.jpg){kind=avatar}
Your FLA Instructors
The Football Learning Academy instructors are leading authorities on their respective subjects.
Ken Crippen
Founder and Lead Instructor
Ken has been researching and writing about pro football history for over 30 years. He was in a leadership position within the Professional Football Researchers Association for 15 years.
Over his career, he has published two books, was the managing editor of two books, and was a contributor to two books.
He has written hundreds of articles for sites such as SI.com, National Football Post, Cold Hard Football Facts, among others.
He has won the Dick Connor Writing Award for Feature Writing from the Pro Football Writers of America and the Ralph Hay Award for Lifetime Achievement on pro football history from the Professional Football Researchers Association.
He has been a keynote speaker at various events and has been a regular guest on podcasts and radio stations, including The History Channel, ESPN Radio, and Fox Sports Radio.
Follow Me On Twitter
Follow Me On Instagram
Follow Me On LinkedIn
Email Me
Over his career, he has published two books, was the managing editor of two books, and was a contributor to two books.
He has written hundreds of articles for sites such as SI.com, National Football Post, Cold Hard Football Facts, among others.
He has won the Dick Connor Writing Award for Feature Writing from the Pro Football Writers of America and the Ralph Hay Award for Lifetime Achievement on pro football history from the Professional Football Researchers Association.
He has been a keynote speaker at various events and has been a regular guest on podcasts and radio stations, including The History Channel, ESPN Radio, and Fox Sports Radio.
Follow Me On Twitter
Follow Me On Instagram
Follow Me On LinkedIn
Email Me
Book Ken Crippen for Your Next Show or Speaking Event!
FLA founder and lead instructor Ken Crippen is available for speaking engagements, interviews, freelance work, and guest lectures. For more information, click on the link below.
Ken-Crippen-One-Sheet_06-30-2023.pdf
Coach Dave Bonchi
Instructor
Coach Bonchi has been a high school football coach for 21 years (with two as a head coach) and has been privileged to coach many players who have gone on to college and professional success, including Tyler Higbee, Tight End with the Los Angeles Rams, Mason Cole, Center with the Minnesota Vikings, and Lewis Caralla, Strength and Conditioning Coach with Georgia Tech.
He’s also written articles for “Gridiron Greats” magazine as well as for the Professional Football Researchers Association’s (PFRA) magazine, “The Coffin Corner”.
He was the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (F.A.C.A.) Region 2-A District 5 Head Coach of the Year in 2011. He was an assistant coach for the Pinellas County All-Star Game in both 2000 and 2006. He is a proud member of the American Football Coaches Association (A.F.C.A.), the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (F.A.C.A.), and the Professional Football Researchers Association.
He has been married for 34 years to his wife Robin and has two adult sons: Brian and Brett. He has studied the game, coaches, and history, as well as has an impressive collection of football books and team playbooks.
Connect With Me On Facebook
Email Me
He’s also written articles for “Gridiron Greats” magazine as well as for the Professional Football Researchers Association’s (PFRA) magazine, “The Coffin Corner”.
He was the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (F.A.C.A.) Region 2-A District 5 Head Coach of the Year in 2011. He was an assistant coach for the Pinellas County All-Star Game in both 2000 and 2006. He is a proud member of the American Football Coaches Association (A.F.C.A.), the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (F.A.C.A.), and the Professional Football Researchers Association.
He has been married for 34 years to his wife Robin and has two adult sons: Brian and Brett. He has studied the game, coaches, and history, as well as has an impressive collection of football books and team playbooks.
Connect With Me On Facebook
Email Me
Gregg Ficery
Instructor
Gregg Ficery is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and lives in Watersound, Florida. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and the founder and president of Integgra Valuation & Advisory Services. Gregg is the great-grandson of Bob Shiring, who is widely recognized as the greatest center of the pre-NFL era, having played on championship teams with the 1901 Homestead L&AC, 1902 Pittsburg Stars, and 1904-06 Massillon Tigers. Due to his love for family, sports, and his hometown, he spent over 10 years researching and writing Gridiron Legacy: Pro Football's Missing Origin Story. Gregg is also the executive producer of a related television miniseries in development.
Instructor Spotlight Video
Instructor Spotlight Video
Jeffrey J. Miller
Instructor
Jeff Miller is the author of seven books focusing on the history of American football. His books include "RELICS: The History of the Buffalo Bills in Objects & Memorabilia," "Pop Warner: A Life on the Gridiron," "100 Things Bills Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die," "Game Changers: The Greatest Plays in Buffalo Bills Football History," "Rockin' the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League," and "Buffalo's Forgotten Champions: The Story of Buffalo's First Professional Football Team and the Lost 1921 Title."
Miller is a long-time member of the Professional Football Researchers Association. In 2021, he and Greg Tranter, with whom he coauthored "RELICS: The History of the Buffalo Bills in Objects & Memorabilia," were awarded the PFRA's Nelson Ross Award for "Outstanding recent achievement in pro football research and historiography." He was the 2004 recipient of the PFRA's Ralph E. Hay Award, presented for "Lifetime achievement in professional football research and historiography" and the 2003 Writing Award for articles "Focusing on a Significant Pro Football Personality."
He has appeared as a featured commentator in two documentaries focusing on football history. In 2009, he was featured in the NFL Films production "History of the Buffalo Bills," which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the franchise. In 2015, Miller appeared in Time Warner Sports Network's "Before The League" documentary, which told the story of the evolution of professional football prior to the founding of the National Football League in 1920. The six-part series originally aired in November, 2015. He has also been featured in multiple episodes of the NFL Network’s "NFL Top 10" series.
Miller is a regular contributor the "Pro Football Journal," an on-line magazine dedicated to reporting mainstream and esoteric aspects of professional football, and has been a frequent contributor to the "Coffin Corner," the PFRA’s bi-monthly magazine.
(Photo Credit: Mark Palczewski)
Miller is a long-time member of the Professional Football Researchers Association. In 2021, he and Greg Tranter, with whom he coauthored "RELICS: The History of the Buffalo Bills in Objects & Memorabilia," were awarded the PFRA's Nelson Ross Award for "Outstanding recent achievement in pro football research and historiography." He was the 2004 recipient of the PFRA's Ralph E. Hay Award, presented for "Lifetime achievement in professional football research and historiography" and the 2003 Writing Award for articles "Focusing on a Significant Pro Football Personality."
He has appeared as a featured commentator in two documentaries focusing on football history. In 2009, he was featured in the NFL Films production "History of the Buffalo Bills," which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the franchise. In 2015, Miller appeared in Time Warner Sports Network's "Before The League" documentary, which told the story of the evolution of professional football prior to the founding of the National Football League in 1920. The six-part series originally aired in November, 2015. He has also been featured in multiple episodes of the NFL Network’s "NFL Top 10" series.
Miller is a regular contributor the "Pro Football Journal," an on-line magazine dedicated to reporting mainstream and esoteric aspects of professional football, and has been a frequent contributor to the "Coffin Corner," the PFRA’s bi-monthly magazine.
(Photo Credit: Mark Palczewski)
Greg Tranter
Instructor
Greg is a prominent Buffalo sports historian, curator and collector with a specialized expertise in Buffalo Bills history. A lifelong fan and 35-year season ticket holder, he has compiled the largest, most comprehensive collection of Buffalo Bills football memorabilia and donated the collection to the Buffalo History Museum.
Greg authored numerous articles on both the Bills and Buffalo sports history that have appeared in the Buffalo News, "Gridiron Greats" magazine, "The Coffin Corner", "Sports Collectors Digest", "Shout!" and "Western New York Heritage".
He has also curated multiple exhibits including The Buffalo Bills 50th Anniversary exhibit in 2009, the Buffalo Bills Wall of Stuff exhibits in 2014 and 2016, Icons: The Makers and Moments of Buffalo Sports exhibit in 2017, and several Bills-themed pop-up exhibits.
He is the author of two books, Makers, Moments & Memorabilia: A Chronicle of Buffalo Professional Sports (2019) and RELICS, The History of the Buffalo Bills in Objects and Memorabilia (2021).
In addition, Greg has been sought out by major networks and publications for his views on Bills history, including the New York Times, ESPN, the A&E Network, the Athletic, Buffalo Sports Page, Sports Illustrated and WNED-TV. He is a member of the Professional Football Researchers Association and in 2018 received the Bob Carroll Memorial Writing Award.
Greg currently serves as president of the Board of Managers of the Buffalo History Museum and is a retired insurance executive living in Central Massachusetts with his wife Tracy.
Email Me
Greg authored numerous articles on both the Bills and Buffalo sports history that have appeared in the Buffalo News, "Gridiron Greats" magazine, "The Coffin Corner", "Sports Collectors Digest", "Shout!" and "Western New York Heritage".
He has also curated multiple exhibits including The Buffalo Bills 50th Anniversary exhibit in 2009, the Buffalo Bills Wall of Stuff exhibits in 2014 and 2016, Icons: The Makers and Moments of Buffalo Sports exhibit in 2017, and several Bills-themed pop-up exhibits.
He is the author of two books, Makers, Moments & Memorabilia: A Chronicle of Buffalo Professional Sports (2019) and RELICS, The History of the Buffalo Bills in Objects and Memorabilia (2021).
In addition, Greg has been sought out by major networks and publications for his views on Bills history, including the New York Times, ESPN, the A&E Network, the Athletic, Buffalo Sports Page, Sports Illustrated and WNED-TV. He is a member of the Professional Football Researchers Association and in 2018 received the Bob Carroll Memorial Writing Award.
Greg currently serves as president of the Board of Managers of the Buffalo History Museum and is a retired insurance executive living in Central Massachusetts with his wife Tracy.
Email Me
Joe Ziemba
Instructor
Joe is the author of the books When Football Was Football: The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL and Cadets, Cannons, and Legends: The Football History of Morgan Park Military Academy. In 2022, his book The Forgotten History of the NFL’s Oldest Rivals: The Bears and the Cardinals, will be published.
A life-long resident of the south side of Chicago, Joe first became interested in the history of pro football after discovering that his father was a draft choice of the Chicago (now Arizona) Cardinals in the 1940s.
Because of his knowledge of the early days of the professional game, Joe has been a resource for articles or reports in Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Southtown, NBC "Sunday Night Football", and many others. Joe has appeared on the WGN documentary “Football in Chicago,” a Comcast Sports special on the Chicago Bears, on radio stations such as WBBM and WSCR in Chicago, as well as the Global Sports Broadcasting Network. He hosts the podcast “When Football Was Football” on the Sports History Network and is a frequent guest on numerous pro football podcasts.
In addition, Joe manages a unique Facebook site which is dedicated solely to the history of the old Chicago Cardinals football team.
Follow My Facebook Page
Follow Me On Twitter
Listen to My Podcast
Email Me
A life-long resident of the south side of Chicago, Joe first became interested in the history of pro football after discovering that his father was a draft choice of the Chicago (now Arizona) Cardinals in the 1940s.
Because of his knowledge of the early days of the professional game, Joe has been a resource for articles or reports in Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Southtown, NBC "Sunday Night Football", and many others. Joe has appeared on the WGN documentary “Football in Chicago,” a Comcast Sports special on the Chicago Bears, on radio stations such as WBBM and WSCR in Chicago, as well as the Global Sports Broadcasting Network. He hosts the podcast “When Football Was Football” on the Sports History Network and is a frequent guest on numerous pro football podcasts.
In addition, Joe manages a unique Facebook site which is dedicated solely to the history of the old Chicago Cardinals football team.
Follow My Facebook Page
Follow Me On Twitter
Listen to My Podcast
Email Me
