''Before The League'' is a documentary series on the history of professional
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
that ultimately became the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
. The series debuted at the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
on October 27, 2015. The film is broken into a six parts which tell the story of the evolution from rugby to the formation and creation of the
American Professional Football Association
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...
in 1920. The series aired on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel on November 17 and 18, 2015.
The series was awarded several times including in the prestigious
Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
and national Telly Awards in 2016. Before The League director and executive producer Jason Pheister and lead writer and executive producer Alison Momeyer, were each awarded Emmys for their roles. In total, the series received three Emmy Awards, five Emmy nominations, and five Telly Awards.
The series examines how small towns like Canton and Massillon, Ohio were the blueprint for fielding early pro football teams as well as fostering healthy rivalries. As precursors to the current day NFL, teams like the
Akron Pros
The Akron Pros were a professional football team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter mem ...
,
Dayton Triangles
The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangl ...
,
Columbus Panhandles
The Columbus Panhandles were a professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. The club was founded in 1901 by workers at the Panhandle shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad. They were a part of the Ohio League from 1904 before foldi ...
Ironton Tanks
The Ironton Tanks were a semi-professional football team organized in 1919 in Ironton, Ohio.
Their historical marker gives the story of the Tanks origin: "Semi-professional football began in Ironton in 1893 with a team known as the Irontonians. ...
Oorang Indians
The Oorang Indians () were a traveling team in the National Football League from LaRue, Ohio (near Marion). The franchise was a novelty team put together by Walter Lingo to market his Oorang dog kennels. All of the Indians players were Native Am ...
Buffalo All-Americans
Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The early NFL-era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All-Stars from ...
,
Milwaukee Badgers
The Milwaukee Badgers was a professional American football team, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Mi ...
, and
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
laid the groundwork for the successes of today's big city NFL teams. The series focuses mainly on the Ohio League, the NFL's most immediate predecessor, while also making note of other regional teams and circuits such as the
narrated
A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional ( memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc.). Narr ...
by
Chuck Campbell
Charles Campbell (born 5 August 1969) is a Canadian actor who portrayed the role of Chuck the Technician on ''Stargate Atlantis''.
Early life
Campbell was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He got a BA in Theatre at Dalhousie University. He now re ...
.
Several noted historians of pro football give background information including Joe Horrigan, author and
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
lead historian and head of communications and exhibits; Kate Buford, author and biographer of
Jim Thorpe
James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...
; Chris Willis, author of several books, including the biography of
Joe Carr
Joseph Benedict Carr (22 February 1922 – 3 June 2004) was an Irish amateur golfer.
Carr was born in Inchicore, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, to George and Margaret Mary "Missie" Waters (the fifth of seven children). At 10 days old, he was ado ...
; Keith McLellan, author of "The Sunday Game;"
Jeffrey J. Miller
Jeffrey J. Miller (born 1961) is an American author and historian, best known for his work focusing on the history of professional football. His books include ''RELICS: The History of the Buffalo Bills in Objects & Memorabilia'', ''Pop Warner: ...
, author of "Buffalo's Forgotten Champions;" and John Steffenhagen, historian of the Rochester Jeffersons and great-grandson of NFL co-founder Leo Lyons. Additionally, Hall of Fame Running Back
Floyd Little
Floyd Douglas Little (July 4, 1942 – January 1, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a halfback for the Denver Broncos, initially in the American Football League (AFL) and later the National Football League (NFL). He ...