Black, Jonathan. Making the American Body: The Remarkable Saga of the Men and Women Whose Feats, Feuds, and Passions Shaped Fitness History. Lincoln: Nebraska University Press, 2013. Pp 264. Introduction, notes, and index. Hardcover: $27.95 Reviewed by Adam Copeland With the summer coming to a slow, hot close, the ubiquitous obsession with six-pack abs and…
Burk, Robert F. Marvin Miller, Baseball Revolutionary. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2015. Pp. Xii+332. Notes, index, and black and white photographs. $35.00 clothback. Reviewed by Alexander Hyres American professional baseball players have not always earned salaries significantly higher than the average citizen. In the 1960s, most drew salaries similar to other middle-class Americans at…
Stone, Duncan, John Hughson, and Rob Ellis. Eds. New Directions in Sport History. New York: Routledge, 2015. Pp. xiii + 108. Notes and index. $145 clothback. Reviewed by Lindsay Parks Pieper Does sport history have a future in academia? If so, what does this future hold? These questions have haunted the field for years. Scholars…
Izenberg, Jerry. Rozelle: A Biography. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2014. Pp. 312. Notes and Index. $29.95 clothback. Reviewed by Andrew D. Linden In the environment of big-time sport in North America, few off-the-field individuals garner such media coverage as National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell. Over the past few weeks, as teams begin…
The NFL: Critical and Cultural Perspectives. Eds. Thomas P. Oates and Zack Furness. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2014. Pp. 268. Forward, contributors list, and index. Paper: $29.95, cloth: $69.50, e-book: $29.95. Reviewed by Andrew D. Linden Two weeks ago, I flipped through various television channels, eventually landing on the NFL Network. While nearly two months removed…
The Set-Up Men: Race, Culture, and Resistance in Black Baseball. By Sarah Trembanis. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2014. Pp. 240. Softcover. $35.00). Reviewed by Josh Howard. One of my favorite sports films growing up was The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings. It’s a comedy from 1976, featuring three major African-American Hollywood stars: Billy…
The “ghetto Cinderellas” of tennis, Serena and Venus Williams, were to face one another in the semifinals of the 2001 Masters Tournament in Indian Wells, California.[1] Yet, mere minutes before the match start-time, Venus suddenly pulled out. According to officials, the last minute decision stemmed from knee problems. The abruptness and unexpectedness of both her…
This time of year, it’s not entirely uncommon for sports journalists to comment upon the remarkable quantity of non-US born baseball players stealing the show in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) postseason. Other times the coverage is less laudatory. Two on-field conflicts erupted in late September of 2013 involving a Dominican player (Carlos Gomez and Jose Fernandez,…
Richard O. Davies’ new book The Main Event: Boxing in Nevada from the Mining Camps to the Las Vegas Strip is entertaining and insightful in many ways. It blends new and familiar stories while offering a unique perspective on the history of sports. More than a sports history book, it is a critical text on the…
Since this is my first post, I will start by introducing myself and explaining how I came to be a part of this blog. I am deeply interested in the history of sports, not because it is my academic field of study, but because the history of sports directly effects the way I currently live…
Sport in American History 