What a Game They Played: An Inside Look at the Golden Era of Pro Football [Paperback]

Richard Whittingham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1987

In their own words, the pioneers and legends of professional football tell of the early glory years of the National Football League. From the 1920s through the 1940s, pro football players were paid only hundreds of dollars per game and rarely had substitutes. The conditions and times of this era are vividly recalled by such players as Red Grange, Johnny Blood, Clarke Hinkle, Ace Parker, Shipwreck Kelly, Mel Hein, Sammy Baugh, Don Hutson, and Sid Luckman. The players also reveal personal glimpses of how they got started in football, the conditions on the field, their life away from it, and their memories of outstanding games and competing against such giants as Jim Thorpe.

Full of wry and wonderful anecdotes, What A Game They Played invites sports fans to experience the fresh and inventive early years of pro football, a game played in an America quite different from what it is today.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Each first-person narrative reveals the paltry salaries, poor playing conditions, and general instability of the fledgling league. Each also reveals the competitiveness, camaraderie, and pioneering spirit of players and owners alike. . . . Football buffs will revel in the no-holds-barred accounts of great games and famous names, but even marginal fans will appreciate the vitality with which these unique individuals retell the stories of their lives."—Booklist

(Booklist ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Richard Whittingham is the author of Rites of Autumn: The Story of College Football as well as a number of sport histories, including chronicles of the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins. Keith McClellan is the author of The Sunday Game: At the Dawn of Professional Football.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 235 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Paper) (September 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067164498X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671644987
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,253,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent look at early NFL, June 20, 2008

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What a Game They Played: An Inside Look at the Golden Era of Pro Football (Paperback)

This book is a collection of semi-autobiographies of many of the most famous NFL football players of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s when the league was just getting started and fighting for its spot in the sun. Each chapter centered around one player such as Sammy Baugh, Sid Luckman and host of other legendary players still alive to write their story. Its an insightful look of the "good old days" NFL, often funny and other time, amazing. The book has been well edited and reading is superbly entertaining as well as educational. Each chapter also got couple of short anecdotal stories on some of the legends of the game long gone like Jim Thorpe or Bronko Nagurski.

When I read this book, there is no doubt in my mind that men who played this game back then, were probably the toughest players ever to played NFL football. Sure there are guys today who are built bigger, faster and all that, but these stories in this book make any reader realized how tough and mean, NFL used to be compared to today's soft touch rules design to lessen injuries. These players were in the game for 60 minutes, they have to be good in both offense and on defense. Compared that with the specialized players of today.

This book is should be read by any fan of the NFL to give such a fan a good perception on how the NFL evolved and developed during the past 75 years.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The NFL's Early Early Years, April 8, 2008

By 

Jeffrey C. Bullock - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: What a Game They Played: An Inside Look at the Golden Era of Pro Football (Paperback)

An oral history about the NFL's early early days, like before most of us were even born and in some cases, before our parents were born. It feels like the author took these oral histories word for word so it makes for very choppy and uneven reading, not something that you can zip thru in one reading, despite the barely 200+ pages - it's nice to read about players who I've barely heard of and some I never knew about, and also about the two way players then. I think the author could have shaped the oral histories better to make it a better read, and like I always say, beware of books which Amazon sells for at the list price - there's a reason for that.

5.0 out of 5 stars A GOOD READ ABOUT EARLY NFL, December 18, 2005

By 

COOL JEWEL (MACEDONIA, OHIO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What a Game They Played: An Inside Look at the Golden Era of Pro Football (Paperback)

THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT NFL STARS THAT PLAYED IN THE 1920'S THRU THE 1940'S. SUCH STARS AS RED GRANGE, SAMMY BAUGH, DON HUTSON, AND SID LUCKAMN ARE FEATURED. THEIR STORIES AND INSIGHTS ARE VERY INTERSTING AND ENTERTAINING. I BELIEVE THE AUTHOR RICHARD WHITTINGHAM, DID A GREAT JOB. THIS WAS AN ERA WHEN MEN WERE MEN, THEY PLAYED THE ENTIRE GAME. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED HOW THE GAME WAS PLAYED BACK THEN OR ARE A REAL HISTORIAN OF PRO FOOTBALL THIS IS A GREAT READ FOR YOU. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.