Big Scrum

“The story . . . has as much vigor and passion as Roosevelt himself. It’s a fascinating and thoroughly American tale.” —Candice Millard, New York Times–bestselling author

John J. Miller delivers the intriguing, never-before-told story of how Theodore Roosevelt saved American Football—a game that would become the nation’s most popular sport. Miller’s sweeping, novelistic retelling captures the violent, nearly lawless days of late 19th century football and the public outcry that would have ended the great game but for a crucial Presidential intervention. Teddy Roosevelt’s championing of football led to the creation of the NCAA, the innovation of the forward pass, a vital collaboration between Walter Camp, Charles W. Eliot, John Heisman and others, and, ultimately, the creation of a new American pastime. Perfect for readers of Douglas Brinkley’s Wilderness Warrior, Michael Lewis’s The Blind Side, and Conn and Hal Iggulden’s The Dangerous Book for Boys, Miller’s The Big Scrum reclaims from the shadows of obscurity a remarkable story of one defining moment in our nation’s history.

“The first complete account of Roosevelt’s football rescue . . . a great story.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Fascinating . . . At a time when a coalition of suburban soccer moms and misguided caretakers of American athletics are hell-bent on watering down the game of football, you should take the time to read this book.” —Sal Paolantonio, ESPN



“A richly detailed history of football’s founding . . . a useful primer, introducing us to some of the sport’s most famous pioneers.” —The New York Times

“Enjoyable history of a seldom explored turning point in American sports history.” —Booklist