Jenkins, Sherman. Ted Strong Jr.: The Untold Story of an Original Harlem Globetrotter and Negro Leagues All—Star. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2016. Pp. 204. Notes, bibliography, index. Pp. 204. $40.00 hardback. $38.00 eBook. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy Author Sherman Jenkins straightforwardly presents the story of Ted Strong Jr., following chronologically his career and life.…
Castle, George. Jackie Robinson West: The Triumph and Tragedy of America’s Favorite Little League Team. Connecticut: Lyons Press, 2016. Pp. 272. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy George Castle uses his research and writing skills to offer a readable, informative exploration of the lovable Little League team that rose to fame in 2014 – Jackie Robinson West (JRW).…
Mitchell, Lincoln A. Baseball Goes West: The Dodgers, the Giants, and the Shaping of the Major Leagues. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2018. 8 b/w photographs, 10 tables, acknowledgements, chapter notes, index. Pp. 264. $39.95 softcover. Reviewed by Michael T. Wood Lincoln A. Mitchell, a political science faculty member and research scholar at Columbia…
Burgess, Granville Wyche. The Last At-Bat of Shoeless Joe: A Novel. New York, NY: Chickadee Prince Books, 2019. Pp. 252. $12.99 trade paperback. Reviewed by Gavin J. Woltjer This fall will mark the 100-year anniversary of the notorious Black Sox scandal, arguably the worst scandal in the history of US professional sports. Fallout from the…
Stark, Douglas. Breaking Barriers: A History of Integration in Professional Basketball. Lanham, MD. Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. Notes, bibliography, index. Reviewed by Murry Nelson This is a book that sounds better than it really is and that was a disappointment since Stark is a good writer with a background of curation at the Naismith Basketball…
Krell, David. Forward by Branch Rickey III. Our Bums: The Brooklyn Dodgers in History, Memory, and Popular Culture. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2015. Pp. 240. Notes, References, Index. $29.95 softcover. Reviewed by Rich Loosbrock Baseball and nostalgia go hand in hand. Mentions of baseball in popular culture, be it movies, documentaries, biographies, or memoirs, are bathed…
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…
Sport in American History 