Gilden, Jack. Collision of Wills: Johnny Unitas, Don Shula, and the Rise of the Modern NFL. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2018. Pp. 328. Afterword, index and bibliography. $29.95 hardback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo The Baltimore Colts of the 1960s could be called the National Football League’s underachievers — or, more charitably, unlucky. From 1963…
By Jon Hart Imitating sports personalities could be a sport on to itself. Of course, Comedian Billy Crystal performed hilarious impressions of Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell. More recently, comic Frank Caliendo imitated NFL coach Jon Gruden. When U.S. Open champ Novak Djokovic retires from the court, he could headline a Las Vegas variety show,…
Editor’s Note: “Sport in American History” is excited to cross-post Richard C. Crepeau’s “Sport and Society” column. This post was originally published on September 23, 2018. A full archive of his Crepeau’s columns can be found by clicking here. Tiger Woods won the Tour Championship in Atlanta today. If you are like me you may want to read that…
Rosenberg, Howard W. Ty Cobb Unleashed: The Definitive Biography of the Chastened Racist. Tile Books, 2018. Pp. 544. Appendixes, bibliography, notes. $32 hardback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo When writing about baseball history, Howard W. Rosenberg marches to the beat of his own drum. When he published his first of four books about Hall of Famer…
Editor’s Note: “Sport in American History” is excited to cross-post Richard C. Crepeau’s “Sport and Society” column. This post was originally published on September 10, 2018. A full archive of his Crepeau’s columns can be found by clicking here. For several decades ABC Television’s “Wide World of Sports” opened with a video clip that illustrated what the announcer called…
Editor’s Note: “Sport in American History” is excited to cross-post Richard C. Crepeau’s “Sport and Society” column. This post was originally published on August 26, 2018. A full archive of his Crepeau’s columns can be found by clicking here. Every year at this time, the time being the coming of the college football season, we are treated to a…
By Robert J. Lake On the 16th August, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) approved a complete overhaul of the Davis Cup, the men’s international tennis championship dating back to 1900. A two-thirds majority among the 140 member nations approved the move to turn it from a competition involving several rounds of play throughout the calendar year…
Organized by Patrick Salkeld Starting August 27 and culminating on September 8, 2018, Serena Williams played in the 2018 U.S. Open. Williams faced Naomi Osaka in the Women’s Singles Final overseen by chair umpire Carlos Ramos on September 8. During the second set, Ramos “called a code violation for coaching” when he saw Williams’ coach…
Pesca, Mike. Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History. New York. Twelve Books, 2018. Forward by Malcolm Gladwell, notes, index. $28.00 paperback. Reviewed by Murry Nelson Upon Further Review may be the most uneven book that I have seen recently, with chapters (each 6-15 pages) by a myriad of authors on some…
By Timothy J. Lombardo A familiar refrain accompanied the Philadelphia Eagles’ unlikely trek toward Super Bowl LII. It was perhaps best explained by Ed Rendell. Predicting an Eagles victory, Rendell said, “This team reminds me of the 1993 Phillies, just a bunch of working stiffs, not glamourous whatsoever. So blue-collar.” Rendell was uniquely qualified to…
By Tanya K. Jones Whether one is playing or spectating, millions of people participate in one form or another. As springtime ends, it takes two sports in the U.S. with it; hockey and basketball. Despite the loss, American sports enthusiasts have baseball to lean on until the day comes when one sport rises above the…
Smith, Curt. The Presidents and the Pastime: The History of Baseball & the White House. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2018. Pp. 469. Bibliography. $29.95 hardback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo Politics and baseball are a delicious mixture. Curt Smith knows how to create a satisfying recipe. Smith, 67, a senior lecturer of English at the…
