In over 600 entries on collegiate and professional American football players, coaches, teams, leagues, and executives, Grasso (independent scholar) addresses the history of the sport. Individual entries are up to two pages long and have boldface cross-references to other articles. The book begins with a historical chronology of football and a good introductory essay that should provide novices with a basic understanding of this predominantly North American sport. Biographical entries include date and place of birth and death (if deceased); they offer narrative descriptions of players' football careers without including individual season and career statistics, which are readily available online. Entries for leagues, teams, and universities are particularly well-written and interconnect with the biographies to place individuals in the broader context of the history of the sport. Numerous appendixes include lists of award winners and league/collegiate champions; unexpected lists, such as one for foreign-born National Football League players, are also available. The lengthy bibliography of suggested readings is a nice addition. This book would be a welcome acquisition for most academic libraries.

Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-level undergraduates; general readers.