Last Team Standing: How the Steelers and the Eagles--The Steagles--Saved Pro Football During World War II

The year is 1943 and the NFL is at a crossroads. With WWII raging, teams are losing players, coaches and owners to the various military branches. One of the 10 teams had suspended operations and there are questions if the league should follow that lead. The remaining league members elect to conduct a 10-game season with a twist, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles will merge for the year. That is where Matthew Algeo picks up the story with the world at war and the attempt to maintain athletic entertainment on the homefront. The "Steagles" had a roster of players who washed-out of the military, former stars who had little to nothing left for the gridiron and those waiting for their call-ups. And unlike some players on other clubs who had pro football listed as their main occupation - which granted them an exemption of working in a war-related industry during the season - every Steagle worked full-time during the day and practiced at night. Algeo artfully utilizes the history of the time, comments from players & coaches and game stats for the season that nearly found the hybrid club with two homes on top of the league standings. A forgotten piece of early NFL lore, it took 60 years for the story to be grandly presented to fans, as a ceremony honoring the team was held in the Steelers' Heinz Field. It is a must read for football fans or those interested in the homefront during WW II.

Given what professional football has become today, the entertaining story told in LAST TEAM STANDING is all the more remarkable. To think there was a shortage of guys willing and able to play in the NFL is, well, almost unthinkable. But that was exactly the scenario in 1943, the year that author Matthew Algeo focuses on in this fantastic book. LAST TEAM STANDING is a great read for football fans, history buffs and pop culture scholars alike. And the drama that plays out between the Steelers coach and the Eagles coach (who, it seems, hated each other's guts but were nonetheless forced to co-coach the Steagles) is the stuff of high comedy. Really, I couldn't recommend this book more highly.

A thoroughly researched, highly detailed, and well-written look at a frequently forgotten footnote in football history. The book puts the merger of the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers into an excellent historical context. It should also be a real eye-opener for football fans who only know the NFL as the Goliath it is today. -- Mitch Teich, Milwaukee Public Radio

Having grown up just off of City Line Ave. in Philadelphia, I was intriqued by a book whose cover mentions two of my favorite interests...World War II history and The Philadelphia Eagles. How could I go wrong! The book is part history lesson and part human interest story. Mr. Algeo intertwines Philadelphia and WWII stories with personal anecdotes about the men who kept the NFL going through difficult times. Some of the places he mentions in the book I used to ride my bike past as a kid. It brought back great memories of a time gone by, but also made you remember men used to play the game for the game's sake. I read this book almost straight through one evening and then finished up the next morning. I rarely do that. Great read if you are a Philly and NFL fan or interested in WWII history and the courage that made our country survive and thrive.

Beyond being a history of pro football before, during, and after the WWII years, using the "Steagles" of 1943 as the focus, this book is a social history of America during those times, and a very engagingly written one at that. I quickly began to feel I was back in 1943, a fan intently following the Steagles but also acutely aware of the larger and more important surrounding world of war. Clearly, this book was a labor of love for the author--I don't think there has been any kind of overwhelming demand for a book on the wartime NFL or the Steagles! The book falls somewhere between an informal narrative and a scholarly text. For example, there are several pages of end notes, but they are not individually numbered or referenced with superscripts. The author has clearly done in-depth research and done it well. Many facts and figures are presented, and I found essentially nothing to quibble about among those I have expertise in or could check. The players, the game they played, and the world of war around them, are presented in a lively but non-sensational manner. To my relief, there were none of the standard "cute" but unverifiable stories of old time ballplayers presented as fact. Though the author interviewed several surviving members of the Steagles, all in their eighties now, they apparently took his book as a serious enterprise and did not ply him with such "cute" recollections. Just one note: The author mentions that the Steagles had a high ranking rushing defense, and were proud of their pass rush as well. Since in 1943, the NFL treated what we would now called sack yardage as yards lost rushing, these two actually go together. I was surprised the author didn't mention this connection--given the high quality of his research, I'm certain he must be aware of it. Very highly recommended.