Four Quarters of History

Professional football has come a long way from its origins as a game played on sandlots and frozen fields to the high-tech spectacular it is today. This book focuses on ten games of the modern era that, collectively, have shaped and defined the National Football League. The chapters will go beyond mere descriptions of the games as they trace the significance of a particular contest on the growth of the league. From “the greatest game ever played”—the 1958 NFL championship that marked the dawn of the TV era for the NFL—to Joe Namath’s guaranteed win in Super Bowl III, Franco Harris’s Immaculate Reception, and the rise of the New England Patriots’ dynasty, Fischer covers the games that have helped propel pro football to its status as the most popular game in America.