Purchase
How the Steelers and the Eagles--"The Steagles"--Saved Pro Football During World War II
Da Capo Press
October 2006
On Sale: September 30, 2006
288 pages
ISBN: 0306814722
EAN: 9780306814723
Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction | Historical
A League of Their Own meets Friday Night
Lights: The American home front in World War II as seen
through a unique season in NFL history During World War
II, the National Football League faced a crisis unimaginable
today: a shortage of players. By 1943, so many players were
in the armed forces that the league was forced to fold one
team (the Cleveland Rams) and merge two others: the
Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Thus were
the Steagles born. The Steagles included military
draft rejects, aging stars lured out of retirement, and
even a couple of active servicemen who managed to get leave
for the games. The center was deaf in one ear, the wide
receiver was blind in one eye (and partially blind in the
other), and the halfback had bleeding ulcers. One player was
so old he'd never before played football with a helmet.
Yet, somehow, this motley bunch managed to post a
winning record--the first in the history of the Eagles and
just the second in the history of the Steelers. But
Last Team Standing isn't just about football. It's
also about life in the United States during World War II, a
time of fear and hope, of sacrifice and momentous change.
It's about rationing, racism, and Rosie the Riveter. It's
about draft boards, bond drives, the A-bomb, and movie
stars. Above all, it's about the men and women of the
Greatest Generation who couldn't fight, but helped win the
war in immeasurable ways.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
| 
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy