For fans of professional football who thought they had read everything about the history of the game, Mark L. Ford breaks new ground with this account of the NFL preseason. Described as "test labs" by Ford, the preseason games are a time for trying out new strategies, considering future rule changes, and implementing television coverage innovations. For thousands of players who vie for a spot in the league every summer, the preseason is also the defining moment where careers can be made or broken. A History of NFL Preseason and Exhibition Games: 1960 to 1985 is one of two books by Ford on professional football's preseason. Along with its companion volume-which covers 1986 to 2013-this resource provides information on every NFL and AFL preseason game played since the AFL was launched in 1960. All the interesting events and people that were part of these summer battles are detailed, as well as the first outings for new teams, new rules, and new stars. In addition, Ford includes amusing anecdotes and mishaps, such as a 1972 game that was lost because the players wore the wrong shoes. Throughout the book, Ford recounts key off-season developments that would transform professional football from a modest enterprise into a global monopoly with annual revenues and assets worth billions. A History of NFL Preseason and Exhibition Games is a unique and important reference for pro football fans and cultural historians alike.
Acknowledgments Introduction 1. 1920-1959: Before They Were Called "Preseason Games" 2. 1960: A First for Almost Everything 3. 1961: Confronting the Segregated South 4. 1962: Experiments in Atlanta, Fort Worth, and Cleveland 5. 1963: Kickers and Paper Lions 6. 1964: A Soccer Player Changes American Football 7. 1965: AFL versus NFL, NBC versus CBS 8. 1966: Last Chance to Get in on the Merger 9. 1967: The Summer of Upsets 10. 1968: Don't Call Them "Exhibitions" 11. 1969: A Final Summer for the AFL 12. 1970: One League, Twenty-Six Teams, One Strange Summer 13. 1971: New Stadiums, New England 14. 1972: Too Many Injuries 15. 1973: Playing for Kicks 16. 1974: New Rules, New Competition; No Freedom, No Football 17. 1975: Work Stoppages and Walkouts 18. 1976: A Surfeit of Preseason 19. 1977: No More Barnstorming 20. 1978: Out with Six and Fourteen, in with Four and Sixteen 21. 1979: Reconfiguring for the 1980s 22. 1980: Raiders on the Move 23. 1981: Raiders Staying Put 24. 1982: Solidarity Handshakes 25. 1983: Taking the Show to England 26. 1984: The "No Fun League" 27. 1985: On the Threshold of a New Era Bibliography Index About the Author
