Fallon, Michael. Dodgerland: Decadent Los Angeles and the 1977-78 Dodgers. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2016. 472 pp. Notes and index. $34.95 (clothback). Reviewed by Tolga Ozyurtcu “I’m recording the game. Please, no spoilers.” More than getting students to do the reading, even more than whatever it is the Lakers are purportedly doing, this is…
Gems, Gerald R., ed. Before Jackie Robinson: The Transcendent Role of Black Sporting Pioneers. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2017. Pp. 324. Notes and index. $35 paperback. Reviewed by Christopher R. Davis In popular memory, one of the most significant historical developments in the twentieth-century United States, the civil rights struggle, is often reduced to…
Shattuck, Debra A. Bloomer Girls: Women Baseball Pioneers. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2017. Pp. xiii +307. Appendices, notes, bibliography and index. Clothback $25.95. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy Debra Shattuck knocks it out of the park with her first book. Bloomer Girls: Women Baseball Pioneers fills a huge void in sports literature regarding women…
Sulecki, James C. The Cleveland Rams: The NFL Champions Who Left Too Soon. Jefferson: McFarland, 2016. Pp. vii+288. Appendix, notes, bibliography, index, and black and white photos. Reviewed by Russ Crawford Long before LeBron James briefly abandoned the Cavaliers, and the Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens, another major sports franchise bailed on…
Socolow, Michael J. Six Minutes in Berlin: Broadcast Spectacle and Rowing Gold at the Nazi Olympics. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2016. Pp. 288. Notes and index. $95.00 clothback, $24.95 paperback, $22.46 ebook. Reviewed by Cat Ariail Michael J. Socolow seems to epitomize the unlucky, under-appreciated academic. As he wrote at Insider Higher Ed,…
Keiderling, Kyle. Olympic Collision: The Story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2016. Pp. 341. Notes, Bibliography, Index. $27.95 hardcover. Reviewed by Kristy McCray “The greatest fear of any athlete is that they will be remembered for their most embarrassing moment. In the case of Mary and Zola, their…
LeBlanc, Diane, and Allys Swanson. Playing for Equality: Oral Histories of Women Leaders in the Early Years of Title IX. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2016. Pp. 208. Notes, References, Index. $29.95 softcover. Reviewed by Erica Zonder As Title IX approaches its 45th anniversary, it seems timely to read about the experiences of the early pioneers and…
Nathan, Daniel, Ed. Baltimore Sports: Stories from Charm City. Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press, 2016. Pp. ix + 291. Notes, Contributors, Index. $24.95 paperback. Reviewed by Daniel Glen Hedrick “Here you go, hon.” The phrase was repeated over and over by my grandmother as she passed out meatball subs to anyone who looked her…
Foglio, Massimo with Ford, Mark. Touchdown in Europe: How American Football Came to the Old Continent. Published by the author (Foglio). 269 pages. Bibliography. $15.00 paperback. Reviewed by Russ Crawford Massimo Foglio, who is, according to his brief bio on the back of Touchdown in Europe: How American Football Came to the Old Continent, an…
Curry, Graham, and Eric Dunning. Association Football: A Study in Figurational Sociology. London: Routledge, 2015. Pp. 192 + index. $148.00 hardback, $53.95 paperback. Reviewed by Zachary R. Bigalke It is natural to long for a concise and clear historical timeline, to be able to easily and definitively explain the chain of events that lead to…
Sport in American History 