Last Team Standing: How the Steelers and the Eagles – “The Steagles” – Saved Pro Football During World War II by Matthew Algeo
Da Capo Press, September 30, 2006
ISBN 10: 0931250358
World War II was a devastating time in American history, and the drain of manpower had similarly dire consequences for professional sports. The fact that professional sports even survived the war is a testament to the gutsiness of the well-off owners of sports teams and the “luck” of those not able to serve for one reason or another.
The National Football League was not a very established professional league as World War II hit, but it survived by some deft moves by many owners. One of those moves was the combining of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles into the “Steagles” since neither team, especially the Steelers, would have been able to field a full complement of players.
This book is about that year, 1943, when owners Art Rooney and Bert Bell of the Steelers and wealthy Lex Thompson of the Philadelphia Eagles set aside egos for the survival and betterment of the game. It t...
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