By Darin Hayes The NFL you know today almost didn’t happen. In the Roaring Twenties, professional football was a niche sport—eclipsed by the star power of Babe Ruth and college football’s massive stadiums. Then came a seismic shift in 1925.
When the biggest college star in America, legendary All-American halfback Harold “Red” Grange, dropped out of the University of Illinois to sign with the Chicago Bears, he gave the fledgling league the superstar it desperately needed. Grange’s decision wasn’t just a signing; it launched the infamous 1925-1926 Barnstorming Tour, an event that took pro football out of the sandlots and onto the front pages of the nation.
To commemorate one of the most pivotal events in its history, grab your copy of Red Grange & Chicago Bears 1925-1926 Barnstorming Tour: 100th Anniversary Scrapbook. This definitive book is your essential guide to the tour that put the NFL on the map—a story whose impact still shapes professional football nearly a century later. Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the moment the NFL’s first true superstar changed the game forever!
For more of the books associated with Pigskin Dispatch and Darin Hayes check out the Our Books Page
[…] Can’t get enough Galloping Ghost Gridiron history? Check out our book by Chris Willis on the 100th Anniversary of the famous Bears’ Barnstorming Tour of Grange. […]