Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

I'd like opinions on the best Green Bay Packer biographies and the best biographies on the NFL in general that have been written. I'm most interested in biographies on players from the NFL early years(1920-1959).

I enjoyed Preston Pearson's 1985 autobiography. I remember it as candid and insightful. Staubach's Time Enough to Win (1980) was also good. It's not really a biography, but Stuart Leuthner's 1988 book Ironmen maybe up your alley.

The thing I don't like about biographies is that it's a big time investment to learn about just one player. I've still read a lot of them, but the one that stands out to me is this one:

Fritz Pollard: PIONEER IN RACIAL ADVANCEMENT (Sport and Society)
by John M. Carroll (Author)

Interestingly, the same author wrote one about Grange that I didn't care for. What elevates the Pollard one to me is a couple of things. I felt the sources he was able to obtain were superb and he used them really well to tell a story. The main thing for me though, was that by reading it, you get introduced to other aspects of football history. For example, the coverage of the Anthracite league and other early black pros like the player referred to as the "black Nagurski" was really informative. He also referenced the research of several PFRA members.

TanksAndSpartans wrote:The thing I don't like about biographies is that it's a big time investment to learn about just one player.

I'm the same with biographies. It's why the best ones to me are about commissioners. Since you get all the league business/history included.

For example, "The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr" was one of my favorite books to read because it covered pre, founding, and early years of the NFL.

Halas Hall wrote:I enjoyed Preston Pearson's 1985 autobiography. I remember it as candid and insightful. Staubach's Time Enough to Win (1980) was also good. It's not really a biography, but Stuart Leuthner's 1988 book Ironmen maybe up your alley.

I was aware of Ironmen and I can see myself getting this one someday.

TanksAndSpartans wrote:The thing I don't like about biographies is that it's a big time investment to learn about just one player. I've still read a lot of them, but the one that stands out to me is this one:

Fritz Pollard: PIONEER IN RACIAL ADVANCEMENT (Sport and Society)
by John M. Carroll (Author)

Interestingly, the same author wrote one about Grange that I didn't care for. What elevates the Pollard one to me is a couple of things. I felt the sources he was able to obtain were superb and he used them really well to tell a story. The main thing for me though, was that by reading it, you get introduced to other aspects of football history. For example, the coverage of the Anthracite league and other early black pros like the player referred to as the "black Nagurski" was really informative. He also referenced the research of several PFRA members.

When I look at the Fritz Pollard book on Amazon I notice that a new copy costs $500 and used copies go for over 2 Grand. I guess it must be hard to find. I'll have to read the other autobiography on Pollard: Breaking the Color Barrier: The Story of the First African American NFL Head Coach, Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard by Frank Foster

Reaser wrote:

TanksAndSpartans wrote:The thing I don't like about biographies is that it's a big time investment to learn about just one player.

I'm the same with biographies. It's why the best ones to me are about commissioners. Since you get all the league business/history included.

For example, "The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr" was one of my favorite books to read because it covered pre, founding, and early years of the NFL.

The reviews on Amazon for the Joe Carr biography echo your sentiments. I think I'll be ordering this one in the near future.

This is the list of biographies I plan to read in the near future:

"Passing Game - Benny Friedman and the transformation of Football" by Murray Greenberg

"Breaking the Color Barrier: The Story of the First African American NFL Head Coach, Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard" by Frank Foster

"Red Grange: The Life and Legacy of the NFL's First Superstar" by Chris Willis

"Leatherheads of the North: The True Story of Ernie Nevers & the Duluth Eskimos" by Chuck Frederick

"The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr" by Chris Willis

"Slingin' Sam: The Life and Times of the Greatest Quarterback Ever to Play the Game" by Joe Holley

"Caught by Don Hutson!: A Biography of Pro Football's First Modern Receiver" by Lew Freedman (Being released in November)

Any comments or reviews pro or con on this list would be appreciated.

You Can't Catch Sunshine by Don Maynard was really good. I also really enjoyed Dan Pastorini's Taking Flak and Bum Phillips' Coach Cowboy Christian. Tom Landry's autobiography is also really good.

"Passing Game - Benny Friedman and the transformation of Football" by Murray Greenberg

I liked the Friedman/Greenberg book - it was well done.

Sorry to hear about the Pollard bio. That's crazy! I looked up my Amazon order and I paid $17.44 in 2018. Keep an eye on Abe Books and eBay too. I sent a member my Dutch Clark bio recently because that one can be hard to find too and I'd already read it. But the Pollard one I actually use as a reference.