Last Team Standing: How the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles-- The "Steagles"--Saved Pro Football During World War II | 
 enlarge | Author: Matthew Algeo
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $3.74
You Save: $11.21 (75%)
New (22) Used (19) from $2.35
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 671619
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 296
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 13 x 8.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0306815761
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN: 9780306815768
ASIN: 0306815761
Publication Date: August 27, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. Delivery is usually 5 - 8 working days from order, International is by Royal Mail Airmail
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Product Description
During World War II, the national Football League faced a crisis unimaginable today: a shortage of players. By 1943, so many players were in the armed forces that the league was forced to fold one team (the Cleveland Rams) and merge two others: the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Thus were the “Steagles” born. The Steagles included military draft rejects, a superstar lured out of retirement, and even a few active-duty servicemen who got leave for the games. Yet, somehow, this motley crew posted a winning record-the first in Eagles’ history and the second in Steelers’ history. A book about football, about life during the war, Last Team Standing is, above all, about those of the Greatest Generation who, against all odds, contributed to America’s war effort in the unlikeliest ways.
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 LAST TEAM STANDING IS OUTSTANDING February 9, 2008
AUTHOR MATTHEW ALGEO DOES A GREAT JOB TELLING US ABOUT THE STEELERS AND EAGLES WHO FOR ONE YEAR MERGED AS ONE TEAM, THE STEAGLES. DURING WWII, EVERYTHING WAS RATIONED, ESPECIALLY MEN WHO WERE CALLED TO FIGHT THE WAR. ONLY 4F AND MEN WHO WORKED IN A JOB IMPORTANT TO THE WAR EFFORT WERE AVAILABLE TO PLAY. BECAUSE OF THE ECONOMY, RATIONING AND SMALL NUMBER OF MEN AVAILABLE A FEW TEAMS IN THE NFL FOLDED. BUT TWO TEAMS MERGED TO BECOME ONE FOR JUST ONE SEASON. THE BOOK FOCUSES ON THE COACHES WHO HATED EACH OTHER AND THE PLAYERS WHO BARELY KNEW EACH OTHER. A DETAILED GAME BY GAME DESCRIPTION IS A HIGHLIGHT TO THIS BOOK ALONG WITH THE NOSTALGIC MEMORIES OF WWII AND LIFE IN THE 1940'S. MANY MANY PEOPLE ARE DESCRIBED IN THIS MUST READ LIKE ART ROONEY, BERT BELL AND GREASY NEALE. A HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS FOR ALL FOOTBALL FANS.
 A delightful surprise January 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
So, there's the same guys and gals in the gym in the morning. Every morning, same people, same time. Suddenly you become gym buddies. Occasionally we find ourselves discussing movies, music and books. My gym buddy Barry, who over the ten years I have seen him, has never been without Penn State logo athletic clothes, passed Matthew Algeo's Last Team Standing to me.
Despite a three foot pile of books in the "to read" section, I gravitated to this delightful, surprising book and knocked it off in three days.
While I am no longer an NFL fan, this book about the one year merger between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles in 1943 was as much a discourse on the homefront during World War II as it was a football book. Algeo does a fine job by setting the tone of the era. Here is an NFL populated with 4-F players, riddled with perforated eardrums, flat feet, bleeding ulcers. An NFL with eight teams in the league. Players earning $200 per game for a ten day season, and the Steagles (the unofficial nickname) being enjoined by their respective owners to work full time jobs in the defense industry.
Sell out crowds of 34,000. Tickets at $3.50. A disgruntled lineman returning to the game only to find out that the new rules require that he wear a helmet, war-time travel restrictions, 1943 steel pennies, limited substitutions, and 60-minute men.
As we gird ourselves for the late January/early February media assault that has become the Super Bowl it is an interesting time to read about the earlier days of the league and some truly tough players.
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