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Elmer Layden isn't a name that rings many bells with most modern-day football fans, but he had a three-tiered career in the sport that continues to have an impact more than a century after it began.As a player, Layden was a member of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, perhaps the most famous backfield in football history. As a coach, he excelled at Columbia (now Loras) College, Duquesne University and Notre Dame, compiling a winning percentage of .733 in 16 years. He then became the first full-time commissioner of the National Football League, guiding the league through the turmoil and uncertainty of World War II.Along the way, he turned in one of the greatest performances in Rose Bowl annals, devised the first set of signals officials use to inform spectators of what is going on during games, pioneered the concept of playing games at night, created perhaps the first football board game, became the first coach to use music as part of his practice regimen and mandated that the national anthem be played prior to every NFL game. He did all of that before the age of 43 with a quiet, understated style that was admirable but which has been largely forgotten.

In the world of sports, Iowa is probably best known for wrestling but the state has also produced more than 200 major league baseball players. Sixteen of them are profiled here, including six Hall of Famers, the game's brightest star of the 19th century, an American League batting champion, and the only pitcher to lead the National League in strikeouts seven years in a row.

McGinnity may have been the most durable hurler in the history of the sport, often pitching both games of a doubleheader. This biography traces the hard life and colorful career of 'Iron Man' McGinnity from his childhood working the coalfields of Illinois to his death in 1929.