The Man Who Built the National Football League

By Chris Willis,

Book cover of The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr

Book description

Founded in 1920, the National Football League chose famed athlete Jim Thorpe as its first president, a position he held briefly until a successor was elected. From 1921 to 1939, Joe F. Carr guided the sport of professional football with intelligence, hard work, and a passion that built the foundation…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Man Who Built the National Football League as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Obviously, this book is a biography, not a history. But, because it’s the biography of Joe F. Carr, who was the president of the National Football League from 1921 to 1939, it’s also the history of the league during those formative years.

Under Carr’s guidance, the NFL grew from a loose collection of mostly small-town teams into a well-organized league of teams in big cities, with the sole exception of the Green Bay Packers.

From Ralph's list on the history of pro football.

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