By Lindsay Parks Pieper I was a junior faculty member at Lynchburg College when I saw Andrew McGregor’s Facebook post about the launch of Sport in American History. His message described a new opportunity for graduate students and junior scholars to discuss sport history in a new, digital format. The idea interested me, but I…
Guroff, Margaret. The Mechanical Horse: How the Bicycle Reshaped American Life. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2016. Pp. 295. Abbreviations, bibliography, notes, index, 10 b&w photos, and 5 b&w illustrations. $24.95 hardcover. Reviewed by Lindsay Parks Pieper I recently visited Washington, D.C., to conduct research in the Library of Congress. The proximity of the library…
This week we’re offering our thoughts and reflections on the recently completed Rio Olympics. Today is part two of our roundtable. It features a Q&A with four of our contributors — Cat Ariail, Josh Howard, Andrew McGregor, and Lindsay Parks Pieper — about their views on the Rio Olympics and its legacy as both scholars and sports fans. Feel…
On Tuesday, the US women’s gymnastics squad captured the Olympic team title. The “Final Five” outscored second place Russia by an impressive 8.209 points. This margin was historic and astonishing. It was the greatest difference between a first and second place team in fifty six years. On air, NBC commentator Tim Daggett likened the spread…
As part of ESPN’s 30 for 30, O.J.: Made in America examines O.J. Simpson’s movement through the American cultural, political, and social landscape of the past five decades. The five-segment documentary explores the significances of race, gender, celebrity, and violence in Simpson’s football career and later criminal trial. The Sport in American History blog will…
Longhurst, James. Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road. Seattle: University of Washington Press. Pp. xi + 241. Notes, bibliography, index, and 32 illustrations. $34.95 hardcover. Reviewed by Lindsay Parks Pieper I used to ride my bike to campus. While I wish I could say that my transportation choice stemmed from a desire…
On May 25-27, 1973, scholars gathered at Ohio State University’s Center for Tomorrow for the first North American Society for Sport History (NASSH) convention. The inaugural group was largely comprised of scholars with physical education backgrounds and an interest in sport history. Not surprisingly then, the first convention showcased thirty papers with ancient Greek athletics,…
Krüger, Michael, Becker, Christian, and Stefan Nielsen. German Sports, Doping, and Politics: A History of Performance Enhancement. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. Pp. xliii + 201. Bibliography, Index, and Notes. $70 hardback, $69.99 ebook. Reviewed by Lindsay Parks Pieper In December 2014, the German broadcast consortium ARD aired “Top-Secret Doping: How Russia Makes Its…
Elzey, Chris, and David K. Wiggins, eds. DC Sports: The Nation’s Capital at Play. Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press, 2015. Pp. xix+ 317. Notes, Index. $24.95 paperback. Reviewed by Lindsay Parks Pieper It was another bad start to the season. The Nationals entered the April 17, 2009, game against the Marlins with a…
Fantastic Lies (2016). Directed by Marina Zenovich. Lightbox. ESPN Films. 103 minutes. Reviewed by Lindsay Parks Pieper My thoughts on the Duke Lacrosse case have changed. When news of the rape allegations first broke in March 2006, I was a junior at Virginia Tech and a member of the varsity lacrosse team. I immediately defended…
Sport in American History 