English Football History

Football, soccer, association football, however you know it - this sport is the most popular in Europe! Look into the origins of how the greatest football league in the world was created, and how it became a financial powerhouse, the clubs that dominated Europe, how media coverage changed the sport, and what is to come next.

The pro football season of 1963 was dominated by the unexpected. In April, months prior to the beginning of play, it was revealed that two All-Star players, Paul Hornung and Alex Karras, were gambling on the sport and would be suspended from play for at least a year. Even worse, in May, one of the league’s bigger-than-life personalities, Big Daddy Lipscomb, was found dead, with police saying he perished from a heroin overdose, something those who knew him best still dispute.

Relive the greatest moments in Colts football—newly updated! With roots that go back to 1913, the Indianapolis Colts are one of the most storied franchises in the NFL. But the real legacy of achievement began in 1984 when the Colts arrived in Indianapolis after a midnight escape from Baltimore.

Ohio coaching legend Paul Brown said he wanted to create "the New York Yankees of pro football" when he assembled the Cleveland Browns from scratch in 1946. Despite his ambition, not even the future Hall of Fame coach could have foreseen ten league championship appearances and seven titles in the team's first ten years.

The 25th anniversary edition of the number-one New York Times best seller and Sports Illustrated's best football book of all time, with a new afterword by the author. Return once again to the timeless account of the Permian Panthers of Odessa - the winningest high school football team in Texas history.

In the four biggest American sports leagues, 124 franchises vie for the crown of greatest of all. Only one can sit atop the throne. Now for the first time ever, Got Your Legends ranks all of the franchises and explains which teams are legendary, or unique, or exciting, or tragic . . . or laughable.

The last time Canada qualified for a men's World Cup was in 1986. For a generation afterwards, the Canadian national men's soccer team struggled in obscurity, an afterthought in a country that was not yet soccer-mad. The twenty-first century brought a wave of soccer passion and expertise to this frozen country—and a crop of new superstar players who lifted the forgotten team into the international spotlight.

In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport - now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates soccer's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself.

Before agents and TV mega-rights ushered in multi-millionaire players, footballers’ wages were capped, with even the game's biggest names earning barely more than a plumber or electrician. Footballing legends shared a bond of borderline penury with the crowds they entertained on Saturday afternoons, on pitches that were far away from the pristine lawns of the modern era. Instead of the sports cars driven by today's top players, the stars of yesteryear travelled to matches on public transport and returned to homes as modest as those of their supporters.

In 2015, FIFA - the multibillion dollar governing body of the world's most-loved sport - was brought down by allegations of industrial-scale bribes, kickbacks, money laundering, racketeering, and tax evasion. Beginning with early morning raids in Zurich and the indictment of 27 executives by the US Department of Justice, the rottenness at the core of FIFA seemed to extend throughout all of soccer, from the decision to send the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar to lesser known cases of embezzlement from Trinidad to South Africa.

They were America's Team - the high-priced, high-glamour, high-flying Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s, who won three Super Bowls and made as many headlines off the field as on it. Led by Emmitt Smith, the charismatic Deion "Prime Time" Sanders, and Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, the Cowboys rank among the greatest of all NFL dynasties.

Don't have a clue about how football works? Don't worry—in this audiobook, you'll learn everything you need to know about the game, from punts to passes. Your kids will love learning about the history and stories that make the game what it is today. Written by a football fan for football fans, you'll find the answers to the most common football-related questions. Who's the greatest quarterback of all time? How does the timing of the game work? You'll discover all this and more...and have a blast while doing it!

When superstar athlete Jim Thorpe and football legend Pop Warner met in 1904 at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, they forged one of the winningest teams in American football history. Called "the team that invented football", they took on the best opponents of their day, defeating much more privileged schools such as Harvard and Army in a series of breathtakingly close calls, genius plays, and bone-crushing hard work.

Celebrate the 2023 Women's World Cup and the unstoppable rise of England's legendary Lionesses! Discover the incredible moments and players that have changed the women's game.

From tennis legend Billie Jean King to the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team, athletes have fought for equity and fairness for women in professional sports. Discover the pro athletes who have used their platform to speak out and affect change for all women.

The first fifty years of America's most popular spectator sport have been strangely neglected by historians claiming to tell the "complete story" of pro football. Well, here are the early stories that "complete story" has left out. What about the awful secret carried around by Sid Luckman, the Bears' Hall of Fame quarterback whose father was a mobster and a murderer? Or Steve Hamas, who briefly played in the NFL then turned to boxing and beat Max Schmeling, conqueror of Joe Louis?

Welcome to the School of Soccer! Dive into a world where soccer is more than a game—it's a lesson in dreams, perseverance, and triumph. "Inspiring Soccer Stories for Kids" invites young readers to discover the lives of 28 soccer legends who exemplify resilience and success. From Pelé and Ronaldinho’s iconic moves to Messi and Ronaldo’s relentless drive, these stories go beyond the pitch, offering lessons every child can apply to their life.

For more than 100 years, the NFL has been a showcase for some of the most jaw-dropping, gravity defying, breathtaking displays of human excellence. The greatest games come down to a single moment: an unbelievable catch, a show-stopping run, an astonishing interception. These performances stay in the minds and hearts of football fans long after the game is over. On Play By Play, host and former NFL wide receiver Andrew "Hawk" Hawkins breaks down these iconic moments with firsthand stories that drop you right into the middle of the most epic plays in football history.

The National Football League's current dominance has obscured how professional football got its start. In The League, John Eisenberg reveals that Art Rooney, George Halas, Tim Mara, George Preston Marshall, and Bert Bell took an immense risk by investing in the professional game. At that time, the sport barely registered on the national scene. The five owners succeeded only because at critical junctures in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, each sacrificed the short-term success of his team for the longer-term good of the League.

Like the men whose epic stories Jon Krakauer has told in his previous bestsellers, Pat Tillman was an irrepressible individualist and iconoclast. In May 2002, Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the United States Army. He was deeply troubled by 9/11, and he felt a strong moral obligation to join the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Two years later, he died on a desolate hillside in southeastern Afghanistan.