Bolin, James Duane. Adolph Rupp and the Rise of Kentucky Basketball. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. 2019. Pp. 394. Bibliography and index. $40 hardback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo. There are not enough adjectives to describe Adolph Rupp, but author James Duane Bolin gives it a good try. “Successful, colorful, crusty and controversial,” (p. 17)…
By Tate Royer Brandi Chastain unintentionally became the face of women’s soccer in the United States. Arguably one of the most iconic images in women’s sports is Chastain taking off her shirt after penalty kicks in the 1999 Women’s World Cup Final. In this widely recognizable picture, Chastain is on her knees, shirt in hand,…
Jenkins, Sherman. Ted Strong Jr.: The Untold Story of an Original Harlem Globetrotter and Negro Leagues All—Star. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2016. Pp. 204. Notes, bibliography, index. Pp. 204. $40.00 hardback. $38.00 eBook. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy Author Sherman Jenkins straightforwardly presents the story of Ted Strong Jr., following chronologically his career and life.…
Castle, George. Jackie Robinson West: The Triumph and Tragedy of America’s Favorite Little League Team. Connecticut: Lyons Press, 2016. Pp. 272. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy George Castle uses his research and writing skills to offer a readable, informative exploration of the lovable Little League team that rose to fame in 2014 – Jackie Robinson West (JRW).…
Mitchell, Lincoln A. Baseball Goes West: The Dodgers, the Giants, and the Shaping of the Major Leagues. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2018. 8 b/w photographs, 10 tables, acknowledgements, chapter notes, index. Pp. 264. $39.95 softcover. Reviewed by Michael T. Wood Lincoln A. Mitchell, a political science faculty member and research scholar at Columbia…
Burgess, Granville Wyche. The Last At-Bat of Shoeless Joe: A Novel. New York, NY: Chickadee Prince Books, 2019. Pp. 252. $12.99 trade paperback. Reviewed by Gavin J. Woltjer This fall will mark the 100-year anniversary of the notorious Black Sox scandal, arguably the worst scandal in the history of US professional sports. Fallout from the…
Stark, Douglas. Breaking Barriers: A History of Integration in Professional Basketball. Lanham, MD. Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. Notes, bibliography, index. Reviewed by Murry Nelson This is a book that sounds better than it really is and that was a disappointment since Stark is a good writer with a background of curation at the Naismith Basketball…
Krell, David. Forward by Branch Rickey III. Our Bums: The Brooklyn Dodgers in History, Memory, and Popular Culture. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2015. Pp. 240. Notes, References, Index. $29.95 softcover. Reviewed by Rich Loosbrock Baseball and nostalgia go hand in hand. Mentions of baseball in popular culture, be it movies, documentaries, biographies, or memoirs, are bathed…
