In celebration of the National Football League’s 100th season, noted football historian Chris Willis brings to life the story of Red Grange, the nation’s first NFL star, in this definitive biography. Harold “Red” Grange became a national sensation as a junior halfback at the University of Illinois in the 1920s. He quickly joined other great athletes of the Roaring Twenties such as Bobby Jones, Jack Dempsey, and Babe Ruth in enthralling audiences on the radio and in newspapers on a daily basis. A year later the "Galloping Ghost" stunned the country by dropping out of school after his last collegiate game and going pro with the six year old NFL, signing with the Chicago Bears. In Red Grange: The Life and Legacy of the NFL’s First Superstar, Chris Willis tells the remarkable story of a humble football player who rose to fame in the 1920s and became an icon. With unlimited access and complete cooperation of the Grange family, Willis offers new insight into Grange’s rags-to-riches story, including details about his tomboy mother who died when Grange was six years old and never-before-published information on Grange’s barnstorming tour with the Chicago Bears that instantly gave credibility to the fledgling NFL. With over fifty original interviews, personal letters to and from Grange, and more than forty photos, this definitive biography reveals in intimate detail the life of a sports pioneer. Whether as a player, coach, broadcaster, pitchman, Hall of Famer, ambassador, or icon, Red Grange was, and still is, the face of the early NFL and one of the greatest athletes of all-time.

Is an element in understanding football's central place in American culture.

Red Grange stood with Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey in the 1920s as the most heralded figures in America's "Golden Age of Sport." Grantland Rice immortalized Grange in rhyme as "The Galloping Ghost" and named him and Jim Thorpe the halfbacks on his all-time college team. In 1991, when Sports Illustrated published its first special issue celebrating "yesterday's heroes, " Red Grange, "An Original Superstar, " was featured on the cover. A three-time All-American at the University of Illinois in 1923-25, Grange scored 31 touchdowns and ran for 3,637 yards in three eight-game seasons. In 1924 he gave what many consider to be the greatest single-game performance in the history of college football. Playing before 67,000 fans on the dedication day of Illinois' new Memorial Stadium, Grange scored four touchdowns in the first twelve minutes of play, ran for a fifth touchdown in the third quarter, and passed for a sixth touchdown in the final period. When Grange joined the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day 1925, five days after his last college game, it marked the turning point for professional football. His enormous popularity and drawing power became the force that was to transform the NFL into a major sports attraction. This is the first paperback edition of Grange's autobiography, originally published in 1953 and praised by Robert Cromie of the Chicago Tribune as "the literary equivalent of a perfectly planned and executed touchdown march." Illustrated with more than a dozen photographs, it includes a new introduction and afterword by Ira Morton.

Jim Dent's Monster of the Midway is the story of football's fiercest competitor, the legendary Bronko Nagurski. From his discovery in the middle of a Minnesota field to his 1943 comeback season at Wrigley, from the University of Minnesota to the Hall of Fame, Bronko Nagurksi's life is a story of grit, hard work, passion, and, above all, an unstoppable drive to win. Monster of the Midway recounts Nagurski's unparalleled triumphs during the 1930s and '40s, when the Chicago Bears were the kings of professional football. From 1930, the Bronk's first year, through 1943, his last, the Bears won five NFL titles and played in four other NFL Championship Games. Focusing on Nagurski's 1943 comeback season, and how he miraculously led the Bears to their fourth NFL championship against the backdrop of World War II era Chicago, Jim Dent uncovers the riveting drama of Nagurski's playing days. His efforts were the stuff of legend, and his success in 1943 accomplished in spite of a battered frame, worn-out knees, multiple cracked ribs, and a broken bone in his lower back. While chronicling the drama of the '43 championship chase, Dent also tells of both the Bears' colorful early years and Bronko's improbable rise to fame from the backwoods of northern Minnesota. Woven into the narrative are the sights and smells and sounds of one of the most romantic, flavorful eras of the twentieth century. And laced through it all are stories of legend: Bronko rubbing shoulders with colorful characters like George Halas, Red Grange, Sid Luckman, and Sammy Baugh; Bronko running into (and breaking) the brick wall at Wrigley Field; Bronko winning All-American spots for two positions; Bronko knocking scores of opponents unconscious; and Bronko reaching the heights of football glory and, with rare grace, turning his back on the game after winning his last championship. Rich in unforgettable stories and scenes, this is Jim Dent's account of Bronko Nagurski-arguably the greatest football player who ever lived-and his teammates, the roughest, toughest, rowdiest group of players ever to don leather helmets, and the original Monsters of the Midway.

Written for every sports fan who follows the Bears, this account goes behind the scenes to peek into the private world of the players, coaches, and decision makers—all while eavesdropping on their personal conversations. From the Chicago locker room to the sidelines and inside the huddle, the book includes stories about Dick Butkus, Red Grange, George Halas, Walter Payton, and Gale Sayers, among others, allowing readers to relive the highlights and the celebrations.

In Dutch Clark: The Life of an NFL Legend and the Birth of the Detroit Lions, Chris Willis tells the remarkable story of an athlete from a small town in Colorado who would become one of the NFL's greatest players. Throughout his seven-year NFL career (1931-1932, 1934-1938), quarterback Dutch Clark was selected first team NFL All-Pro six times, led the league in scoring three times, was team captain of the Detroit Lions, and helped the Lions win the 1935 NFL Championship in just their second season in Detroit. Supplemented with archival interviews, never-before-seen photos, newspaper quotes, and anecdotes, Dutch Clark tells the rags-to-riches story of one of the NFL's first stars.

Unforgettable story from debut author Dean C. Hawthorne filled with college football history, the fun and the trouble spots in today's game and tantalizing "what ifs" to keep college football fans engrossed and entertained for hours.