Overview

Gridiron football or American football or just plain football is the most popular sport in the United States in the 21st century. Although attempts have been made to develop the sport outside North America, it is still predominantly a North American sport with similar games (but significant rules differences) played in the United States and Canada. The Historical Dictionary of Football covers the history of American football through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries on both amateur (collegiate) and professional players, coaches, teams and executives from all eras. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the sport of football.

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9780810878563

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In over 600 entries on collegiate and professional American football players, coaches, teams, leagues, and executives, Grasso (independent scholar) addresses the history of the sport. Individual entries are up to two pages long and have boldface cross-references to other articles. The book begins with a historical chronology of football and a good introductory essay that should provide novices with a basic understanding of this predominantly North American sport. Biographical entries include date and place of birth and death (if deceased); they offer narrative descriptions of players' football careers without including individual season and career statistics, which are readily available online. Entries for leagues, teams, and universities are particularly well-written and interconnect with the biographies to place individuals in the broader context of the history of the sport. Numerous appendixes include lists of award winners and league/collegiate champions; unexpected lists, such as one for foreign-born National Football League players, are also available. The lengthy bibliography of suggested readings is a nice addition. This book would be a welcome acquisition for most academic libraries. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-level undergraduates; general readers. CHOICE Grasso (Historical Dictionary of Tennis) acknowledges that attempting to define everything involved in football is akin to throwing a Hail Mary pass. Instead, he sets his pigskin parameters; 600 alphabetically arranged, cross-referenced entries cover a fair representation of both amateur (collegiate) and professional players, coaches, teams, and executives as the game has been played in North America over the last 150 years. A chronology and introduction provide context, and 16 appendixes showcase fans' beloved gridiron data. VERDICT An essential addition to library collections with other titles in this series. Library Journal

Author Information

John Grasso is an Olympic historian, he has been Treasurer of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) since 2004, and is a member of the Association for Professional Basketball Research (APBR), the North American Society for Sport History (NASSH), the Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) and was the founder of the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) in 1982. He is the author of Historical Dictionary of Basketball (Scarecrow, 2010), and Historical Dictionary of Tennis (Scarecrow, 2011).

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