LibraryAware October 2025

Huddle Up - Everything NFL

The League : How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire
by John Eisenberg

Part history of football, part extraordinary story of business ingenuity, a riveting story follows the five individuals who took an immense risk by investing in the professional game, shepherding the league through its rough early decades and building the most popular sport in America.

The Forgotten First : Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Marion Motley, Bill Willis, and the Breaking of the NFL Color Barrier
by Keyshawn Johnson

Chronicles the lives of four incredible men, the racism they experienced as Black players entering a segregated sport, the burden of expectation they carried, and their many achievements, which would go on to affect football for generations to come.

The Best Game Ever : Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL
by Mark Bowden

The remarkable story of the 1958 NFL Championship game between the Colts and the Giants--considered by many to be the greatest football game ever played.

The Last Headbangers : NFL Football in the Rowdy, Reckless '70s, the Era that Created Modern Sports
by Kevin Cook

Describes the earlier years of the NFL, when players hitchhiked to practice and stayed in fleabag motels, and how the organization transformed into the corporate, scripted multibillion-dollar spectacle it is today.

Shula : The Coach of the NFL's Greatest Generation
by Mark Ribowsky

The best-selling author of The Last Cowboy chronicles the life story of Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, covering such subjects as his Depression-era youth with his immigrant parents and the Miami Dolphins’ first perfect season in NFL history.

NFL Heroes : The 100 Greatest Players of All Time
by George Johnson

Profiles of the 100 best players to ever play in the National Football League.

New Sports Books

Death of a Racehorse : An American Story
by Katie Bo Lillis

The dark side of modern horseracing is exposed through high-profile doping scandals, class tensions and the relentless pursuit of profit, revealing how financial greed endangers thoroughbreds while exploring the industry's moral failings and potential paths to reform.

The Warrior : Rafael Nadal and his Kingdom of Clay
by Christopher Clarey

Nadal has won big on tennis's many surfaces en route to becoming one of the greatest players of all time: securing two Wimbledon titles on grass and four U.S. Open titles on cushioned acrylic hardcourts. But clay, the slowest and grittiest of the game's playgrounds, is where it all comes together best for his tactical skills, whipping topspin forehand and gladiatorial mindset. Clay is to Rafael Nadal what water is to Michael Phelps, which helps explain one of the most impressive individual sports achievements of the 21st century.

Iron Hope : Lessons Learned from Conquering the Impossible
by James Lawrence

The “Iron Cowboy” known for his endurance racing shares how to develop unshakable mental strength by building consistency through small, repeated promises, revealing how an ordinary person can achieve extraordinary goals through relentless perseverance and mindset.

Sir Lewis
by Michael E. Sawyer

Traces Lewis Hamilton's rise from humble beginnings to becoming a seven-time Formula One world champion, highlighting his on-track dominance, advocacy for social justice and diversity, and lasting influence on motorsports, culture and global sports.

Runs in the Family : An Incredible True Story of Football, Fatherhood, and Belonging
by Sarah Spain

Based on an Emmy and Peabody Award–winning sports journalist's viral ESPN article, the volume follows the remarkable true story of Deland McCullough, a football coach and father of four whose life was forever changed by the unsealing of his adoption records.