Old Leather

Very little has been documented about the early days of pro football and the pioneers who had a major influence in the history of the NFL. Chris Willis, head of the Research Library at NFL Films, seeks to address this neglect. In this collection of original and archival interviews, former players, owners, fans, family members and league officials provide a rare glimpse into the origins of professional football. Full of rich anecdotes, early stars such as Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, Dutch Clark, Glenn Presnell, and Pete Henry are brought back to the playing field. The interviews also reveal how small towns in Ohio such as Canton, Akron, Columbus, and Dayton came to host franchises, as the state became a major force in the founding and growth of the NFL.
Old Leather provides the reader with a firsthand look at a period that has largely been ignored. It recalls what the era of professional football was like in the age of leather helmets, no television, dirt fields, small salaries and when playing for the love of the game was its own reward. This book will appeal not only to historians, sportswriters, and scholars, but also to die-hard fans and general history buffs who can never get enough of America's favorite sport.
Contains 17 photographs of players, owners, and teams.

Chris Willis is the head of the Research Library at NFL Films. He is the author of multiple books on professional football, including The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr; Walter Lingo, Jim Thorpe, and the Oorang Indians: How a Dog Kennel Owner Created the NFL's Most Famous Traveling Team; and Red Grange: The Life and Legacy of the NFL's First Superstar, all published by Rowman & Littlefield. Willis was nominated for an Emmy in 2002 for his work on the HBO documentary The Game of Their Lives and won an Emmy in 2016 for his work on HBO's Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Houston Texans. He was awarded the Professional Football Researchers Association's Ralph Hay award for lifetime achievement in pro football research and historiography in 2012. He lives in Audubon, New Jersey.

Part 1 Foreword
Part 2 Preface
Part 3 Acknowledgments
Part 4 Introduction
Chapter 5 1 Lester H. Higgins
Chapter 6 2 Joseph F. Carr
Chapter 7 3 Fritz Pollard
Chapter 8 4 Nesser Brothers
Chapter 9 5 George "Hobby" Kinderdine
Chapter 10 6 Lee Fenner
Chapter 11 7 Ike Roy Martin
Chapter 12 8 Arda Bowser
Chapter 13 9 Art Haley
Chapter 14 10 Walter Lingo
Chapter 15 11 William Guthery, Sr.
Chapter 16 12 William Roy "Link" Lyman
Chapter 17 13 Hal Broda
Chapter 18 14 Glenn Presnell
Chapter 19 15 Dr. Louis Chaboudy
Chapter 20 16 Leo Blackburn
Chapter 21 17 Earl "Dutch" Clark
Chapter 22 18 Cyrus Kahl
Chapter 23 19 Norris Steverson
Part 24 Overtime
Part 25 Appendix: Complete Standings, Team Rosters, Game Results, and Attendance Figures for all Ohio Teams in the National Football League, 1920-1935
Part 26 Notes
Part 27 Index
Part 28 About the Author