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…
By Patrick Salkeld Every year soccer fans experience the US Open Cup, the oldest soccer tournament in the United States. It started in October 1913 after FIFA sanctioned the American Amateur Football Association (AAFA), which renamed itself United States Football Association (USFA) that year and is now the United States Soccer Federation (USSF or US…
Anderson, Daniel. The Culture of Sports in the Harlem Renaissance. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2017. Pp. 220. Notes, bibliography, and index. $35.00 softcover. Reviewed by Andrew McGregor The Harlem Renaissance is frequently described as a flowering of African American social, cultural, and artistic expression. It also reflected an important intellectual moment, marked by radicalism and the…
Editor’s Note: This is part two 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 part one, and check back next…
Kimball, Richard Ian. Legends Never Die: Athletes and Their Afterlives in Modern America. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2017. Pp. 211. Notes, bibliography, and index. $55.00 hardcover. $19.95 paperback and ebook. Reviewed by Cat Ariail In Legends Never Die, Richard Ian Kimball concisely and critically considers the invention of the afterlives of American athletic heroes.…
Editor’s Note: This is part one 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. Check back next Thursday for part two. By Russ…
By Richard A. Macales Sitting in the stand of the Sports Arena Waiting for the show to begin Red lights, green lights, strawberry wine A good friend of mine, follow the stars Venus and Mars Are alright tonight… –from the song “Venus and Mars/Rock Show,” by Paul and Linda McCartney, 1975 The vibrant birth and…
By Russ Crawford From June 24-30, women from six nations are meeting in Langley, British Columbia to contend for the title of world champion in American football. Australia, Britain, Canada, Finland, Mexico and the United States have sent teams to showcase the best female football players in their respective countries. At the time of writing,…
By Doug Wilson This post originally appeared on Doug Wilson’s Baseball Bookshelf. It was one of the most intriguing matchups in baseball history. Ernie Banks and Leo Durocher–thrown together in the same clubhouse. Rarely have two more disparate characters been coupled outside of a lousy television sitcom. Smiling Ernie Banks, the perpetually glass-is-half-full line drive…
