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The NFL in the 1970s: Pro Football's Most Important Decade
The 1970 merger between the American Football League and the National Football League laid the foundation for a stronger brand of gridiron competition, providing a new level of excitement for fans. This book examines each year of the NFL's pivotal decade in detail, covering the great names, great rivalries and great games, as well as the key changes in both strategy and rules. Along the way, the author explains how pro football developed into a near-religious American tradition.
444 pages, Paperback
Published July 8, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 20, 2020
The 1970’s brought numerous changes to the business side of the NFL as well as the product on the field. This book by Joe Zagorski is a very good recap of that decade for not only explaining all of these changes, but for a thorough description of the important games, players and teams of that decade.
Practically anything a reader wants to know about the league between 1970 and 1979 is covered in the book. Each chapter covers one year, ending with the Super Bowl played the following January (the Super Bowl was still played in January at that time). The bulk of the material covers important games from each week including the divisional playoffs, the conference championships and the Super Bowl. Of course, the better teams from that time are covered more in depth, but even weaker teams get mentioned as well. If there is any memorable game from that decade, it is included here. Whether it was when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally won their first game in 1978 after losing 26 straight games, the “Hail Mary” game between Dallas and Minnesota in the 1975 playoffs (a bitter memory for this reviewer) or the longest game in NFL history between Kansas City and Miami in 1971, this book is sure to have something about that game in the appropriate year.
Each chapter begins with the changes made in rules, player transactions, and any other important news that took place. Topics like the strike by the players’ union during the 1974 training camp and the end of the game between the defending Super Bowl champions and a team of college all-stars are explored in depth as well. Player profiles from this period are also included within the season summaries. They are not as prevalent as the factual information, but they are still very good. One of the better profiles was about Conrad Dobler, the St. Louis Cardinals’ guard who was considered by his peers to be the dirtiest player in the league. It was also nice to read about Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, an outspoken Dallas Cowboy, and his put-down of Steelers’ quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
Because the recaps of the games and the seasons are very detailed, this is a book is not to be picked up for light, pleasure reading. It should be digested carefully and can also be used as a reference book. If one wants to see how a particular team did in a particular season, the reader needs only to go to that particular chapter and glance through the text to find something about nearly every team. Teams that were the powerhouses of the decade, such as Pittsburgh, Dallas, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Rams and Oakland are all examined in depth in the seasons in which they were successful. This does lead to some repetition between chapters, but some of the information is worth repeating.
Readers who watched the NFL during this time will want to get this book for reliving some great (or maybe not-so-great) memories of their favorite players and teams. For those who are not familiar with that era, it will be a great book for researching and learning about this important decade in the NFL. The 1970’s brought many changes that still shape the game and how it is played today.
I wish to thank Mr. Zagorski for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
Practically anything a reader wants to know about the league between 1970 and 1979 is covered in the book. Each chapter covers one year, ending with the Super Bowl played the following January (the Super Bowl was still played in January at that time). The bulk of the material covers important games from each week including the divisional playoffs, the conference championships and the Super Bowl. Of course, the better teams from that time are covered more in depth, but even weaker teams get mentioned as well. If there is any memorable game from that decade, it is included here. Whether it was when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally won their first game in 1978 after losing 26 straight games, the “Hail Mary” game between Dallas and Minnesota in the 1975 playoffs (a bitter memory for this reviewer) or the longest game in NFL history between Kansas City and Miami in 1971, this book is sure to have something about that game in the appropriate year.
Each chapter begins with the changes made in rules, player transactions, and any other important news that took place. Topics like the strike by the players’ union during the 1974 training camp and the end of the game between the defending Super Bowl champions and a team of college all-stars are explored in depth as well. Player profiles from this period are also included within the season summaries. They are not as prevalent as the factual information, but they are still very good. One of the better profiles was about Conrad Dobler, the St. Louis Cardinals’ guard who was considered by his peers to be the dirtiest player in the league. It was also nice to read about Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, an outspoken Dallas Cowboy, and his put-down of Steelers’ quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
Because the recaps of the games and the seasons are very detailed, this is a book is not to be picked up for light, pleasure reading. It should be digested carefully and can also be used as a reference book. If one wants to see how a particular team did in a particular season, the reader needs only to go to that particular chapter and glance through the text to find something about nearly every team. Teams that were the powerhouses of the decade, such as Pittsburgh, Dallas, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Rams and Oakland are all examined in depth in the seasons in which they were successful. This does lead to some repetition between chapters, but some of the information is worth repeating.
Readers who watched the NFL during this time will want to get this book for reliving some great (or maybe not-so-great) memories of their favorite players and teams. For those who are not familiar with that era, it will be a great book for researching and learning about this important decade in the NFL. The 1970’s brought many changes that still shape the game and how it is played today.
I wish to thank Mr. Zagorski for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
September 23, 2016
My Old Football Cards Suddenly Came to Life …
The older I get, the more I appreciate my 70s childhood. I look back fondly at youth defined by Wacky Packages, 10-speeds, the ABC Sunday Night Movie and the glory of NFL football. While today’s NFL is as strong as ever, moneywise … the character, fun and simplicity of it all are gone forever … lost in a sea of overexposure, commercialism, politics and self-promotion. Joe Zagorski’s THE NFL IN THE 1970S gave me something I didn’t think was possible … a chance to relive those Sundays of watching games on the couch with my father and chattering with schoolmates on Tuesday mornings about the Monday Night Football game.
I’m sure a lot of 70s kids who were fans of the NFL knew most players by trading/collecting Topps football cards. I’ll also wager that man young fans of that era penned letters to Santa requesting NFL stuff they saw in the annual Sears Christmas Wishbook … What boy didn’t own a pair of those skin tight, flammable NFL team pajamas (with the helmet logo on the chest)? While reading this book, all those memories came flooding back, my old football cards appeared vividly in my mind and as I continued to read, I realized that everything I loved about NFL back then also ended back then.
Ed Podolak … Charlie Harraway … Boobie Clark … Bill Stanfill …
Zagorski’s book is rather straight-forward … each chapter is dedicated to an individual season from 1970 to 1979. One of the best parts of these chapters is the author’s introductory commentary that details the changes facing the league before the start of the season. These introductions allow readers to see the transformation of game rules, league politics, player issues and a host of other interesting tidbits that clearly illustrate how the NFL managed to usurp baseball’s claim as “America’s Game”. Following every season “preface”, the author dives right into analyzing the weekly gameplay, complete with statistical and descriptive highlights of significant games, plays and individual performances … from week 1 to the Super Bowl. Zagorski peppers player and coach reactions to games for added emphasis (and yes, Tom Landry’s commentary is as stiff as you’d expect). The sheer nature of summarizing an entire season of football games by lumping them into paragraphs does prove to be a tedious read (imagine a bunch of easy-to-view box scores being transformed into sentences and paragraphs). I found it easier to digest the book in small periodic doses. Personally, I didn’t really “get into” those initial 70s seasons as I my first recollection of seeing a Super Bowl on TV was in 1973, when I was 6 years old. Even though it was difficult to personally relate to the first several chapters, the manner in which Zagorski details EVERYTHING had me excited about getting to the season when I actually began taking an active interest in the sport (1974). As I continued to read, the events being described started to vividly play out in my mind like watching those slo-mo highlight reels with the John Facenda narration. One surprising byproduct of Zagorski’s dedication to detail is that almost every page mentions a player that I could clearly remember being on an old football card. Ironically, other than a few future Hall of Famers, I never saw most of those players on my football cards actually play … they were simply pictures and names … until I started reading this book.
Lloyd Mumphord … Jim Bakken … Tom Mack … Joe Pisarcik …
Throughout the season recaps, the author gives special attention to significant plays, player performances, personalities, trivialities and oddities that made that decade of football so unique and memorable. The detailed moments certainly break up the monotony of the droning game summaries. We get all the nicknames (“Dr. Death”, “The Over the Hill Gang”, “Cardiac Cards” and the “Doomsday Defense”), sense the futility of the league’s worst-ever expansion team (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), and feel the palpable hostility of the Redskin/Cowboy and Steeler/Raider rivalries. The league’s “dirtiest player” (ever?), Conrad Dobler, definitely occupies a good chunk of attention in the book … so does O.J. Simpson. As odd as it was to read about Simpson’s gridiron success (considering what was in store for him decades later), Zagorski does a great job staying focused on 70s football and only references future events to provide context (such as mentioning Michael Vick needing 16 games to break the QB season rushing record set in the 70s). Nothing slips by Zagorski’s meticulous research … Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Phyllis George, MNF and the Eagles’ fans violent tendencies … EVERYTHING is addressed. The 1970s NFL was a direct reflection American culture: wild, gritty and definitely blue-collar. The book captures a decade-long merging of sport and culture.
Stu Voight … Wally Chambers … John Brockington … Greg Landry …
The only NFL game I ever attended was the 1977 AFC Divisional Playoff on Christmas Eve (Raiders vs. Colts) … the double overtime classic nicknamed the “Ghost to the Post” game. The experience of sitting in Memorial Stadium that December afternoon is something I will cherish the rest of my life … it was a truly exciting decade for NFL football. Joe Zagorski’s book wasn’t a simple sports recap for me … It managed to uncover a fading moment of my childhood and allowed me to relive it all over again. I’m a very nostalgic person and this book simply hit the spot. THE NFL IN THE 1970s is a labor of love … I applaud the author’s meticulous research, attention to detail and the ability to vividly bring those old games back to life.
The older I get, the more I appreciate my 70s childhood. I look back fondly at youth defined by Wacky Packages, 10-speeds, the ABC Sunday Night Movie and the glory of NFL football. While today’s NFL is as strong as ever, moneywise … the character, fun and simplicity of it all are gone forever … lost in a sea of overexposure, commercialism, politics and self-promotion. Joe Zagorski’s THE NFL IN THE 1970S gave me something I didn’t think was possible … a chance to relive those Sundays of watching games on the couch with my father and chattering with schoolmates on Tuesday mornings about the Monday Night Football game.
I’m sure a lot of 70s kids who were fans of the NFL knew most players by trading/collecting Topps football cards. I’ll also wager that man young fans of that era penned letters to Santa requesting NFL stuff they saw in the annual Sears Christmas Wishbook … What boy didn’t own a pair of those skin tight, flammable NFL team pajamas (with the helmet logo on the chest)? While reading this book, all those memories came flooding back, my old football cards appeared vividly in my mind and as I continued to read, I realized that everything I loved about NFL back then also ended back then.
Ed Podolak … Charlie Harraway … Boobie Clark … Bill Stanfill …
Zagorski’s book is rather straight-forward … each chapter is dedicated to an individual season from 1970 to 1979. One of the best parts of these chapters is the author’s introductory commentary that details the changes facing the league before the start of the season. These introductions allow readers to see the transformation of game rules, league politics, player issues and a host of other interesting tidbits that clearly illustrate how the NFL managed to usurp baseball’s claim as “America’s Game”. Following every season “preface”, the author dives right into analyzing the weekly gameplay, complete with statistical and descriptive highlights of significant games, plays and individual performances … from week 1 to the Super Bowl. Zagorski peppers player and coach reactions to games for added emphasis (and yes, Tom Landry’s commentary is as stiff as you’d expect). The sheer nature of summarizing an entire season of football games by lumping them into paragraphs does prove to be a tedious read (imagine a bunch of easy-to-view box scores being transformed into sentences and paragraphs). I found it easier to digest the book in small periodic doses. Personally, I didn’t really “get into” those initial 70s seasons as I my first recollection of seeing a Super Bowl on TV was in 1973, when I was 6 years old. Even though it was difficult to personally relate to the first several chapters, the manner in which Zagorski details EVERYTHING had me excited about getting to the season when I actually began taking an active interest in the sport (1974). As I continued to read, the events being described started to vividly play out in my mind like watching those slo-mo highlight reels with the John Facenda narration. One surprising byproduct of Zagorski’s dedication to detail is that almost every page mentions a player that I could clearly remember being on an old football card. Ironically, other than a few future Hall of Famers, I never saw most of those players on my football cards actually play … they were simply pictures and names … until I started reading this book.
Lloyd Mumphord … Jim Bakken … Tom Mack … Joe Pisarcik …
Throughout the season recaps, the author gives special attention to significant plays, player performances, personalities, trivialities and oddities that made that decade of football so unique and memorable. The detailed moments certainly break up the monotony of the droning game summaries. We get all the nicknames (“Dr. Death”, “The Over the Hill Gang”, “Cardiac Cards” and the “Doomsday Defense”), sense the futility of the league’s worst-ever expansion team (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), and feel the palpable hostility of the Redskin/Cowboy and Steeler/Raider rivalries. The league’s “dirtiest player” (ever?), Conrad Dobler, definitely occupies a good chunk of attention in the book … so does O.J. Simpson. As odd as it was to read about Simpson’s gridiron success (considering what was in store for him decades later), Zagorski does a great job staying focused on 70s football and only references future events to provide context (such as mentioning Michael Vick needing 16 games to break the QB season rushing record set in the 70s). Nothing slips by Zagorski’s meticulous research … Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Phyllis George, MNF and the Eagles’ fans violent tendencies … EVERYTHING is addressed. The 1970s NFL was a direct reflection American culture: wild, gritty and definitely blue-collar. The book captures a decade-long merging of sport and culture.
Stu Voight … Wally Chambers … John Brockington … Greg Landry …
The only NFL game I ever attended was the 1977 AFC Divisional Playoff on Christmas Eve (Raiders vs. Colts) … the double overtime classic nicknamed the “Ghost to the Post” game. The experience of sitting in Memorial Stadium that December afternoon is something I will cherish the rest of my life … it was a truly exciting decade for NFL football. Joe Zagorski’s book wasn’t a simple sports recap for me … It managed to uncover a fading moment of my childhood and allowed me to relive it all over again. I’m a very nostalgic person and this book simply hit the spot. THE NFL IN THE 1970s is a labor of love … I applaud the author’s meticulous research, attention to detail and the ability to vividly bring those old games back to life.
October 28, 2018
Written as a timeline as the author walks through each year of the 70's in detail of the events from day to the Super Bowl. If you are from this era and a football fan you may add another star. Not a great read to learn about the stories behind the events. make a good Sports History reference book. Enjoy!
March 15, 2021
Good read.
February 25, 2026
Great read, very detailed. Brought back many memories. I enjoyed it immensely.
March 19, 2017
The Best Decade for the NFL
Everything you wanted to know about the NFL the 1970s is in this book. Very thorough look at the greatest decade in the NFL, in my Opinion.
Everything you wanted to know about the NFL the 1970s is in this book. Very thorough look at the greatest decade in the NFL, in my Opinion.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews