Here's the official synopsis:

Many in football's establishment opposed legalizing the forward pass in 1906 and worked to remove it from the game for a decade. Despite severe restrictions and an oddball assortment of early throwing techniques, the forward pass proved exciting, became more reliable, and survived.

When Football Came To Pass covers why football legalized the forward pass, the rules and other constraints on its development, and how Eddie Cochems and other pioneers developed solutions that ultimately led to the forward pass revolutionizing the game.

The forward pass defines football today, but the early forward pass was unlike its present form. Lacking a roadmap and playing under different rules, they had to figure out how to throw the ball mechanically and conceptually. Teams used techniques and play designs unimaginable today until more liberal rules and talented players emerged, and they could pass the ball consistently to win games. At that point, attempts to remove the forward pass from the game faded away.

I hope everyone who reads Football Archaeology will buy a copy of the book. When Football Came To Pass is a fun, informative read, plus buying a copy supports the work of this site.

Your options on Amazon include:

• Kindle: $9.99

• Kindle Unlimited: FREE

• Kindle Audio/Audible: $9.99

• Paperback: $21.99

• Direct: Buy the paperback directly from me for $22.00, U.S. shipping included. Contact me at footballarchaeologytb@gmail.com

If you are not already a paid annual subscriber to Football Archaeology, enroll now, and I'll send a copy of the book, or another one of your choosing.

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All five books are available through my Amazon Author page.

Thanks!

Here’s one of his comments about How Football Became Football.

Brown, who has written four books and is a regular on football history podcasts, earned a reputation for meticulous research and deep curiosity. With its wide-angle view and fine-grain detail, How Football Became Football is a rare kind of football book – sweeping in scope but precise in focus. It’s a smart, approachable read for fans who want to understand not just what changed in football history, but why.

You can find the full review here. If you have not already read the book, check out the review and decide whether you can live another day without acquiring a copy.

Thanks, Shane, for the beautifully written review.

Football Archaeology is reader-supported. Click here to donate a couple of bucks, buy one of my books, or otherwise support the site.

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When not researching and writing about football history, I provide ghostwriting, editing, and consulting services, often through freelance agencies. However, I’m happy to work direct if you or your organization needs writing, editing, or research consulting services.

My ghostwriting experience covers a range of B2B and B2C applications. Recent assignments include:

Writing

• Business proposal and proposal library development

• Internal sales playbook for a major commercial building services firm

• Fractional aircraft industry executive interviews leading to company profile blog posts

• Diesel engine technologies, industrial electrical and temperature sensing product blog posts and web content

• Website content for sporting goods, real estate, legal, and other clients

• White paper for software product targeting the U.S. Army as its client

• Insurance, vision, and veterinary blog posts

Editing

• Humanizing AI-generated home maintenance website content

• Editorial reviews and line editing of books, typically on football history

Consulting

With 20+ years experience in automotive and commercial equipment marketing research, and having conducted 250+ focus groups, I perform selected marketing research / interviewing studies

• Most recent study on parent perceptions of their schools and school district

Contact Information

Contact me: FootballArchaeologyTB@gmail.com

With Georgia and Texas set to meet this weekend, ESPN's David Hale came across the article while researching a story about the 2019 Sugar Bowl encounter between Bevo and Uga. A quick quote from yours truly made the cut in the article he published today, An oral history of when Bevo charged Uga at the Sugar Bowl.

After a little more sleuthing today, I found a page from the 1921 Texas yearbook that tells the tale of Bevo’s origin and his final resting place, which ended up being the dinner plates at an athletic banquet held in his honor.

If you have not done so, read the Tidbit and David Hale’s oral history before watching the game on Saturday at 7:30 ET on ABC.

Football Archaeology is reader-supported. Consider becoming a paid subscriber or buying one of my books here.

Subscribe for free for limited content or gain full access with a paid subscription.

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Thank you for subscribing to Football Archaeology. Since you are a free subscriber, I wanted to let you know of changes occurring with the site.

January 31 was the 660th straight day I published a story about football history. The daily grind leaves too little time to work on other things, like my next book. So, I will reduce how often I publish and focus more on paid subscribers. 

Starting February 1, paid subscribers will receive

• 2-3 Football Archaeology stories per week ranging from 1 to 5-minute reads.

• Invitations to monthly Zoom meetings and access to recordings.

• Full access to the archives to read at their leisure.

Free subscribers will have access to some articles and previews of the first few paragraphs of the remaining content. Similar restrictions will affect the stories in the archives: some will be accessible, and others will be restricted.

I hope those who enjoy Football Archaeology will join as paid subscribers to gain full access and support the site.

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This morning, I’m the Uni Watch guest author with an article about football and vacuum tubes. The story covers the bad old days when televisions had vacuum tubes that burned out without warning and how that affected the ability to watch a game. The story illustrations come from a brochure with the 1971-72 NFL schedule and instructions on diagnosing which vacuum tube needed replacement.

I hope you enjoy it.

Football And Vacuum Tubes

I’ll repost the article on Football Archaeology in a few days.

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My story on the evolution of football officials’ signals and their representation in football publications is the lead article on Uni Watch this morning. It includes images from 1918 to the late 1950s. I hope you enjoy it.

The Art of Football Officials’ Signals

I’ll repost the article here in a few days.

If you are into old-time officiating, the following tells the origin stories of football whistles, signals, and flags.

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Buy Me A Coffee

My Books on Amazon

Blog-Used Items

Either way, I hope you enjoy it!

Subscribe for free and never miss a story. Regular readers, please consider a paid subscription or make a small donation by buying me a coffee.

Buy Me A Coffee

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My story on the evolution of letter sweaters and jackets is the lead article on Uni Watch this morning. It includes fun images and catalog entries from the first decades of the 1900s to the late 1950s showing the sweaters and jackets of the time.

Click here for Honoring Letter Sweaters and Jackets

I’ll repost the article here in a few days.

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Hut! Hut! Hike! explores the history of football terminology by examining when and why more than 400 familiar words and expressions entered the game. By linking the game’s evolution to changes in its language, readers learn the origins of first string, basic fundamentals, X’s and O’s, long snapper, and hundreds more terms used in every football conversation or broadcast. In addition, you will learn which change in the game led to dropback and handoff becoming popular, and why the names for many defensive player positions emerged in the 1950s and 1960s.

Organized in easy-to-read, bite-size chunks and filled with period images and illustrations, Hut! Hut! Hike! tells football’s history one word at a time.

A reminder… All paid subscribers by end of the day on November 30, receive a free copy of the book.

Pricing includes:

• Paperback: $27.99

• ebook/Kindle: $9.99

• Kindle Unlimited: Free

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  Subscribe for free and never miss a story. If you are a regular reader, consider a paid subscription to support my work.

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Sorry if I am bombarding you today, but I wanted to ensure you know that there is a new addition to my Substack publication: the Football Archaeology subscriber chat.

This is a conversation space in the Substack app set up exclusively for my subscribers — kind of like a group chat or live hangout. I’ll post short prompts, thoughts, and updates that come my way, and you can jump into the discussion.

I plan to use the chat sparingly unless you tell me otherwise.

To join the chat, you’ll need to download the Substack app (messages are sent via the app, not email). Turn on push notifications, so you don’t miss a chance to join the conversation.

The first chat is an opportunity for you to provide feedback about Football Archaeology - what you like a lot and what you like less. Fire away!

How to get started

1. Download the app by clicking this link or the button below. Chat is only on iOS for now, but chat is coming to the Android app soon.

Get app

2. Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.

3. That’s it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.

Join chat

I’ve already started my first chat thread so come on over and say hello!

My story on football artwork in college yearbooks is the lead article on Uni Watch this morning. It includes some beautiful images from twenty-five years of yearbooks dating from 1907 to 1932. Check them out while cheering your team to victory today!

Click here for College Yearbook Football Art

I’ll repost the article here in a few days.

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Good morning!

I’ll post a Tidbit this evening at the usual time, but I wanted to alert you to a guest article I wrote for UniWatch, which was released this morning: The Good Old Days of Sideline Gear.

UniWatch always has great content for those interested in uniforms and gear. Hopefully, this article hit the mark. I’ll publish the same article on Football Archaeology early next week.

Thanks,

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"This book is a must for any football library."

Read the full review below.

"This book is recommended for anyone who enjoys reading about college football (even though these were not considered college teams) or World War I."

Read his review here.

A 2020 article in the Chicago Tribune by Phil Thompson covered the impact of the Spanish Flu on sports in Chicago. The article included content and quotes from yours truly.

“The war generally created this network of football players who got to know one other,” Brown said. “Up to that point, the college game was the only thing that mattered. … But the wartime military teams was the first time all-star teams of current and former college players could get together, compete and get a lot of attention. They got a lot of press coverage.”

Click here to read the article.

"Football... came to symbolize the strength, toughness and cleverness the American fighting man would soon bring to the less friendly battlefields of Europe. It was powerful imagery."

The United States World War I Centennial Commission was charged with planning, developing, and executing programs, projects, and activities to commemorate the centennial of World War I, including a National Memorial in Washington, D. C. Their website includes weekly updates on topics related to WWI., including an interview regarding Fields of Friendly Strife.

Click here for the interview.

“I wouldn’t say it saved the Rose Bowl, but it certainly solidified it,” says Timothy Brown, author of the recently published Fields of Friendly Strife: The Doughboys and Sailors of the World War I Rose Bowls. “And in the broader picture, I believe that these service teams were also critical to the development of the NFL.”

Click here for the article.