Glory for Sale: Fans, Dollars and the New NFL

by Jon Morgan

"In 1995, Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell, lured by the promise of a new stadium, shocked football fans with his decision to move to Baltimore. Now, one of the few journalists to cover the business of sports, the Baltimore Sun's Jon Morgan, chronicles the move, explains why more are to come-and why it matters.In Glory For Sale, Morgan offers an in-depth view of the game's money side. He helps to understand the debate that's raging in city after...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 096312465X
• ISBN13: 9780963124654
• Release Date: September 1997
• Publisher: Bancroft Press
• Length: 377 Pages
• Weight: 1.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

GREAT SPORTS/FINANCE STORY

MY SON COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN AFTER HE OPENED IT UP XMAS MORNING. I'LL GET HIS REVIEW.

Praise for "Glory for Sale"

If you have any interest in sports, you have to read Glory for Sale. Jon Morgan has written a fascinating and carefully crafted book about the inner workings of professional sports. Few of us have ever been privy to the secret meetings, the betrayal, the calculated lies, and the greed at work whenever a professional sports franchise tears free from a city. This book is more than the tale of Art Modell's apostasy, it is the frightening blueprint for a society whose religion sports is founded on a single commandment: Thou shalt win. -- Tim Green, author of The Dark Side of the Game and sports commentator for ABC's "Good Morning America," "NFL on Fox," and NPR's "Morning EditionGlory for Sale is a fascinating read. Morgan manages to penetrate the personalities and structures of the NFL in a lucid and compelling fashion while providing a probing and critical analysis of city stadium subsidies, franchise movements and the business of football. -- Andrew Zimbalist, author of Baseball & Billions: A Probing Look Inside the Big Business of Our National Pastime and co-author of Sports Jobs and Tax: Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Facilities. . . a detailed, engrossing and fast-paced account of am increasingly volatile aspect of sports. -- Bortz & Co., Sports and Media Consultants Team relocation is a controversial and complex issue that hotly divides avid sports fans. Jon Morgan's Glory for Sale insightfully lays out the importance of stadium economics in building a competitive team, and it clearly, easily explains why teams move. It is one of the best analyses I've read. --Paul J. Much, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin (financial advisor on sports economics to teams, leagues, stadiums, and governmental agencies)

A Tale of Two Cities; NFL-style!!!

Morgan goes through excruciating detail as to how the cities of Cleveland and Baltimore will now be forever conjoined. The book gives the reader a true perspective of the shenanigans by owners who are looking for the "easy money" of professional sports and how they will stoop to breaking the hearts of thousands of loyal fans just to fatten their wallets. Not only does it cut to the quick about the move of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore; it also touches off on that fateful winter's night when Bob Irsay packed the beloved Colts onto the Mayflower trucks and stole away the heart of a city. A great read for Clevelanders and Baltimoreans alike; both of which can take small consolation that the heartbreaks of '84 and '95 will finally be resolved when the Browns return next August.

Morgan masterfully tells a complex story with style and ease

"Glory for Sale" is full of the sort of detail most football fans only dream of accessing...the book enables readers to become part of the franchise process, to feel as though they were actually there. Jon Morgan's style is fluid and literary, and the book, however intricate, reads as easily as a novel. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the world of sports, and for anyone with a solid appreciation for plain old good writing.

A book for everyone

Why do elected officials at the state and city level continue to prostrate themselves before professional sports teams? Jon Morgan uses one of the most controversial team transfers of all time to examine a serious public policy issue with bright, jargon-free writing that cuts to the heart of these issues. If you're a taxpayer who's ever wondered about whether sports teams really goose the local economy, you need to read Glory for Sale.