For fans of professional football who thought they had read everything about the history of the game, Mark L. Ford breaks new ground with this account of the NFL preseason. Described as test labs by Ford, the preseason games are a time for trying out new strategies, considering future rule changes, and implementing television coverage innovations. For thousands of players who vie for a spot in the league every summer, the preseason is also the defining moment where careers can be made or broken.A History of NFL Preseason and Exhibition Games: 1960 to 1985is one of two books by Ford on professional footballs preseason. Along with its companion volumewhich covers 1986 to 2013this resource provides information on every NFL and AFL preseason game played since the AFL was launched in 1960. All the interesting events and people that were part of these summer battles are detailed, as well as the first outings for new teams, new rules, and new stars. In addition, Ford includes amusing anecdotes and mishaps, such as a 1972 game that was lost because the players wore the wrong shoes.Throughout the book, Ford recounts key off-season developments that would transform professional football from a modest enterprise into a global monopoly with annual revenues and assets worth billions.A History of NFL Preseason and Exhibition Gamesis a unique and important reference for pro football fans and cultural historians alike.

Mark L. Ford is assistant editor of the Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) and President of the Eastern Broadcasting Company. He is a frequent contributor toCoffin Corner, journal of the PFRA.

AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. 19201959: Before They Were Called Preseason Games2. 1960: A First for Almost Everything3. 1961: Confronting the Segregated South4. 1962: Experiments in Atlanta, Fort Worth, and Cleveland5. 1963: Kickers and Paper Lions6. 1964: A Soccer Player Changes American Football7. 1965: AFL versus NFL, NBC versus CBS8. 1966: Last Chance to Get in on the Merger9. 1967: The Summer of Upsets10. 1968: Dont Call Them Exhibitions11. 1969: A Final Summer for the AFL12. 1970: One League, Twenty-Six Teams, One Strange Summer13. 1971: New Stadiums, New England14. 1972: Too Many Injuries15. 1973: Playing for Kicks16. 1974: New Rules, New Competition; No Freedom, No Football17. 1975: Work Stoppages and Walkouts18. 1976: A Surfeit of Preseason19. 1977: No More Barnstorming20. 1978: Out with Six and Fourteen, in with Four and Sixteen21. 1979: Reconfiguring for the 1980s22. 1980: Raiders on the Move23. 1981: Raiders Staying Put24. 1982: Solidarity Handshakes25. 1983: Taking the Show to England26. 1984: The No Fun League27. 1985: On the Threshold of a New EraBibliographyIndexAbout the Author