Search a title or topic

Over 20 million podcasts, powered by 

Player FM logo
Artwork

Content provided by Tim Hanlon. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Tim Hanlon or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.
Player FM - Podcast App
Go offline with the Player FM app!

405: Leo Lyons & The NFL's Rochester Jeffersons - With Jeffrey Miller & John Steffenhagen

1:25:11
 
Share
 

Manage episode 496941760 series 1405087
Content provided by Tim Hanlon. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Tim Hanlon or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

In 1898, a 16-year-old dreamer named Leo Lyons was tossing a football around a Rochester, NY sandlot. Within two years, he wasn't just playing—he was managing, coaching, and bankrolling a team that would become an National Football League charter member: the Rochester Jeffersons.

This week, we sit down with authors Jeffrey Miller and John Steffenhagen to explore their powerful new book, "Leo Lyons, the Rochester Jeffersons and the Birth of the NFL" - the unbelievable-but-true story of how one man's relentless vision helped shape pro football's earliest days.

From challenging Jim Thorpe's Canton Bulldogs and signing Black players decades before integration, to mortgaging his house and offering Red Grange $5,000 per game, Lyons' tale is one of grit, guts, and heartbreak.

With exclusive access to the Leo Lyons Collection, Miller and Steffenhagen uncover the backroom deals, sandlot beginnings, and forgotten heroes behind the NFL's formation.

It's a story of ambition, obsession — and a dream that changed American sports forever.

PLUS: Tim devises a strategy to definitively get Leo Lyons into the Pro Football Hall of Fame!

+ + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: BUY THE BOOK (AND SUPPORT THE SHOW!): SPONSOR THANKS (AND SUPPORT THE SHOW!): FIND AND FOLLOW:
  continue reading

460 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 496941760 series 1405087
Content provided by Tim Hanlon. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Tim Hanlon or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

In 1898, a 16-year-old dreamer named Leo Lyons was tossing a football around a Rochester, NY sandlot. Within two years, he wasn't just playing—he was managing, coaching, and bankrolling a team that would become an National Football League charter member: the Rochester Jeffersons.

This week, we sit down with authors Jeffrey Miller and John Steffenhagen to explore their powerful new book, "Leo Lyons, the Rochester Jeffersons and the Birth of the NFL" - the unbelievable-but-true story of how one man's relentless vision helped shape pro football's earliest days.

From challenging Jim Thorpe's Canton Bulldogs and signing Black players decades before integration, to mortgaging his house and offering Red Grange $5,000 per game, Lyons' tale is one of grit, guts, and heartbreak.

With exclusive access to the Leo Lyons Collection, Miller and Steffenhagen uncover the backroom deals, sandlot beginnings, and forgotten heroes behind the NFL's formation.

It's a story of ambition, obsession — and a dream that changed American sports forever.

PLUS: Tim devises a strategy to definitively get Leo Lyons into the Pro Football Hall of Fame!

+ + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: BUY THE BOOK (AND SUPPORT THE SHOW!): SPONSOR THANKS (AND SUPPORT THE SHOW!): FIND AND FOLLOW:
  continue reading

460 episodes

All episodes

×
 
Loading …

Welcome to Player FM!

Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.

 

Copyright 2025 | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | | Copyright
Listen to this show while you explore
Play