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…
ESPN’s latest entry in its remarkable 30 for 30 series is a Randy Moss biopic entitled “Rand University”. The title refers to the small West Virginia town where he grew up. The film charts Moss’s progress from High School star to NFL draft pick, with a particular focus on the off the field troubles that…
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…
Sport in American History 