by Jorge Iber, PhD Texas Tech University In a previous blog, I discussed the story of E.C. Lerma, one of the first Mexican American high school football (and basketball and track) coaches in the history of the state of Texas. His career during the late 1930s though the middle of the 1960s provided coaches, teachers,…
On February 20, 2015, officials from both the National Football League’s Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers announced their plans to build and share a $1.7 billion privately-funded stadium. The proposed new facility will be located in Carson, adding the two teams to the constant speculation about the NFL’s return to L.A. Both the Raiders and…
By Robert Gudmestad Even if you are a casual fan of professional football, chances are that you have seen some type of militaristic display during an NFL game. The Super Bowl, for instance, is saturated in patriotic festivities and each of the thirty-two teams has a Salute to Service game during the regular season. It wasn’t…
Critically acclaimed and immensely criticized, the film Selma unapologetically centralizes black people as key actors in the Civil Rights movement and the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. Critics of the film argue that the film’s portrayal of the events is not historically accurate, and that the film should have paid homage…
A week ago many Americans made a pledge to exercise more. Some of you may be sore from the grueling workouts you suffered through the last seven days. Others may feel convicted that you already gave up. Personally, I can barely walk because my legs are so sore. Thankfully, I sit at a desk and…
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…
Last week, Nike introduced a new commercial. Featuring National Basketball Association superstar LeBron James, “Together” shows the Cleveland community rallying around its local hero. In grand and gallant fashion, James returned to the city on the shores of Lake Erie to reclaim his rightful place on the throne of his Rust Belt kingdom. The black…
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 Jorge Iber, PhD Texas Tech University In my first two posts for this blog, the intention was to introduce the readers to the significance of the role of Latinos/as in US sports history, and then, to provide but one example of an individual whose life and career (Coach E.C. Lerma from Duval County, Texas)…
By Murry Nelson, Guest Contributor Murry Nelson is a Professor Emeritus of Education at the Pennsylvania State University. His research focuses on the history of basketball, and is the author of The National Basketball League: A History, 1935–1949 (2009) and Abe Saperstein and the American Basketball League (2013). He recently edited a multiple-volume encyclopedia on the history of…
Sport in American History 