Wood, Keith Brian. Memphis Hoops: Race and Basketball in the Bluff City, 1968–1997. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2021. Pp. 218. $35.00 hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski The first integrated high school game in Memphis took place on September 15, 1965, between all-white Catholic High and all-black Father Bertrand High. The game functions…
Stark, Douglas, ed. The James Naismith Reader. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2021. Pp. 251. $29.95. hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Basketball’s initial function was to correct and contain the seemingly endless energy of young students, who found themselves in need of physical and intellectual occupation during long and dark winter months in…
Cannon, Jason. Charlie Murphy: The Iconoclastic Showman Behind the Chicago Cubs. University of Nebraska Press, 2022. Pp. 376. Acknowledgments, bibliography, epilogue, index, introduction, notes. $36.95 hardback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo Charlie Murphy would have been in his element in today’s sports world. Controversial, opinionated, and never one to mince words, the man who owned the…
Kenny, Kevin. Golf’s Forgotten Hero: The Life of John McDermott. Independently published, 2022. Pp. ix+106. Appendices, Bibliographical references, and Index. $12 paperback. Reviewed by Erica J. Zonder In May 2022, tennis player Naomi Osaka returned to play at Roland Garros, where just a year earlier she had withdrawn from the tournament citing mental health reasons.…
Catsam, Derek Charles. Flashpoint: How a Little-Known Sporting Event Fueled America’s Anti-Apartheid Movement. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021. Pp. xxviii + 213. 10 unnumbered pages of plates and index. $34.00 hardcover, $32.00 e-book. Reviewed by Tony Calandrillo In Flashpoint: How a Little-Known Sporting Event Fueled America’s Anti-Apartheid Movement, Derek Charles Catsam, Professor of History…
Simpson, Kevin E. Soccer Under the Swastika: Stories of Survival and Resistance During the Holocaust, Revised Edition. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020. Pp. 368. $26.00 paperback. $24.50 ebook. Reviewed by Daniel Hart Sports idioms are such a part of the American lexicon that their respective meanings have become obscured by their quotidian use: sudden-death…
May, Peter. The Open Question: Ben Hogan and Golf’s Most Enduring Controversy. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021. Pp. xx+163. Bibliographical references and Index. $24.95 hardcover. Reviewed by Erica J. Zonder In June 2022, the U.S Open will be contested at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. This will be the 17th United States Golf Association…
Kuska, Bob with Archie Clark. Shake & Bake: The Life and Times of NBA Great Archie Clark. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2021. Pp. 352. $29.95. hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Archie Clark is not the first, second, or third name that comes to mind when discussing NBA greats. He did not make the NBA…
Trutor, Clayton. Loserville: How Professional Sports Remade Atlanta––and How Atlanta Remade Professional Sports. Lincoln: Nebraska University Press, 2022. Pp. 504. $34.95 hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski A major American city––one that is either in development or dealing with social, economic, or environmental issues––never fully “arrives” or “emerges” on the national map until it lands a…
Sharon Mazer. Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle. Second Edition. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2020. Pp. 198. $30 paperback. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski From the beginning of her book, Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle, which was originally published in 1998, Sharon Mazer makes it clear that she is just a tourist in the world of…
Nicholson, James C. 1968: A Pivotal Moment in American Sports. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 2019. Pp. 149. $34.95 hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski The year 1968 is often considered a vital year for America. A year known for unrest and protest, it also was marked by technological progress and assassinations of two progressive…
Conley, Sean. The Point After: How One Resilient Kicker Learned there was More to Life than the NFL. Lyons Press, 2020. Pp. 258. Acknowledgments, epilogue, index, photographs, pregame (prologue). $29.95 hardback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo There is nothing sentimental about the NFL. It is a business, and it chews up players and spits them out…
Friedman, Danielle. Let’s Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 270 pp. $27.00 Hardcover. Reviewed by Richard Ravalli Danielle Friedman provides a personalized, feminist look at women’s fitness history since the middle of the twentieth century in Let’s Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the…
Wickersham, Seth. It’s Better to be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2021. Pp. 506. $40.00 hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski According to ESPN journalist Seth Wickersham, the Patriots dynasty began and ended with Tom Brady. That is how he constructs his book, It’s Better…
De la Cretaz, Britni and D’Arcangelo, Lyndsey. Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League. New York: Bold Type Books, 2021. Pp. vii, 290. Black and white photos, team list, bibliography, index. $28 hardcover. Reviewed by Russ Crawford In Hail Mary, de la Cretaz and D’Arcangelo have gathered fascinating stories of…
Sport in American History 