The Columbus Panhandles - by Chris Willis (Paperback)

About the Book

In 1901 workers at the Panhandle shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Columbus, Ohio formed a professional football team called the Columbus Panhandles. The railroad workers, mainly European immigrants, learned the game of football not on college gridirons, but on the sandlots of railroad yards during their lunch breaks. With the leadership of an innovative team manager and its tough physical play, the Panhandles went on to play for more than twenty years as one of the most successful teams in the rag-tag days of professional football.

Incorporating original interviews and actual newspaper accounts, Chris Willis recreates the largely forgotten story of this unique squad of men. In The Columbus Panhandles: A Complete History of Pro Football's Toughest Team, 1900-1922, Willis shows how team manager, future NFL commissioner Joseph Carr, used the perks of free railroad travel for employees and the gate attraction of the famous Nesser brothers to build pro football's most successful traveling team. Season by season, Willis provides a fascinating account of the team's spectacular triumphs and crushing losses.

Book Synopsis

In 1901 workers at the Panhandle shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Columbus, Ohio formed a professional football team called the Columbus Panhandles. The railroad workers, mainly European immigrants, learned the game of football not on college gridirons, but on the sandlots of railroad yards during their lunch breaks. With the leadership of an innovative team manager and its tough physical play, the Panhandles went on to play for more than twenty years as one of the most successful teams in the rag-tag days of professional football.

Incorporating original interviews and actual newspaper accounts, Chris Willis recreates the largely forgotten story of this unique squad of men. In The Columbus Panhandles: A Complete History of Pro Football's Toughest Team, 1900-1922, Willis shows how team manager, future NFL commissioner Joseph Carr, used the perks of free railroad travel for employees and the gate attraction of the famous Nesser brothers to build pro football's most successful traveling team. Season by season, Willis provides a fascinating account of the team's spectacular triumphs and crushing losses.

Full of wonderful newspaper quotes, entertaining anecdotes, and many original photos, The Columbus Panhandles also profiles a number of principle figures in the team's history, most notably manager Joe Carr and the six Nesser brothers who comprised the heart of the squad for many years. Written to honor the legacy of the Columbus Panhandles, this book will be of interest to historians, sportswriters and general football fans eager to learn about the early days of professional football.

Review Quotes

...a detailed account....Historians and sport journalists will appreciate the historical portrayal of the Panhandles, while general football enthusiasts will be captivated by the stories of Nesser brothers and their role in the early stages of professional football.-- "The Sport Journal"

...a masterful job of piecing together the story of the team that helped pioneer the game before 1920, when the NFL was founded.--Vic Carucci "Nfl.Com"

Chris Willis, head of the research library of NFL Films, has made an important contribution to our understanding of the early years of professional football with this splendid book detailing the history of the Columbus Panhandles. . . . The almost complete history of the Columbus Panhandles is a marvelous addition to the literature about the early days of professional football.-- "Journal of Sport History"

It's a thoroughly researched and well-documented team history (1900-22) by Chris Willis of the NFL Films research library.--. "Pro Football Weekly"

Willis incorporates original interviews and actual newspaper accounts to reconstruct the largely forgotten story of this unique team in a season-by-season account of spectacular victories and crushing losses.-- "Sports Collectors Digest"

Willis provides a history of the Columbus Panhandles, a football team from Columbus, Ohio, that thrived from 1900-1922. Along with materials from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Ohio Historical Society, he uses interviews with family members of players and newspaper accounts to tell the story of each season and profile key players in the team's history. Also discussed are important places and events. Photos are included. The book is aimed at historians, sportswriters, and fans. Willis, a native of Columbus who works in the Research Library at NFL Films, has written for the Pro Football Researchers Association.-- "Reference and Research Book News"

About the Author

Chris Willis is head of the Research Library, NFL Films, a position he has held since 1996. He is the author of Old Leather: An Oral History of Early Pro Football in Ohio, 1920-1935 (2005) and The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr (2010), both published by Scarecrow Press.