Our first feature is about the great collectable football books from the period we call the Vintage Years, pre-1950. Actually all the books are from the 1930s or before. The Modern Era (1950 and beyond) will be featured in other articles. Some articles will be only about coaching, some about famous teams and others about a particular Head Coach or personality. We will even have articles about how-to-collect football books and preserve them.

To kick-off our first article I am going to list several of the classic football books all collectors should try to obtain for their collection along with a short description. The books will be organized in alphabetical order by author (normally the coach).

By "Bernie" Bierman; Book has wide appeal as a textbook for coaches and players and instructive reading for football fans. Book is completely illustrated with action photographs and diagrams.

By Walter Camp; Without any question, one of the all-time classic football books written by the "Father of American Football." Includes 31 portraits and is usually only available today as a Print on Demand (POD) book.

By Walter Camp; A continuation of the book above and again a must have for any football book collection.

By H.O. "Fritz" Crisler; Written by one of the greatest college coaches in the 1930 and 40’s, his book is an indispensable handbook for coaches, players and spectators who love the game of football.

By Parke H. Davis; 504 pages of football history, games, players and famous plays like the Wedge, Tackle-back, the shift, The V and many others. Lots of wonderful, detailed illustrations included in this must have book. Davis is one of my personal favorite authors in the collection.

By John Heisman; Written while coach at the University of Pennsylvania and years before the naming of the Heisman Memorial Trophy in his honor. Coach Heisman believed in the principles as much as any football coach in the game.

By Lou Little; A fan’s guide to watching football in the pre-TV days of leather helmets and limited forward passing; illustrated with action photos and play diagram, etc. Little was the Head Coach at Columbia University.

By Knute Rockne; Coach Rockne wrote several books before his untimely death. This one is probably his best as considered by many coaches and the fans of Notre Dame.

By Knute Rockne; Sportswriter Grantland Rice said it best, "I think it is one of the most interesting and instructive books on football I have ever read." Truly, a classic football book!

By William W. Roper; …but as a splendid sort of preparatory school for life – the successful man is the one who can fight through adversity, who can take punishment and come up smiling, who’s never beaten till the whistle blows. Enjoy this book!

By Amos Alonso Stagg & Wesley Stout; WOW! what a history of the game of football in America. For anyone who studies the game from the beginning, TOUCHDOWN is loaded with information and is a must read.

By Amos Alonso Stagg and Henry Williams
Coach Stagg states in the opening, The game of football is fast becoming the national sport of American youth. That was in 1893. This is my personal favorite book in my collection. Need I say anymore?

By Harry A. Stuhldreher; A biography on coaching great Knute Rockne from Notre Dame.

By Glenn Scobey Warner; You probably know him as "Pop" Warner who coached Jim Thorpe, but this book was written after 33 years of coaching and while at Stanford University. It is a fabulous HOW TO book on coaching the game of football. It covers all aspects of the game.

By Fielding H. Yost; One of the best ever coaching football books ever written when you consider the time and that the game was still very early in its development. Coach Yost believed example is the very best teacher and he used that principle with photos and drawing throughout this book. A GREAT read!

Finally, the last suggested item to collect is not a book but an annual football guide. Spalding Sporting Goods published their annual Spalding’s Official Football Guide from 1891 to 1940 and then it became an NCAA publication. They are very scarce and in fact I’ve never owned one, nor do I recall ever seeing one. But if you come across one, don’t let it get away.

We hope you have enjoyed our introduction to antique football books and we would like to have your comments and post them on the rivalryfootball.com website. Any suggestions or ideas about football books will be greatly appreciated and acted upon.