Pop Warner Little Scholars, commonly known as Pop Warner, began in the suburbs of Philadelphia as a four-team league called the Junior Football Conference. Sports enthusiast Joseph Tomlin established the league in 1929. The organization was renamed in 1934 in honor of legendary football coach Glenn S. "Pop" Warner and has blossomed into the largest national youth football and cheerleading organization in the United States. Pop Warner has rejuvenated participation in youth sports by instilling lifelong values of teamwork and dedication with an emphasis on academic excellence to complement and enhance the athletics.
Pop Warner Little Scholars offers an inside look at the history of one of America's oldest youth sports organizations. Approximately sixty-five percent of National Football League players and coaches were at one time involved in the Pop Warner program. Important moments in the organization's history are depicted throughout the book, including the first national championship game in 1947, the beginning of the scholastic recognition program in 1960, and the official organization of its cheerleading program in 1973, although it was a part of Pop Warner for decades. The organization's two major national events, the Scholar All-American Program and the Pop Warner Super Bowl, Cheer, and Dance championships, serve as the highlights of the year for young scholar-athletes.