Branson, Douglas M. Greatness in the Shadows: Larry Doby and the Integration of the American League. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2016. Pp. 336 + Photographs, Tables, Notes, Bibliography, Index. $34.95 Hardcover. Reviewed by Josh Howard As Douglas Branson himself admits, Greatness in the Shadows is not a biography. Instead, his work is an analysis of the literature—or…
Wangerin, David. Distant Corners: American Soccer’s History of Missed Opportunities and Lost Causes. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2014. Pp. xiv+240. Index and 18 halftones. $50.50 clothback, $24.95 paperback and electronic book. Reviewed by Zachary R. Bigalke Over the summer, the United States hosted the Copa America Centenario, as the South American championships expanded to 16…
Frei, Terry. March 1939: Before the Madness. Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2016. Pp. 237 + Notes, Bibliography, Index, Appendices. $16.95 paperback. Reviewed by Murry Nelson Here was a book that I had very mixed feelings about. First, the topic was timely, focusing on the first NCAA Tournament, then called the National Association of Basketball Coaches…
Eric Reed, Selling the Yellow Jersey: The Tour de France in the Global Era. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2015. Pp. 251. Notes, index, 19 halftones, 1 map, and 3 tables. $45.00 hardback. Reviewed by Cian Manning Eric Reed, an associate professor of history at Western Kentucky University, analyses how the French related to…
Guttmann, Allen. Women’s Sports: A History. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991. Pp. Ix+339. Notes, bibliographic notes, index, and black and white photographs. Reviewed by Russ Crawford A recent post by Wendy Parker on the Sports Biblio blog argued that Allen Guttmann’s 1991 Women’s Sports: A History (1991) was the best book that she had…
Swanson, Ryan A. and David K. Wiggins, eds. Philly Sports: Teams, Games, and Athletes from Rocky’s Town. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 2016. Pp. 330. Notes and index. $24.95 paper. Reviewed by Cat Ariail This past spring, the Philadelphia 76ers “won” the NBA Draft Lottery, earning the right to select Ben Simmons with the…
This post is a part of the series, “Sport History Rewind.” In this series, contributors revisit and reevaluate important texts to determine the degree to which their analyses, arguments, research, and influence resonate in the field today. Of particular concern is how well the works fit into historiographical debates and compare with more recent sport-related…
Ross, Robert B. The Great Baseball Revolt: The Rise and Fall of the 1890 Players League. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2016 (hardback). Ppxx+288. Notes and index. $29.95. Reviewed by Jorge Iber In the University of Nebraska’s press release for this book, sports editor for The Nation Dave Zirin is quoted as saying that the…
Sotomayor, Antonio. The Sovereign Colony: Olympic Sport, National Identity, and International Politics in Puerto Rico. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2016. Pp. 330. 14 photographs, 2 illustrations, 2 maps, 2 tables, index. $60.00 hardcover. Reviewed by Wesley R. Bishop The world of sports and the world of politics are never far apart. Following each other…
Smith, Ronald A. Wounded Lions: Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky, and the Crises in Penn State Athletics. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2016. Pp. xiii+259. Notes, index. $95.00 hardcover, $21.95 paperback. Reviewed by Colleen English Before I begin the review, I want to mention my ties to Penn State. For nearly a decade, as both…
Sport in American History 