Great Teams, Great Years Book Series

[Retro Rider]

Big League is still around with an active eBay store. It’s a one man operation now as only Keith Hendrickson is still living. They still have tons of inventory datong back to the 1950s so if there’s anything you regret not buying back in the day...

Thanks for the info. on that. I recognize some of that stuff! I see they still have the Redskins Great Teams, Great Years book:

https://www.ebay.com/str/bigleaguemanagerbaseballco

[Jay Z]

I have all of them. I bought them all at once several years ago on eBay from the legendary Big League Co. in Hinckley, MN.

Big League Co. was around a long time. I got my KC Chiefs volume from them. I remember getting their catalogs back in the mid-late 1980's and ordering AFL related books like The $400,000 Quarterback, The Other League, We Came of Age, Winning it All and The Long Pass. They were all modestly priced and in great condition.

There was another series of NFL Team related books that came out around the same time as Great Teams, Great Years, though not as well done. I don't believe that all 26 NFL teams were featured. They were published by Prentice-Hall. The ones I have are in softcover. Off the top of my head I can confirm these:

Oakland Raiders: Fireworks and Fury
New England Patriots: Minutemen of the Gridiron
New York Jets: The Namath - Ewbank Era
Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins
Buffalo Bills
Dallas Cowboys
Washington Redskins
Atlanta Falcons

There are probably more in the series. I seem to remember the Packers, Bengals, Steelers, Browns and Vikings having volumes as well. Some editions like the N.Y. Jets were also available in hardcover.

Authors varied, but Stuart L. Daniels seems to have been the organizing publisher. Prentice-Hall was the company. Here are the books:

Green Bay's Packers; Return To Glory
Minnesot'a Vikings; The Scrambler And The Purple Gang
The Atlanta Falcons; Violence And Victory
New England's Patriots; Minutemen Of The Gridiron
The Cincinnati Bengals And The Magic Of Paul Brown
The Buffalo Bills; O.J. Simpson, Rushing Champion
Washington's Redskins; The Allen Triumph
Pittsburgh's Steelers; The Long Climb
New York's Jets; The Namath-Ewbank Era
The Miami Dolphins; Football's Greatest Team
The Cleveland Browns; Power And Glory
Oakland's Raiders; Fireworks And Fury
The Dallas Cowboys
The 49ers; Champions Of The West
The New York Giants; A New Tradition
The Denver Broncos

As with the other series, not all teams were covered.

[Andy Piascik]

It obviously wasn't a big enough issue for it to get any attention at the time but has anyone ever heard anything about why the NFL stopped the Great Teams, Great Years series?

[Retro Rider]

[

Authors varied, but Stuart L. Daniels seems to have been the organizing publisher. Prentice-Hall was the company. Here are the books:

Green Bay's Packers; Return To Glory
Minnesot'a Vikings; The Scrambler And The Purple Gang
The Atlanta Falcons; Violence And Victory
New England's Patriots; Minutemen Of The Gridiron
The Cincinnati Bengals And The Magic Of Paul Brown
The Buffalo Bills; O.J. Simpson, Rushing Champion
Washington's Redskins; The Allen Triumph
Pittsburgh's Steelers; The Long Climb
New York's Jets; The Namath-Ewbank Era
The Miami Dolphins; Football's Greatest Team
The Cleveland Browns; Power And Glory
Oakland's Raiders; Fireworks And Fury
The Dallas Cowboys
The 49ers; Champions Of The West
The New York Giants; A New Tradition
The Denver Broncos

As with the other series, not all teams were covered.

Great list Jay Z! They were published in 1973-74 I believe. Similar books were produced for various NHL teams as well. I also have an Ohio State Football volume that was issued in 1975.

[BD Sullivan]

But in the "Great Games" section the Rams Packers 1967 game in LA is featured. That game has several interesting aspects, but its historical significance even at the time was overstated. Then the entire George Allen era is confined to the "Other Years" section.

Of course, the Rams highlight film that year spends an inordinate amount of time on the Rams' Playoff Bowl rout of the Browns--as if that was some sort of precursor to great things.

[Saban1]

I liked the Detroit Lions book in the Great Teams, Great Years series. Especially interesting to me was the chapter about the final game of the 1956 season between Detroit and the Chicago Bears (the Ed Meadows game). Unusual to have one of Detroit's losses included in their great games. There also was interviews with Bobby Layne and Buddy Parker among others. A good read if you can get your hands on a copy.