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The Life and Teams of Johnny F. Bassett

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 12:22 pm
by Denis Crawford
Shameless plug for my latest book. It is available now from McFarland:

https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the- ... f-bassett/

One of the most influential sportsmen of the late 20th century, Johnny F. Bassett’s marketing wizardry belied his impact on professional hockey and football. A Canadian showman with a Barnumesque flair for spectacle, Bassett challenged the orthodoxy of sports, building sporting utopias in the fatally flawed World Football League, World Hockey Association, and United States Football League. He catered to the common fan, demanded fair treatment of athletes, and forced the sporting establishment to change the way it did business, often to his own detriment.

Drawing on archival research and interviews with Bassett’s contemporaries, this comprehensive biography chronicles his life in and around professional sports: his quixotic attempt to compete with the Maple Leafs; his stunning coup in signing three members of the reigning Super Bowl champions for his WFL team; his battles with the Canadian government over American football; his audacious marketing of hockey in Alabama; and his rivalry with Donald Trump for the soul of the USFL.

Re: The Life and Teams of Johnny F. Bassett

Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:50 pm
by Halas Hall
Looking forward to the book. Bassett is great in the terrific documentary on the 1985 Tampa Bay Bandits - Steve Spurrier, Gary Anderson (the RB from Arkansas), Chuck Pitcock, Bassett. Thanks for the heads up.