American football – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk Henley-on-Thames Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:33:35 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-Bell-Background-Blue-32x32.png American football – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk 32 32 Rescuing the Royals https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/rescuing-the-royals/ Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=56410 Drama, deadline days and a rollercoaster ride through the highs and lows of professional sport. With unprecedented access to the board room (and dressing room), Josh Lewin takes readers behind the scenes of English football on a warts-and-all journey into the heart of Reading FC and its new American ownership. What does it really take to run a football club? And how does a new owner win over a rabid fanbase still feeling the bruises of the recent past? Especially when that owner is an American who unapologetically shoots from the hip… Rescuing the Royals is the remarkable inside story of a club on its way back from the brink and an all-access view of life outside of the Premier League bubble. Detailing everything from recruitment and academy policy to the lives of the players, hopes of the fans and balancing of the books, this is an essential read for anybody with an interest in English football beyond the pristine, manufactured point of the pyramid.

]]> The Greatest American Football Story that has Never Been Told https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/the-greatest-american-football-story-that-has-never-been-told/ Mon, 12 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=37803 This is the compelling story of how American football was used to boost morale and inject camaraderie between the Allied forces in wartime London. With first-hand accounts and detailed reports of the games, it is the first time the fascinating tales of the Tea and Coffee Bowls have been shared in one place.

]]> The compelling story of how American football was used to boost morale and inject camaraderie between the Allied forces in wartime London.

In December 1943, as London faced a fifth Christmas of blackouts and no sign of World War Two ending, a chance encounter at an English pub between a Canadian and an American officer led to the staging of a football game: the Tea Bowl.

A few weeks later, 30,000 Canadian and American troops, as well as some confused British spectators, were gifted respite from the devastation. The game involved players who had paused their football careers back home to serve their country in foreign lands.

The Canadians won, so a rematch was arranged in front of 50,000 at London’s White City Stadium. They called it the Coffee Bowl. A few ringers were even drafted from the NFL, including Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tommy Thompson.

With first-hand accounts and detailed reports of the games, this is the first time the fascinating tales of the Tea and Coffee Bowls have been shared in one place.

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