Later this week, former college football players will walk across the stage at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois. They will shake the hand of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, put on new hats, and hold the jerseys of their new NFL teams. Outside of the Theatre, the NFL will hold a “Draft…
American Football has never been more popular among U.S. sports fans. One might argue that the nation’s obsession with the sport borders on addiction. Fans follow the fortunes of their teams year round (and round the clock). NBC’s Sunday Night Football is the most-watched television program in the country. And with the help of carefully…
In a 2014 double issue of The International Journal of the History of Sport, sport historians illustrated ways that various sports in the United States have been, are, and could be considered “national pastimes.” Baseball, American football, basketball, boxing, hunting, and horse racing all received scholarly scrutiny as to the sports’ potential status as national…
Since my last post turned toward teaching, I wanted to use this post as a space to discuss and reflect on my recent trip to the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria. While at the archive, I wrote notes about specific documents, general field notes, and (perhaps my favorite) email updates for my friends…
By Colleen English, Guest Contributor Colleen English is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Marshall University. She received a B.S. in Kinesiology from Penn State University (2009) and is working on completing her Ph.D. in Kinesiology (History and Philosophy of Sport) under Dr. Scott Kretchmar at Penn State. Her research interests center mainly…
by Adam Park In the timeless words of “Fight Pastor” Brandon Beals, “Jesus didn’t throw stones, but he had some.” And it may surprise some of you to hear that this is no religious idiosyncrasy. Others, apparently, agree. Indeed, the subjects of the new documentary, Fight Church, help spread such good news. Beals’ testicular testimony,…
Former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren said, “I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people’s accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man’s failures.” Many fans followed his lead. Reflecting on America’s obsession with sport in 1994, historian Richard O. Davies wrote, “The void often left unfulfilled by…
Sport in American History 