Rozelle: A Biography

Rozelle chronicles the life and times of the architect of the modern National Football League, Pete Rozelle, who transformed football into arguably the most successful sports league in the world. While he was never considered a serious candidate for the job of NFL commissioner early on, the position ultimately catapulted Rozelle into the role through which he transformed the NFL and became a trailblazer for all sports in the second half of the twentieth century. When he became commissioner in 1960, the league had twelve teams playing to half-empty stadiums and was mired in an outdated business model. Rozelle introduced revenue and television profit sharing to guarantee the success of small-market teams and brought every NFL game to national television. Rozelle's monumental achievements include the introduction of the Super Bowl in the '60s followed by the NFL's most rapid expansion and the establishment of Monday Night Football. The '80s saw Rozelle presiding over drug scandals, labor struggles, and the league's legal battles with team owners such as Oakland's Al Davis, who famously won a lawsuit to move his Raiders to Los Angeles. Jerry Izenberg chronicles the iconic life of Rozelle, who revolutionized the culture of sports in America and is responsible for turning the NFL into the preeminent sports league in the world. Jerry Izenberg is a sports columnist emeritus for the Newark Star-Ledger and is the author of several books, including Through My Eyes: A Sports Writer's 58-Year Journey. He won the Red Smith Award from the Associated Press Sports Editors and was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 2000. David Stern is former commissioner of the National Basketball Association.

Author: Jerry Izenberg
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Published: 10/01/2014
Pages: 312
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.42lbs
Size: 9.32h x 6.32w x 1.12d
ISBN: 9780803255746

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 10/01/2014 pg. 90
Choice 05/01/2015 pg. 1544

About the Author
Jerry Izenberg is a sports columnist emeritus for the Newark Star-Ledger and is the author of several books, including Through My Eyes: A Sports Writer's 58-Year Journey. He won the Red Smith Award from the Associated Press Sports Editors and was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 2000. David Stern is former commissioner of the National Basketball Association.