Verrier, Steven. Gene Kiniski: Canadian Wrestling Legend. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2018. Pp. 246. Bibliography and index. $35 paperback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo Professional wrestling has always been about business. It has evolved from matches in dimly lit carnival tents before a few hundred curious onlookers to WrestleMania 35, which reportedly drew 82,265 fans to…
Oriard, Michael. The Art of Football: The Early Game in the Golden Age of Illustration. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2017. Pp. 243. Notes, References, Index. $39.95 cloth. Reviewed by Rich Loosbrock Michael Oriard continues his exploration of the intersection between American football and the popular imagination with this sumptuously illustrated examination of early football…
Newman, Roberta J. Here’s the Pitch: The Amazing, True, New, and Improved Story of Baseball and Advertising. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2019. Pp. 319. Bibliography, epilogue, illustrations, index and notes. $34.95 hardback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo. “What a combination, all across the nation.” The 1960s jingle, “Baseball and Ballantine,” hawked beer, but it aptly…
Brioso, César. Last Seasons in Havana: The Castro Revolution and the End of Professional Baseball In Cuba. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2019. Pp. 271. Bibliography, epilogue, index, notes and preface. $29.95 hardback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo. César Brioso takes the history of baseball in Cuba — and the events that resulted in Fidel…
Schultz, Jaime. Women’s Sports: What Everyone Needs to Know. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. Pp. 243. Notes, bibliography, and index. $16.95 paperback. Reviewed by Cat Ariail As scholars of women’s sport well know, studying women’s sports tells one about much more than women’s sports. With Women’s Sports: What Everyone Needs to Know, Jaime Schultz…
By Cat Ariail When advertising its inaugural 1997 season, the WNBA announced, “We Got Next.” The slogan represented a clever adaptation of the playground basketball expression. Unintentionally but appropriately, it also captured the perpetual liminality of the league. For much of its twenty-two year history, insecurity has characterized the league, with professional women basketball forever…
Keurajian,Ron. Baseball Hall of Fame Autographs,Second Edition. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc.,2018. Pp 303. Appendix, bibliography, glossary, illustrations and notes. $49.95 paperback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo. It’s a sign of the times: Collecting sports autographs is a big business, with potentially lucrative paydays. In August, a baseball signed by 11of the original National…
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…
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…
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…
Sport in American History 