In its ranking of the top 100 North American athletes of the twentieth century, ESPN’s SportCentury included only 8 women. The recognition of only 8 female athletes (and 3 horses) demonstrates the all-too-frequent tendency to leave female sporting contributions out of the conversation. The Sport in American History’s three part-series, Top Ten Historically Significant Women…
In total, we collected 73 entries, including 70 athletes/coaches and 3 teams. These contributions came from scholars, casual readers, and one sport history classroom. This produced myriad descriptions of prominent female athletes from around the world and from many different sports. Below is a recap of Part I and Part II. Part I recognized 50…
Inspired in part by ESPN’s 1999 SportCentury, which in its ranking of the top 100 North American athletes of the twentieth century included only 8 women, we asked contributors to help recognize the important–and often overlooked–contributions of women in sport history. Readers and scholars were asked to provide “top ten” lists of historically significant women…
In 1999, ESPN’s SportCentury ranked the top North American athletes of the twentieth century. The list, compiled by a panel of 48 journalists, observers, and administrators–and one sport scholar–included eighty-nine men, eight women, and three horses. ESPN’s more recent compilation, The Undefeated’s 50 Greatest Black Athletes, asked the public to rank the most important black…
ESPN’s The Undefeated’s is in the process of unveiling their 50 Greatest Black Athletes. The rankings have inspired conversations across social media about black athletic excellence as well as the impact and historical significance of certain figures. As the debates unfold, we want to share our platform for sport historians (and others) to weigh in,…
By Andrew McGregor Historians will remember 2016. While many won’t forget the sadness it brought us, stemming from a seemingly never-ending onslaught of celebrity deaths, 2016 also brought us great joy, especially for long-suffering sports fans. Although we lost Muhammad Ali, Arnold Palmer, and Pat Summitt, the City of Cleveland as well as the Chicago Cubs…
Sport in American History 