Stueve, Spencer, and Johnson, Marques (forward). UCLA Basketball Encyclopedia: The First 100 Years. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2019. Pp. 281. Photos, black & white. No index. $26.99 paperback. Reviewed by Richard A. Macales Before the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA became global phenomena, there was the UCLA Bruins collegiate men’s basketball team. The Bruins recruited…
Travers, Steven R. Remembering the Stick: Candlestick Park 1960-2013. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press, 2017. Copyright: Steven R. Travers. Pp. 357. No index. Photos: Black & white (11). $18.95. Reviewed by Richard A. Macales “You can talk all you want about Brooklyn and New York, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Dallas and Fort Worth, but there are…
Bayne, Bijan C., and Ryan, Bob (Forward): Elgin Baylor: The Man Who Changed Basketball. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2015; first paperback edition, 2017. Pp. 269. Index (pagination errors; text intact, paperback edition). Photos, black & white (5). $27. Reviewed by: Richard A. Macales Fifty years ago Los Angeles Lakers great Elgin Baylor…
Wilson, Wayne, and Wiggins, David K. LA Sports: Play, Games and Community in the City of Angels. Fayetteville, Ark.: The University of Arkansas Press, 2018. Pp. 362. Photos and Illustrations, black & white (15). $26.95. Reviewed by: Richard A. Macales On the surface it appears Los Angeles has reached the apex of professional sports popularity…
By Richard A. Macales Sitting in the stand of the Sports Arena Waiting for the show to begin Red lights, green lights, strawberry wine A good friend of mine, follow the stars Venus and Mars Are alright tonight… –from the song “Venus and Mars/Rock Show,” by Paul and Linda McCartney, 1975 The vibrant birth and…
Endsley, Brian M. Finding the Left Arm of God: Sandy Koufax and the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1960-1963. Jefferson, ND: McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers, 2015. Pp. 296. Bibliography, Notes, and 64 Photos. $29.95 paperback. Reviewed by Jorge Iber Even the most casual fan of American sports history is no doubt familiar with the name Sandy…
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…
By Cat Ariail “Track and field, along with tennis, golf and swimming, are considered the ‘lady-like’ sports that women actively participate in. The reason for labeling these sports as ‘lady-like’ is that there is no body contact – and certainly there is none in track and field. It is an accepted fact that track and…
Last year, the National Football League’s (NFL) St. Louis Rams packed up and moved to Los Angeles, returning to the Southern California metropolis after twenty years in the Midwest. Two weeks ago, the San Diego Chargers announced they would play the 2017 season in Los Angeles. And just last week, the Oakland Raiders signed papers(pending…
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 significance of race, gender, celebrity, and violence in Simpson’s football career and later criminal trial. The Sport in American History blog will be reviewing all…
Sport in American History 