The Sunday Game (Ohio History and Culture) [Perfect Paperback]

Keith McClellan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1998 | Series: Ohio History and Culture

In the most complete and compelling account of the origins of professional football, The Sunday Game tells the stories of all the teams that played independent football in the small towns and industrial cities of the Midwest, from early in the twentieth century to the beginning of the National Football League shortly after the end of World War I. The foundations of what is now the most popular professional sport in America were laid by such teams as the Canton Bulldogs and the Hammond Clabbys, teams born out of civic pride and the enthusiasm of the blue-collar crowds who found, in the rough pleasure of the football field, the gritty equivalent of their own lives, a game they could cheer on Sunday afternoons, their only day free from work.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With today's multimillion-dollar player contracts and equally grandiose sponsorship deals in football, it's hard to imagine the game's modest beginnings. This book is a detailed chronicle of the start of semi-professional football, focusing on the period from 1915 to 1917. During these three seasons, players were paid for the first time; fans were charged admission; teams were sponsored (often by railroad companies) and newspaper coverage of games became more significant. Many of these early football teams became members of the National Football League, particularly where there was strong community support and interest. Not surprisingly, rivalry between neighboring cities and teams was fairly common. This book is a very precise description of the players, managers and atmosphere with the occasional interesting vignette, such as when one team refused to get on the field because the opposition had a black player. However, the play-by-play accounts of some games and details about the team schedules are just boring. Also, much of the early history takes place in the Midwest and is associated mostly with college teams, which further limits the book's appeal. Today's fans simply accept the existence of the game and probably aren't curious enough to read a play-by-play of games from 80 years ago.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Even before the NFL, there was professional football. This amazing bit of research into old Midwestern factory town newspapers details the forgotten origins of the professional game as it made the transition from independent teams to a fully professional league. The book is divided into team-by-team histories from 1915 to 1917, with four chapters devoted to the Canton/Massillon rivalry between the era's two best squads. An assortment of period photographs is interspersed with the somewhat dry text, and an appendix lists rosters and schedules for the teams. McClellan, editor of the Employee Assistance Quarterly and a member of the Pro Football Researchers Association, draws a parallel with contemporary times by emphasizing the importance of community pride in the support and success of teams and the inherent competitive disadvantage for smaller market teams. Recommended for public and academic libraries less for its writing than for its significant historic value.?John M. Maxymuk, Rutgers Univ. Lib., Camden, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 503 pages
• Publisher: University Of Akron Press (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884836364
• ISBN-13: 978-1884836367
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,437,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Football History, September 9, 2007

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This review is from: The Sunday Game (Ohio History and Culture) (Perfect Paperback)

My interest is because my Grandfather played for the Columbus Panhandles, Frank Nesser... Good book!