The First 50 Years: The Story of the National Football League 1920-1969 by National Football League

The First 50 Years: The Story of the National Football League 1920-1969 Reviews

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  John Nelson

  I find the early NFL (through the 1970s) to be much more interesting than the contemporary corporate and overly commercialized version. This book was issued in 1970 and re-issued in 1973 to commemorate the league's first fifty years of play. It provides a quick overview of the league's history and describes the gradual evolution of offensive and defensive strategies. (Interestingly, some of the shotgun and pistol offenses currently in vogue seem largely to be a throwback to what was used in the 1930s, before the "T" formation took over the game. All that's missing is having Slingin' Sammy Baugh to take the snap.) The pictures show many of the game's greats from those years and also illustrate the evolution of the uniform from something completely different to its modern form.
  
  Personally, I would have enjoyed having more of the colorful, sometimes off-color stories from the league's early years included, and the repetitive quotes on how hard the hitting is aren't really needed - having just a few would serve to make the point. On the whole, however, reading this book is an entertaining exercise in nostalgia and sports history.