baltimore team, to provide a 360-degree account of the game that changed it all. Inside, you'll learn: How Joe Namath was able to manipulate the Baltimore Colts defense in Super Bowl III About the player who convinced Joe Namath he was a "hot date" and pranked the playboy quarterback How coach Weeb Ewbank used salaries of players on four other AFL teams to control Jets' player salaries How one Jet, whose play was limited to two games his rookie year, convinced Jets' Coach and General Manager Weeb Ewbank that he would become an all-star Why Jets' star offensive tackle Winston Hill, an eight-time All Pro tackle, was never considered, much less, elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame How Super Bowl III may have saved the existence of several AFL teams scheduled to be part of the AFL-NFL merger And much more! The Jets players reflect on their evolution from a team considered part of a Mickey Mouse league, through the sudden transformation caused by the signing and introduction of Joe Namath on America's sporting scene. The book explains from different angles--including Jets' game plans--why Jets' coaches and players were supremely confident going into Super Bowl III. Written by a lifelong Jets' fan, Beyond Broadway Joe captures memories--and through never-before-seen material--sheds light on what happened from the 1963 launch of the Jets to the Super Bowl season and in Super Bowl III itself. This first complete celebration of the Jets' Super Bowl team is a must for every Jets diehard, for fans of the old American Football League, those who follow the history of professional football, and for all who love the game.

This is a complete guide to the football stadiums of the 110 colleges and universities that are in the NCAA Division I-A. Information for each stadium includes the year it opened, its current seating capacity, its special features, the dates, descriptions, costs and financing of any renovation or addition, and its playing field surface. Related information includes the team mascot, nickname, colors, fight song, and year of the schools first intercollegiate football game. The names and tenure of all athletic directors and head coaches since the stadium opened are provided as well.

Pulling from Packers history since the team's inception in 1919, this guide to all things gold and green offers dedicated fans all of the stats, trivia, and miscellaneous, fun-filled information craved about this storied franchise. From the significance of 4th and 26 and the best place to eat before kickoff to all the uniform numbers Mike Michalske wore during his eight-year career, this ultimate resource contains every essential piece of Packers knowledge as well as must-do activities. This updated edition includes details on the Packers' Super Bowl XLV triumph over the Pittsburgh Steelers and key moments and personalities from the teams' most recent seasons. Whether a die-hard booster from the days of Ray Nitschke or a new supporter of head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, these are the 100 things fans need to know and do in their lifetime.