Last Team Standing: How the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles, the Steagles, Saved Pro Football During World War II - Softcover

During World War II, the national Football League faced a crisis unimaginable today: a shortage of players. By 1943, so many players were in the armed forces that the league was forced to fold one team (the Cleveland Rams) and merge two others: the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Thus were the "Steagles" born. The Steagles included military draft rejects, a superstar lured out of retirement, and even a few active-duty servicemen who got leave for the games. Yet, somehow, this motley crew posted a winning record-the first in Eagles' history and the second in Steelers' history. A book about football, about life during the war, Last Team Standing is, above all, about those of the Greatest Generation who, against all odds, contributed to America's war effort in the unlikeliest ways.

Matthew Algeo is a public radio reporter whose stories have appeared on "All Things Considered" and "Marketplace." He and his wife, Allyson, divide their time between Mali, West Africa, and Tennessee.