Here are twenty of my favorite football books. Just in time for Christmas. Maybe not.
25. Any football book written by Jim Dent
Twelve Mighty Orphans
Junction Boys
Monster of the Midway
Resurrection
Courage Beyond the Game: The Freddie Steinmark Story
Take your pick. They are all well written, incredible stories. I hope that Dent can get his life in order. For himself mostly but also for the incredible football stories that he still has to tell.
24. The Fifth Quarter: The Scrimmage of a Football Coach's Daughter, Jennifer Allen, 2000
Some of the best football stories are written by the people that know their subjects the best. Their family. Jennifer Allen presents a wonderful look at her football-coaching father George Allen.
23. Namath: a Biography, Mark Kriegel, 2005
If you're at all curious about the Joe Namath legend this is the book to read.
22. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger, 1990
A football classic. As much sociological study as football book.
21. Going Long: The Wild Ten Year Saga of the American Football League in the Words of Those Who Lived It, Jeff Miller, 2004
Perhaps the best book on the wildly entertaining American Football League.
20. About Three Bricks Shy of a Load, Roy Blount Jr., 1974
This book is an excellent season-long, inside look at a Pittsburgh Steelers just before the team is about to take over the NFL.
19. Giants and Heroes: A Daughter's Memories of Y. A. Tittle, Dianne Tittle De Laet, 1998
The second book on this list written by the daughter of a football personality. This book is simply wonderful.
18. Native American Son: The Life and Sporting Legend of Jim Thorpe, Kate Buford, 2010
This is the best book on one of America's greatest athletes.
17. Kassulke, Karl Kassulke, 1981
The former Vikings safety delivers the wildly entertaining characters on the Minnesota Vikings of the 1960s. It's a must for Vikings fans.
16. Paper Lion, George Plimpton, 1966
George Plimpton's writing. George Plimpton's football talents. The 1963 Detroit Lions. Fun times.
15. PB: The Paul Brown Story, Paul Brown with Jack Clary, 1978
From stories of his days attending San Francisco 49ers games at Kezar Stadium in the 1940s, my father introduced me to the coaching legend of Paul Brown. As a result those Cleveland Browns teams and the coach will always have a fond place for me.
14. A Civil War, John Feinstein, 1997
A terrific, intimate look into the incredible Army-Navy rivalry.
13. Finding the Winning Edge, Bill Walsh, 1997
This could be the coach's manual on how to run a football team.
12. Instant Replay, Jerry Kramer and Dick Schaap, 1968
Jerry Kramer's diary of the Packers 1967 season. There are a few season-long, peak-behind-the-curtains books on this list. This book is one of the first to be written and still one of the best.
11. Halas by Halas, The Autobiography of George Halas, George Halas with Gwen Morgan and Arthur Veysey, 1979
George Halas' story is the story of the NFL.
10. The Pros: A Documentary of Professional Football in America, Robert Riger with commentary from Tex Maule, 1960
This is a unique coffee table-type book. It presents the NFL to the reader through the fantastic artwork and photography of Robert Riger and commentary of Tex Maule.
9. Total Football/Total Football II, Bob Carroll, David Neft, John Thorn, and Michael Greshman, 1997/1998
You want a pro football encyclopedia? Here's your pro football encyclopedia.
8. Run to Daylight, Vince Lombardi with W.C. Heinz, 1963
Perhaps the first "inside look" football books. Vince Lombardi takes the reader through a week of preparation for a game during the 1962 season.
7. The Game That Was, Myron Cope, 1970
Some of my favorite football books are the oral histories and Myron Cope reached many of the game's best in this one. Dutch Clark, Johnny Blood, Marion Motley, Bill Willis, Bulldog Turner.
6. The Pro Football Chronicle: The Complete (Well Almost Record of the Best Players, the Greatest Photos, the Hardest Hits, the Biggest Scandals), Dan Daly and Bob O'Donnell, 1990
As the title suggests the book has a lot of everything.
5. Education of a Coach, David Halberstam, 2005
What could be better than a book written by a writer like David Halberstam about a coach like Bill Belichick?
4. What a Game They Played, Richard Whittingham, 1984
This is probably the best oral history book on football. Whittingham brings the reader the voices and experiences of many of the greats that made football great. Mel Hein, Don Hutson, Sid Luckman, Sammy Baugh, and so many others.
3. A Thinking Man's Guide To Pro Football/The New Thinking Man's Guide To Pro Football, Paul Zimmerman, 1970 and 1984
This book is so great that it had to be done twice. I only wish that there was a Newer... and Newest... editions as well. Zimmerman was probably the most knowledgeable football writer in the business. He could talk and write about the game like a coach.
2. When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi, David Maraniss, 1999
The best football biography that I've read. There were a handful of years in which I had to re-read this book prior to the start of the NFL season. Just to get ready.
1. America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation, Michael MacCambridge, 2005
Michael MacCambridge tells the story of the NFL since World War II through a focus on the Browns, Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys, Raiders, and Rams. Well researched and very well written. If you want one book on the history of the NFL to read, this is it.
There are so many more fantastic football books out there. So many more.
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