The League

How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire

By: John Eisenberg

Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May

The “deeply researched, surprise-on-every-page, and altogether marvelous” (Weekly Standard) tale of the five owners who shepherded the NFL through its tumultuous early decades and built the most popular sport in America

The National Football League is a towering, distinctly American colossus spewing out $14 billion in annual revenue. But it was not always a success. In The League, John Eisenberg focuses on the pioneering sportsmen who kept the league alive in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, when its challenges were many and its survival was not guaranteed. At the time, college football, baseball, boxing, and horseracing dominated America's sports scene. Art Rooney, George Halas, Tim Mara, George Preston Marshall, and Bert Bell believed in pro football when few others did and ultimately succeeded only because at critical junctures each sacrificed the short-term success of his team for the longer-term good of the league.

At once a history of a sport and a remarkable story of business ingenuity, The League is an essential read for any fan of our true national pastime.

Critic reviews

"John Eisenberg tells the fascinating account of how five owners, including the Bears's George Halas, cut through their disputes and differences to work together to form the foundations of the league."—Chicago Tribune

"The pluck-and-luck tale of the creation and stabilization of the league is a small but exemplary chapter in American capitalism and popular culture."—Wall Street Journal

"[A] deeply researched, surprise-on-every-page, and altogether marvelous new book"—Weekly Standard

"Drawing on extensive research and personal interviews with descendants of the principle figures, Eisenberg (That First Season) puts a nearly century-old story into contemporary context. Football fans of all teams will appreciate this fascinating history."—Publishers Weekly

"A readable and fresh look at the early history of the NFL"—Library Journal

"Fans who only know the league as it exists today will be shocked and fascinated by its early years."—Booklist

"A rich history of the rise of the National Football League from its virtual obscurity at its genesis in the 1920s to its position as an economic and cultural powerhouse today... Thoroughly researched and gracefully told... An engaging and informative cultural history, on and off the gridiron."—Kirkus (Starred)

"In The League, John Eisenberg goes deep. He takes us to where it all started, in smoky backrooms, when the NFL-an American monolith now-was more David than Goliath. Carefully researched and astutely narrated, this is a fascinating time-transport trip that tells us as much about America as it does about football.—Gary M. Pomerantz, author of Their Life's Work

"We have had some terrific owners since the first half of the 20th century but founders are founders, and this is their marvelous story--how they survived the Great Depression and a World War, scrambling to make their player payrolls from week to week. They did it through their incredible character, loyalty to each other, and their love of the game--and they built the greatest sports league in America."—Ernie Accorsi, former General Manager of the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants

"Talk about a team of rivals ready to claw each other to death on Sundays and join forces to sell their game from Monday to Saturday, this is it! Halas, Mara, Marshall, Bell, and Rooney-this is their story. It is also the NFL's story. How the men and the league came though the ballyhoo of the 1920s, survived the Great Depression and World War II, and set the stage for football's ascendency as the national game is told by John Eisenberg with humor, heartbreak, and insight. Before the owners were billionaires, they were just a collection of scoundrels who believed in football and money."—Randy Roberts, coauthor of A Season in the Sun

Great listen.

Very good historical account of the early days of the NFL. Highly recommended for fans of the game.

what a great book. loved it completely.

had a great time reading it. Had some history I was unaware of in the NFL. if you're a football fan of must-read.

Great book on the NFL

The book is a solid read that details the struggle of a small group of individuals forging what we know today as the national football league. The book showcases the emergence of the different teams representing large eastern towns and how they came to be so popular and beloved. The book seems incomplete and almost felt more of an admiration of a biographical piece following George Halas while giving some time to the other owners as well. However, it feels like there was more beyond 1955 which is when the book ends.

loved it

love the history of the NFL definitely worth checking out of you are interested in how it all started.

Must for NFL fans

Great historical tale of how not only League was shaped but also how the Rules of the Sport were shaped for the better. A must for any NFL fan, especially fans of the Bears, Eagles, Giants, Redskins, and Steelers.