The Man Who Built the National Football League

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 of what the NFL has become: the number one sports organization in the world. During his eighteen-year tenure as NFL President, Carr created the organization's first Constitution & By-Laws; implemented the standard player's contract; wrote the NFL's first-ever Record and Fact Book; helped split the NFL into two divisions and establish the NFL's World Championship Game; started keeping league statistics; and developed the NFL Draft. But Carr's greatest achievement was creating a vision for the NFL as a big-city sport. By skillfully recruiting financially capable owners to operate NFL franchises in big market cities, he created the solid foundation for the league's successful future. While the sport has grown to unheard of heights, Carr's name and accomplishments have been lost and forgotten. The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr captures the life and career of this pivotal figure in professional sports, chronicling the many achievements of a man whose vision helped shaped what the NFL is today. With unlimited access and complete cooperation from the Carr family-including family interviews, personal letters, and family photos-as well as NFL League Minutes, Willis recounts the fascinating life and career of a man dedicated to the game.

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.

Foreword James A. Carr, grandson of Joe F. Carr
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: One Man's Vision
Part I: Humble Beginnings (1879-1919)
1. The Irish Way (1841-1878)
2. Growing Up in Columbus, Ohio (1879-1893)
3. The Love of a Family Is Replaced by a Love of Sports (1894-1906)
4. The Columbus Panhandles and the Great Nesser Brothers (1907-1909)
5. Starting a Family (1910-1913)
6. Pro Football's Most Famous Traveling Team (1914-1916)
7. Making a Name for Himself (1917-1919)
Part II: The Presidency (1920-1939)
8. The American Professional Football Association (1920)
9. President Elect (1921)
10. The National Football League (1922)
11. Defending Professional Football (1923)
12. Baby Steps for President Carr (1924)
13. The NFL Comes to New York City (1925)
14. The Galloping Ghost and Pottsville Controversy (1925)
15. The Grange League (1926)
16. Traveling for a Cause (1927-1928)
17. How Do We Get to the Big Cities and Stay? (1929-1930)
18. Small-Town Green Bay Is Titletown (1931)
19. Indoor Circus (1932)
20. The Pro Game Separates Itself from the College Game (1933)
21. Sneakers in New York (1934)
22. The Postgraduate Game Is Finally a Big-City Sport (1935)
23. Packers, Redskins, and the NFL Draft (1936)
24. Heart of Gold Continues to Work (1937)
25. "Greatest Show in Football" (1938)
26. Death of a President (1939)
27. Aftermath
28. Pro Football Hall of Fame (1963)
29. The Legacy of Joe F. Carr
Appendix: Dates and Locations of NFL Meetings Presided by NFL President Joe F. Carr (1921-1939)
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author