Scarecrow Press
Pages: 206
Trim: 6¾ x 9
978-0-8108-5660-8 • Paperback • July 2005 • $41.00 • (£32.00)
978-1-4616-7017-9 • eBook • July 2005 • $39.00 • (£30.00)
Chris Willis is head of the Research Library, NFL Films, a position he has held since 1996. He is the author of Columbus Panhandles: A Complete History of Pro Football's Toughest Team, 1900-1922 (2007) and The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr (2010), both published by Scarecrow Press.
Joe Horrigan is the Vice-President of Communications/Exhibits at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Part 1 Foreword
Part 2 Preface
Part 3 Acknowledgments
Part 4 Introduction
Chapter 5 1 Lester H. Higgins
Chapter 6 2 Joseph F. Carr
Chapter 7 3 Fritz Pollard
Chapter 8 4 Nesser Brothers
Chapter 9 5 George "Hobby" Kinderdine
Chapter 10 6 Lee Fenner
Chapter 11 7 Ike Roy Martin
Chapter 12 8 Arda Bowser
Chapter 13 9 Art Haley
Chapter 14 10 Walter Lingo
Chapter 15 11 William Guthery, Sr.
Chapter 16 12 William Roy "Link" Lyman
Chapter 17 13 Hal Broda
Chapter 18 14 Glenn Presnell
Chapter 19 15 Dr. Louis Chaboudy
Chapter 20 16 Leo Blackburn
Chapter 21 17 Earl "Dutch" Clark
Chapter 22 18 Cyrus Kahl
Chapter 23 19 Norris Steverson
Part 24 Overtime
Part 25 Appendix: Complete Standings, Team Rosters, Game Results, and Attendance Figures for all Ohio Teams in the National Football League, 1920-1935
Part 26 Notes
Part 27 Index
Part 28 About the Author
For anyone interested in an easy read on how it all began, Old Leather is a good introduction.
— The Columbus Dispatch
The stories in Old Leather: An Oral History of Early Pro Football in Ohio, 1920-1935 have appeal far beyond that of average sports anecdotes.
— Akron, (Ohio) Beacon-Journal
...Old Leather is fast, enjoyable reading, and contains a few significant nuggets of insight about the experiences, environment, and attitudes of pioneering players and league officials....All in all, this book is fun reading and the pictures displayed in the book are real treasures...
— Journal of Sport History
This collection of 19 interviews with former players, owners, fans, and league officials sheds light on the origins of the National Football League. Illustrated with b&w historical photographs, the volume focuses on the NFL's first 15 seasons, during which football grew from a scrappy, small town sport into a glamorous game played by superior athletes in front of huge audiences. Included in the appendix are complete standings, team rosters, game results, and attendance figures for all Ohio teams in the NFL during the period 1920-1935. Willis is resident historian at NFL Films...
— Reference and Research Book News
The author's success in finding "new ways to make use of materual from NFL archives" may inspire the creation of a more definitive history of the 'Cradle of Professional Football'
— The Oral History Review, August 26, 2010
This collection of 19 interviews with former players, owners, fans, and league officials sheds light on the origins of the National Football League. Illustrated with b&w historical photographs, the volume focuses on the NFL's first 15 seasons, during which football grew from a scrappy, small town sport into a glamorous game played by superior athletes in front of huge audiences. Included in the appendix are complete standings, team rosters, game results, and attendance figures for all Ohio teams in the NFL during the period 1920-1935. Willis is resident historian at NFL Films.
— Reference and Research Book News
• Winner, Nelson Ross Award from the Professional Football Researchers Association 2005