College Football Yesterday and Today

You've heard it said that "there's nothing new under the sun."

There is much truth in that statement, even as it applies to college football today. It's actually rather startling to look back into the annals of college football history and see how history repeats itself; past becomes present; over and over. Sometimes you'll think it must be a joke, but it's not. It's just the timeless qualities of human nature revealing itself again and again, this time on the gridiron.

We are very fortunate at SEC Sports Fan to partner with the folks at Lost Century of Sports which has published The American Football Trilogy which consists of 3 classic football books. The books are:

1. AMERICAN FOOTBALL, by Walter Camp, 1891.

2. A Scientific and Practical Treatise on AMERICAN FOOTBALL for Schools and Colleges, by Amos Alonzo Stagg & Henry L. Williams, 1893. And

3. FOOTBALL, by Walter Camp & Lorin F. Deland, 1896.

I'm sure you recognize the author's of the books. Walter Camp is known as the "Father of American Football." In fact, most say Walter Camp is who invented football.

Amos Alonzo Stagg is referred to as the "Grand Old Man of Football." Henry Williams was a Hall of Fame coach. And, Lorin Deland was the the military genius who invented the "flying wedge".

Significant figures in the history of football indeed. These books are to college football what the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are to the history of the United States. If you love college football, you'll love these books. And, whether you want to learn more about coaching football; playing football; or just watching football as a fan; you are sure to be entertained and learn a lot about the game from them.

And, guess what? Now you can get The American Football Trilogy in paperback at Amazon.com. In fact, you can buy it right now for only $25 (and get free shipping). Here's the ad to click:

In October, Lost Century of Sports is coming out with a new book called "The Lost Century of American Football." It will have seldom before seen images and illustrations that have been painstakingly restored to their original. You'll also find lots of interesting tidbits about the origin of the game. You can read more about that book at Lost Century.com.

But, best of all, Lost Century has agreed to allow some of those images and pictures to be published right here along with commentary about how they apply to modern events.

The first in this exclusive series involves a very recent quote by none other than Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban. You probably heard the comments he made last month at the SEC Media Days about the agents who represent (or seek to represent) college football players who may have a shot at the pros. If you missed it, here's what he said:

"If they'd quit acting like pimps and act like professionals we wouldn't have this problem".

Well, check out this image:

It's amazing to compare it to the quote by Walter Camp which you can see on the illustration above that appeared in Chicago Graphic on Dec. 2, 1893.

It seems like college football faces the very same money issues today as the game faced 117 years ago (way before the NCAA or NFL even existed). Amazing!

BONUS: If you are an SEC Football Fan, you'll love this clipping Lost Century brings us:

Notice the "grit and fire of the Southern nature make an invincible combination in football" language at the bottom of the article. Love it! And published in Harpers Weekly -- a northern paper.

If you liked this article, bookmark it now and check back as we'll be adding images in future weeks. For now, I'm sure you'd enjoy Nick Saban's Biography; SEC Football History; SEC Sports Fan Pictures and Wall Art; college football books and videos; and Join this Free College Football Association.

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