Chris Willis

Chris Willis has worked at NFL Films as Head of the Research Library for over 25 years. His first book, Old Leather: An Oral History of Early Pro Football in Ohio, 1920-1935, was published in 2005 by Scarecrow Press. Old Leather was given the 2005 Nelson Ross Award by the Professional Football Researchers Association for recent Achievement in Football Research and Historiography. His second book, The Columbus Panhandles : A Complete History of Pro Football's Toughest Team, 1900-1922, was published in 2007 by Scarecrow Press. As the resident historian at NFL Films he helps oversees all aspects of research for the company and their producers. In 2002 he was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the HBO Documentary "The Game of Their Lives: Pro Football in the 1950's." He has also been a member of the Professonal Football Researchers Association (PFRA) since 1993 and also writes for the Blog Pro Football Journal. Willis's third book was released in September of 2010. Titled "The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr," is a biography of Joe F. Carr, former NFL President from 1921-1939. The book will go into detail on Carr's life as well the history of the National Football League's first two decades. In 2014 this book was published in paperback by Rowman & Littlefield. The fourth book written by Willis is a biography on NFL Hall of Famer Dutch Clark. Clark played 7 seasons in the NFL and was the first big star for the Detroit Lions. He was the "Ty Cobb" of football in the Motor City. The book was published by Scarecrow Press in 2012. Willis's fifth book is about the 1984 San Francisco 49ers who went 18-1 and won Super Bowl XIX. By interviewing over 30 players from the team "A Nearly Perfect Season: The Inside Story of the 1984 49ers" goes into vivid details of one of the NFL's greatest teams. The book was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2014. Walter Lingo, Jim Thorpe and the Oorang Indians, another story about the early days of the NFL was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2017. Willis wrote a full-scale biography of Red Grange- the Galloping Ghost- which was published in conjunction with the NFL's 100th season in August of 2019 (by Rowman & Littlefield). In 2022 Willis wrote a biography of Bronko Nagurski, former Chicago Bears Hall of Fame fullback (by Rowman & Littlefield). Willis's newest book project is a top 50 countdown of the NFL's Greatest Two-Way Players (1920-1945), to be published by McFarland & Co. (Fall 2023).