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  • This course regularly costs $117.
  • A $20 Early Enrollment Discount will be applied if you purchase this course before April 15th, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST.
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Course name
The History of Football
Live course taught by Chuck Chalberg for Summer 2026 High School American History
Summary

Does Pope Leo XIV really support the Bears? (We wish we knew…) What is the big American obsession with football and how did we get this way? Sign up for this course to find out everything you need to know about American football, college and pro, and how – and why – this sport has become so popular over the course of the last century.

Course Description:
Welcome to our late summer course on the history of American football as we gear up for another fall season of what, at least for many, has become the American game. This course will cover the history of American football from the late 19th century to the modern era.

Our text deals with college football and emphasizes the nineteenth century origins and evolution of the game. We will quickly get to the twentieth century and the history of the National Football League. 

Class time will be divided between helping you understand the major points and themes of the Brown text, and giving you additional history and commentary on the professional game.

Instructor: John C. "Chuck" Chalberg, PhD

Special notes

Students should get a good head start on the reading! Read as much of the book as you can BEFORE our first class, highlighting key points as you read.

Total classes

6

Class dates

Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, August 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, and 13, 2026.

Starting time

11:30 AM Eastern (10:30 Central; 9:30 Mountain; 8:30 Pacific)

Duration

55 minutes

Prerequisites

None

Suggested grade level

9th to 12th grade

Suggested credit

1/2 semester of Sports History or American History. For a full semester, take Dr. Chalberg’s History of Baseball course offered Live in Summer 2026 (also available as a recorded course).

Outline

Class One: The origins of football, Chapters 1-3

Class Two: Walter Camp and the development of college football, Chapters 4-6

Class Three: The creation of the NCAA and its impact, Chapters 7-9

Class Four: The origins and development of professional football, Chapters 10-12

Class Five: The college and pro games in the early age of television, Chapters 13-15

Class Six: From the Super Bowl to the Bowl Championship series, Chapters 16-18

Materials

How Football Became Football by Timothy P. Brown, 2020. (available in ebook, audiobook, and paperback formats) ISBN-10: 0999572342

https://www.amazon.com/How-Football-Became-Years-Evolution-ebook/dp/B0892TRXNF/ 

Also available through bookfinder.com.

There will also be study guides provided to accompany the chapters.

Homework

Students will read approximately 60 pages per class session, which will go quickly as the book is copiously illustrated! There will be two exams, one after the third class and another after the sixth and final class. Each will be worth 25 points, with largely multiple choice questions based on the reading and lectures.


*** Students should get a good head start on the reading! Read as much of the book as you can BEFORE our first class, highlighting key points as you read.

Fees

Fee: For all 6 classes: $97 if you register on or before April 15; $117 if you register after April 15. (Registration closes one week before the first day of class. After that date, registrations are not guaranteed. There is a $25 surcharge for late enrollments after the course is closed.)

Course name
The History of Football
Instructor
Chuck Chalberg
Semester
Summer 2026
Category
History ➤ American History
Grade levels
High School
Start time
August 4th, 2026 at 11:30 AM ET
Course type
Live
Price
$117
Seats available
25 seats available
Seats remaining
25 seats remaining
Relative due dates
Relative due dates are disabled for this course.
Enhanced quiz security
Enhanced assignment security

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Chuck Chalberg
chuck.chalberg@gmail.com

About Dr. Chalberg

Dr. Chalberg is a graduate of Regis College (now Regis University) in Denver, Colorado. He holds an MA and PhD in history from the University of Minnesota. He taught American history at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, MN, until his retirement in 2016. He was a Fulbright lecturer in Hungary in 1992 and is a senior fellow for the Center of the American Experiment.

He has performed as G.K. Chesterton on EWTN’s “The Apostle of Common Sense” for a number of years. He performs and lectures as Chesterton at schools and parishes across the country. In addition, he performs as Theodore Roosevelt, H.L. Mencken, George Orwell, and baseball’s Branch Rickey.

His website is historyonstage.net. He has written a biography of Emma Goldman and a dual biography of Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey. He has also edited a volume on the history of American isolationism. He has written for a number of publications, including The Weekly Standard, Chronicles, the Imaginative Conservative, Touchstone, Intellectual Takeout, the University Bookman, Gilbert!, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Dr. Chalberg teaches the following courses:

  • American History

  • What’s Wrong with the World by G.K. Chesterton

  • Introduction to Gilbert Keith Chesterton

  • History of Baseball

For More info about Dr. Chalberg Click here!