I am both excited and nervous as I prepare for the 2014 North American Society for Sport History Conference this week in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Excited to see friends and mentors, and looking forward to listening to novel scholarship on the history of sport and physical culture. Nervous as I am presenting on a new…
As the 2014 NFL Draft neared its conclusion, University of Missouri defensive end Michael Sam waited anxiously. Surrounded by family and friends in his agent’s San Diego home, Sam watched as the Miami Dolphins—a team desperately in need of a reputation makeover—passed over him and selected Terrence Fede, a defensive end from Marist College. Sam,…
The first months of 2014 have seen a flurry of labor related actions on University campuses across the country. As administrators continue the push for corporate structures and profit driven business models, graduate employees, staff, and faculty have pushed back. The ongoing case of Northwestern University football team’s unionization provides an interesting and unique ripple…
There’s something curious about sports. Particularly, something curious about the way that the category of “sports” is used. It’s everywhere. It’s even in the opening quote of Andrew McGregor’s previous blog entry, which cited former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren claiming that he likes to read the sports page because it “records people’s…
Former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren said, “I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people’s accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man’s failures.” Many fans followed his lead. Reflecting on America’s obsession with sport in 1994, historian Richard O. Davies wrote, “The void often left unfulfilled by…
Sport in American History 