Paul Tagliabue left his job as commissioner of the NFL in 2006 and didn’t get selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame until last year.
If that seems odd for a man who guided the NFL for 17 years and oversaw labor peace, expansion, new stadiums, huge increases in broadcast rights fees, a significantly enhanced international presence — and maneuvered the league through such crises and events as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans — well, Tagliabue doesn’t seem bitter about the delay.
In his memoir “Jersey City to America’s Game,” Tagliabue sticks to his journey and lets the facts speak for him.