Gridiron football or American football or just plain football is the most popular sport in the United States in the 21st century. Although attempts have been made to develop the sport outside North America, it is still predominantly a North American sport with similar games (but significant rules differences) played in the United States and Canada. The Historical Dictionary of Football covers the history of American football through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries on both amateur (collegiate) and professional players, coaches, teams and executives from all eras. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the sport of football.

The Unbroken Line is the riveting story of how truly heartless the business of professional football was and is - from the poor pension plans and inadequate medical benefits to the greed of union leadership which the authors argue takes advantage of and turns its back on the very individuals who make the game great. At no time in the annals of sports has the timing of a book been more important.

This unique story provides a fascinating inside look at how a group of players and one attorney strategically outwitted the NFL and the Players' Union leadership to score an historic and crucial victory for players' rights. The year was 1982, a few courageous men stood up to their powerful administrative adversaries when no one else would during the most turbulent time in the history of professional football. What was at stake then and now again in 2010 is the players' ability to earn salaries and benefits that are in line with their contributions to their teams.

The authors, former Pro Bowl tight end Billy Joe DuPree and highly respected attorney Spencer Kopf, not only reveal the successful plan that began the end of player exploitation, but they also skillfully compare the peril players faced in 1982 to the heart wrenching situations of present-day, retired union members.

American football and postmodernist theory are both objects of popular and scholarly interest that reveal remarkable sociological insights. Analysis of media-driven commercial football documents how narratives of sportsmanship/brutality, heroism/antiheroism, athleticism/self-indulgence, honor/chicanery, and chivalry/sexism compete and thrive.

For ten years the Cleveland Browns compiled a better record and won more championships than any team in pro football history. In their first game they set an all-time attendance record and consistently drew the largest crowds of the post-World War II era. They dominated an upstart league and then silenced their detractors by doing the same to the NFL. The Browns were led by Paul Brown, a football visionary who changed pro football. Most important among his innovations was the leading role the franchise played in the integration of pro sports. While much of their competition continued with the racial exclusion of the past, the Browns featured some of the greatest black players of all-time, men who were an integral part of the Cleveland dynasty. The Best Show in Football: The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns, Pro Football's Greatest Dynasty tells the story of those players and that dynasty. Included in that story is the construction of the Browns as well as accounts of the team's many victories. Dozens of interviews bring to life the exploits of Otto Graham, Bill Willis, Marion Motley, Lou Groza, Mac Speedie, Len Ford, Dante Lavelli, Frank Gatski, and so many others. In rich detail, The Best Show in Football demonstrates why Cleveland's dynasty was the greatest ever, greater even than several teams that are usually accorded that honor. The conclusions may be surprising but the evidence is all here. And along the way author Andy Piascik provides a wonderful trip back to football's golden age.

Covering a 45-year period, "The Nebraska Way" chronicles both the historic rise and gradual fall of the Nebraska football dynasty, from the hiring of Bob Devaney and succession of Tom Osborne to the firing of Frank Solich and rapid separation from tradition. Along with the highs and lows of the Cornhuskers' achievements, "The Nebraska Way" also attempts to define Tom Osborne's philosophy as a coach and mentor as well as the relationship between the football program and the state it represents. Also discussed is the transition from a unique and special program to one assuming the characteristics of any other major college football program, and what it means for the future of the University of Nebraska football program.

A compelling narrative that follows the progress of a few key players and coaches over the last year. Joe Namath, Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, Reggie White, Emmitt Smith ...they all come out of the Southeast Conference (SEC). The SEC is the most exciting football conference in the country. Southerners are among the most devoted, most fanatical football fans in the nation; the average attendance at an SEC game is 70,000 (the highest in the US), with hundreds of thousands more watching the games on TV and listening on the radio. The SEC's nationally televised championship game annually attracts in excess of 20 million viewers. The SEC has more good teams, more good players, more All-Americans than any other region. This book looks at some of the biggest SEC teams, how they operate, what the players go through. From the locker rooms to the coaches to the championships, this is an in-depth look at the state of Southern football today. By extension it offers broader pictures of national college football.

This book lays down a marker as to the state of economists' understanding of the National Football League (NFL) by assembling sophisticated, critical surveys of by leading sports economists on major topics associated with the league. The book is divided into four parts. The first three chapters in Part I provide an overview of the business of the NFL from an economist's perspective. Part II is a collection of surveys of the economics of the NFL's most important revenue streams, including media, attendance, and merchandising. The NFL's labor economics is the focus of Part III, with chapters on player and coach labor markets, the draft, and contract structure. Part IV includes essays on competitive balance, gambling, economic impacts of the Super Bowl, behavioral economic issues associated with the league, and antitrust issues. This book will appeal to sports economists, sports management professionals, and policy-makers, and would be useful as a supplementary text for sports economics and management courses as well as a reference text."