1933: Football at the Depth of the Great Depression

by Mark C. Bodanza

In 1933, America was in the midst of the Great Depression. The depth of despair created in the American people earned the panic a singular place in the history of the nation's economic turmoil. Football, a uniquely American game, weathered these hard times, adapted, and made some of the pain a little easier to endure. In 1933, author Mark C. Bodanza examines the important role football played in the midst of the nation's historic crisis. Bodanza recounts this dramatic year both on and off the field of the professional and college gridirons and analyzes it in the context of the times. He tells the story of a momentous season shared by the high schools of Fitchburg and Leominster, Massachusetts, a rivalry dating back to 1894. In the prior thirty-nine seasons, the teams had played each other forty-nine times. But, 1933 was different; the game had never had such significance. More than ever, Depression-wary Americans needed a reprieve from their cares and concerns. Football provided a welcome relief. Including period photos, 1933 narrates how the sport of football-which has created some of the nation's most magical moments in sports-was impacted by the Great Depression in a variety of ways, some with lasting consequences.

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 2010

About the author

Mark C. Bodanza is a historian and trial lawyer. He has written numerous newspaper columns on history and has been a guest on radio programs nationwide as a football history expert. Bodanza is a regular commentator on a number of radio programs frequently discussing the early development of football, dramatic rule changes of the early twentieth century, and the role of violence in the sport. He has also written two football history books, A Game That Forged Rivals and 1933: Football at the Depth of the Great Depression. Bodanza lives in Leominster, Massachusetts, with his wife and children.