Moore, Louis. I Fight for a Living: Boxing and the Battle for Black Manhood, 1880-1915. Sport and Society Series. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2017. Pp240. Notes, index, images. $27.95 (paper). Reviewed by Andrew R.M. Smith My favorite story about Sam Langford involves a large wager and a good size mule. Some white men bet…
Congdon, Lee. Legendary Sports Writers of the Golden Age. Rowman and Littlefield, 2017. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy In Legendary Sports Writers of the Golden Age, Author Lee Congdon introduces the reader to four significant sports writers who began their careers in the 1920s and 1930s. Long considered the Golden Age of Sports for the athletes…
Edwards, Harry. The Revolt of the Black Athlete: 50th Anniversary Edition. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2017. Pp. 232. Appendices, Index. $29.95 hardcover. Reviewed by Kristy McCray “There can be no ‘for sale’ sign, no price tag on principles, human dignity, and freedom.” (p. viii) In 1968, Harry Edwards published The Revolt of the…
Review of Lisle, Benjamin. Modern Coliseum: Stadiums and American Culture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017. Pp. 328, 76 illustrations, Notes and index. $34.95, cloth back. Reviewed by Frank Andre Guridy Benjamin Lisle’s Modern Coliseum: Stadiums and American Culture is a timely and important contribution to sports studies that helps us understand why urban elites…
Withers, Jeremy, The War of the Wheels: H.G. Wells and the Bicycle . Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2017. Pp. xii+237. Introduction, notes, bibliography, and index. Paperback: $29.95. Reviewed by Ari de Wilde In his War of the Wheels, Jeremy Withers, assistant professor of English at Iowa State University, adds to the increasingly impressive amount…
Montillo, Roseanne. Fire on the Track: Betty Robinson and the Triumph of the Early Olympic Women. New York: Crown, 2017. Pp. 285. 15 photos & illustrations, chapter notes and index. $27.00 hardcover. Reviewed by Robert Pruter Author Roseanne Montillo does not have an academic sport history background, but rather a MFA degree in creative writing, a…
Stewart. Wayne. Remembering the Stars of the NFL Glory Years: An Inside Look at the Golden Age of Football. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2017. Pp. 222. Introduction. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $38.00 hardcover. Reviewed by Gavin J. Woltjer We have all partaken in some version of the following conversation: Player X was the…
Reeths, Paul. The United States Football League, 1982-1986. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers, 2017. Pp. 428, photographs, bibliography, and index. $39.95. Reviewed by Jorge Iber At the start of The United States Football League, 1982-1986, author Paul Reeths harkens back to his youth in the early 1980s and recounts his excitement at the…
Tamir Bar-On. Beyond Soccer: International Relations and Politics as Seen through the Beautiful Game. Lanham and New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2017. 340 pages (including selected bibliography, index, and author information) US$35.00 (paperback). Reviewed by Patrick Salkeld As sport historians know, politics and sports coexist in the same spheres. Athletes, such as Colin Kaepernick or…
Marmins, David J. and Steven K. Feit. Appalachian State Silences the Big House: Behind the Greatest Upset in College Football History. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2017. Pp. x + 263. 37 photos & illustrations, chapter notes, bibliography and index. $25.00 softcover. Reviewed by Zachary R. Bigalke One of the reasons why college football remains so…
Sport in American History 