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Title details for Rozelle by Jerry Izenberg - Available

Rozelle

A Biography

by Jerry Izenberg
David J. Stern
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
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Rozelle chronicles the life and times of the architect of the modern National Football League, Pete Rozelle, who transformed football into arguably the most successful sports league in the world. While he was never considered a serious candidate for the job of NFL commissioner early on, the position ultimately catapulted Rozelle into the role through which he transformed the NFL and became a trailblazer for all sports in the second half of the twentieth century. When he became commissioner in 1960, the league had twelve teams playing to half-empty stadiums and was mired in an outdated business model. Rozelle introduced revenue and television profit sharing to guarantee the success of small-market teams and brought every NFL game to national television.
Rozelle's monumental achievements include the introduction of the Super Bowl in the '60s followed by the NFL's most rapid expansion and the establishment of Monday Night Football. The '80s saw Rozelle presiding over drug scandals, labor struggles, and the league's legal battles with team owners such as Oakland's Al Davis, who famously won a lawsuit to move his Raiders to Los Angeles.
Jerry Izenberg chronicles the iconic life of Rozelle, who revolutionized the culture of sports in America and is responsible for turning the NFL into the preeminent sports league in the world.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 1, 2014

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780803266971

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780803266971
      • File size: 3889 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      October 1, 2014

      Izenberg is one of a handful of veteran sportswriters who has covered all 48 Super Bowls, and his intricate knowledge of the inner workings of the NFL serves him well here. The author started writing this biography in the 1970s and set it aside for decades before finishing it recently. Many of the people he originally interviewed are now deceased, so it is fortunate that he preserved their insights into Pete Rozelle (1926-96), perhaps the most significant commissioner in U.S. sports history. In 2007, Rozelle was the subject of a substantial and definitive biography by Jeff Davis, but this shorter work gives a different perspective and is essential reading, too. The author employs a delightfully old-school sports writing style and his sources provide sharp, revealing stories that have not previously been disclosed. Tableaus depicting Rozelle's interactions with longtime secretary Thelma Elkjer and NFL power broker Tex Schramm are particularly striking. The book admiringly makes a strong case that Rozelle was the indispensable man behind the NFL's explosive growth into a massive cultural and economic force in American society. VERDICT All professional football fans will enjoy this well-reported biography of a seminal figure in NFL history.--John Maxymuk, Rutgers Univ. Lib., Camden, NJ

      Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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