Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 296
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜
978-1-5381-2484-0 • Hardback • June 2019 • $35.00 • (£27.00)
978-1-5381-2485-7 • eBook • June 2019 • $33.00 • (£25.00)
Chris Serb is an independent journalist who has written extensively for such publications as Chicago Tribune, Chicago History, Writer’s Digest, Chicago Athlete, and Men’s Fitness. He is the author of Sam’s Boys: The History of Chicago’s Leone Beach and Legendary Lifeguard Sam Leone (2000), whose profits were donated to charity. Serb was a finalist for Chicago Headline Club’s prestigious Peter Lisagor Award for Best Sports Feature in 2000.
In this impressively researched volume, journalist Serb (Sam’s Boys: The History of Chicago’s Leone Beach and Legendary Lifeguard Sam Leone) makes the plausible argument that the success of military service football during World War I prompted the establishment of the National Football League one year later. These games and teams demonstrated that fans would show up for post-graduate football that lacked college connections. Moreover, prominent figures such as Walter Camp and Gen. John J. Pershing expressed the view that football was useful in the training and fitness of soldiers, as well as providing men with a positive pursuit in their free time. Serb details the proliferation of service ball at U.S. military bases in 1917–18 while the army and navy were being assembled, and features extensive accounts of significant contests. Several soldiers who played service ball during the Great War would later play in the NFL, including George Halas, who would prove to be the driving force of the league for over 60 years as the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears. He and many other major players and coaches are profiled here. VERDICT For anyone interested in the early days of football and its interaction with the U.S. military, this book will prove to be a valuable reference.— Library Journal
RECOMMENDED . . .In this descriptive history, independent sports journalist Serb argues that "war football" played in military training camps and overseas during World War I directly led to the creation of the NFL by improving the environment around--and reputation of--professional football. The book is well documented with references to primary historical sources, particularly newspapers and programs, thus adding new information to the field . . . This is a valuable contribution to the field, given its focus on an often overlooked period of sport history.— CHOICE
. . . an enjoyable page-turner. . . This account of how the war impacted the growth of the sport takes us in a different direction from previous histories that focus on Walter Camp, George Halas, or the sport’s semi-professional roots. Serb’s analysis of the impact of WWI as a situational factor provides a new way to understand the sport’s growth.
— Sport in History
An impeccably researched work which details the time period during the Great War when football was being played at U.S. military bases at home and abroad— Insidehook
Think you know all there is to know about the NFL? Think again. In his fascinating book, War Football, Chris Serb digs deep into American history to tell the riveting story of how World War I directly led to the birth of the NFL and brings to life the intrepid pioneers who formed what has become the nation's most important sports league.— Christine Brennan, USA Today sports columnist and ABC News, CNN, and NPR commentator
Chris Serb’s War Football is a revelation. It is a thoroughly researched and wonderfully written saga. This book shines a light on the untold story of World War I, including its role in the birth of what would ultimately become today’s National Football League. The rich detail that brings to life those early days—endowed by our football forefathers, Walter Camp and George Halas—is not to be missed!— Pete Dawkins, US Army Brigadier General (ret.), 1958 Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Fame halfback at West Point
• Winner, The PFRA Nelson Ross Award for "Outstanding Recent Acheivement in Pro Football Research and Historiography." (Pro Football Research Association, 2019)