By John Turney 
This past summer, author and award-winning historian Jeffrey J. Miller and the great-grandson of pro football great Leo Lyons -- John D. Steffenhagen -- released their book on the elder Lyons.
The book resurrects the story of a self-taught visionary who helped midwife the National Football League from its chaotic infancy. At just 20 years old, Lyons bootstrapped the Rochester Jeffersons into a powerhouse semi-pro team, self-funding rosters and risking financial ruin to chase his obsession with the gridiron. Four years previously, the 16-year-old began playing for the team.
What elevates this beyond a standard sports bio is the intimate perspective. Steffenhagen's familial connection lends authenticity, drawing on unpublished letters and artifacts that paint Lyons as a brilliant self-taught visionary.
We learn the details of Lyons' role in integrating pro football, developing football trading cards, and perhaps most notably helping with the redesigning of the football itself, from a roundish ball to the elongated sphere to help with the passing of the football, something that was legalized in 1906. Later, the team, thanks to Lyons, donned bright red jerseys with the team logo across the front, which was not common in that era but became standard in ensuing years.
Through Miller and Steffenhagen, we learn new details about his attendance at the NFL's founding meeting at Ralph Hay's auto dealership in Canton and the Jeffs being one of the new pro league's original teams.
As it turns out, if there was something that needed to be done to run a pro football team, Lyons did it. Playing, managing, general managing, negotiator, PR man and so many more roles.
Miller's meticulous research includes box scores from forgotten barnstormers, the Jeffersons' folding after 1925 amid mounting debts, and Lyons' post-NFL life as the league's unofficial historian.
The book is also a call for Lyons' Hall of Fame induction, arguing his overlooked innovations (integration, equipment evolution, branding) demand a bust in Canton beside the likes of George Halas and Jim Thorpe and Red Grange.
They make good points. Very good points.
The photos in the volume (including several team photos) are mostly high resolution and enlightening as well, and timeline the development of the Jeffersons (named after the Jefferson street) from a club affair to semi-pro to professional.
In a multibillion-dollar NFL dominated by multi-million dollar players, Leo Lyons is a refreshing reminder of the league's scrappy roots and a testament to one man's dogged belief in a new sport.
The book is 214 pages, including notes, and the paperback sells for about $40. Highly recommended for anyone who shares an interest in learning more about an era that prefaced the game hundreds of millions of people worldwide enjoy. This past summer, acclaimed author and award-winning historian Jeffrey J. Miller, alongside John D. Steffenhagen—the great-grandson of pro football pioneer Leo Lyons—published their biography of the elder Lyons.
The volume revives the narrative of a self-educated innovator who played a pivotal role in shepherding the National Football League through its turbulent early years. At age 20, Lyons transformed the Rochester Jeffersons into a formidable semi-professional squad, personally financing player rosters and courting financial peril in pursuit of his passion for the sport. Remarkably, he had joined the team as a player just four years earlier, at 16.
What distinguishes this work from a conventional sports biography is its deeply personal lens. Steffenhagen's familial ties infuse the account with authenticity, incorporating unpublished letters and artifacts that portray Lyons as a shrewd, self-taught trailblazer.
Readers gain fresh insights into Lyons' contributions to professional football's integration, the creation of early trading cards, and—most strikingly—his involvement in redesigning the football from a more rounded shape to the elongated prolate spheroid, facilitating the forward pass legalized in 1906. Under his influence, the Jeffersons adopted vibrant red jerseys emblazoned with the team logo on the front—a bold choice uncommon at the time but one that later became an industry norm.
Through Miller and Steffenhagen's collaboration, new particulars emerge about Lyons' presence at the NFL's inaugural meeting in Ralph Hay's Canton auto dealership, where the Jeffersons secured their place as one of the league's founding franchises.
In essence, Lyons embodied the multifaceted demands of operating a professional team: player, manager, general manager, negotiator, public relations specialist, and beyond.
Miller's rigorous scholarship unearths archival gems, such as box scores from obscure barnstorming games, the Jeffersons' dissolution after the 1925 season amid escalating debts, and Lyons' subsequent career as the league's de facto historian.
The book also mounts a compelling case for Lyons' induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, positing that his underrecognized advancements in integration, equipment innovation, and branding merit a bronze bust in Canton alongside luminaries like George Halas, Jim Thorpe, and Red Grange.
These arguments are persuasive—and profoundly so.
The publication features high-resolution photographs, including numerous team images, that illuminate the Jeffersons' evolution—from a neighborhood club on Jefferson Street to semi-professional status and eventual entry into the pros.
In today's multibillion-dollar NFL, rife with multimillionaire athletes, Leo Lyons serves as a vital reminder of the league's gritty origins and the unyielding conviction of one individual in a nascent game.
Spanning 214 pages with extensive notes, the paperback retails for approximately $40. It comes highly recommended by us for those eager to explore the formative era that laid the groundwork for the sport, captivating hundreds of millions worldwide.
Amen to the Authors!
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