By Louis Moore Nothing happened! No race riots. No so-called “racial contamination.” No intermarriage. Just a football game. On October, 11, 1947, Chet Pierce, the 6’4” 215-pound lineman for Harvard, became the first Black man to play an integrated college football game in the South. “In the shadow of Confederate monuments,” he played that game…
By Kristy McCray When Title IX was enacted in 1972, the purpose was to redress discrimination against women in many facets of education, from denial of federal financial aid to refusal of admission to medical school; how the legislation would affect college sports was not yet on the radar. In fact, it wasn’t until 1974 that…
ESPN’s The Undefeated’s is in the process of unveiling their 50 Greatest Black Athletes. The rankings have inspired conversations across social media about black athletic excellence as well as the impact and historical significance of certain figures. As the debates unfold, we want to share our platform for sport historians (and others) to weigh in,…
Editor’s Note: This is part final post of a five part biographical series on Barney Gill by Russ Crawford. He first encountered Barney Gill while researching his book on American football in France. Gill’s story didn’t make it into the book and was too good not to share. Click here to read parts one, two, three, and…
Steidinger, Joan. Sisterhood in Sports: How Female Athletes Collaborate and Compete. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. xi+191. Notes, bibliography, and index. Reviewed by Russ Crawford Women like to talk. Women athletes like to talk to each other while practicing and competing. While there is a bit more to Joan Steidinger’s Sisterhood in Sports, the…
Editor’s Note: This is part four of a five part biographical series on Barney Gill by Russ Crawford. He first encountered Barney Gill while researching his book on American football in France. Gill’s story didn’t make it into the book and was too good not to share. Click here to read parts one, two, and three. Check…
By Jon Hart When Zack Hample snagged A-Rod’s 3,000th hit at Yankee Stadium in June 2015, he took ball hawking – which is the hobby of collecting baseballs at Major League baseball games – out of the shadows. Universally, Hample, who has a mega popular You Tube show https://www.youtube.com/user/zackhample is considered the greatest ball hawk…
Dewey, Donald and Nicholas Acocella. The Black Prince of Baseball: Hal Chase and the Mythology of the Game. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2016. PP. xi + 456. Notes, bibliography, index, 2 photographs. $19.95 paperback. Reviewed by Doug Wilson Hal Chase is generally viewed as baseball’s all-time leading crook, a degenerate gambler and general…
Editor’s Note: This is part three of a five part biographical series on Barney Gill by Russ Crawford. He first encountered Barney Gill while researching his book on American football in France. Gill’s story didn’t make it into the book and was too good not to share. Click here to read parts one and two, and check…
By Louis Moore Fifty years ago, on July 23, 1967, routine arrests at a blind pig (an illegal after hours’ establishment) in Detroit ignited an explosive rebellion that lasted five days. That night, hometown hero, Willie Horton, of the Detroit Tigers, drove his car into the rebellion to quell the flames. It didn’t work. This…
Jamieson, Duncan R. The Self-Propelled Voyager: How the Cycle Revolutionized Travel. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. Pp. xxv + 193. Bibliography and index. $86.00 hardcover, $81.00 electronic book. Reviewed by Zachary R. Bigalke It has now been over a decade since the last time I went on a self-supported bicycle tour. While Lance Armstrong…
By Russ Crawford The Super Bowl ended months ago, spring football is done, and the draft has been held. However, there is still football being played, although very few people are aware of it. The football I refer to is being played by women in various leagues. I am most familiar with the teams of…
