Friedman, Danielle. Let’s Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 270 pp. $27.00 Hardcover. Reviewed by Richard Ravalli Danielle Friedman provides a personalized, feminist look at women’s fitness history since the middle of the twentieth century in Let’s Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the…
Kenny, Kevin. Patty Berg: Pioneer Champion of Women’s Golf. North Carolina: McFarland, 2019. Pp. 205. Appendix, Chapter Notes, Bibliography, and Index. $45.00 softcover. Reviewed by Erica J. Zonder In November 2019, the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s (LPGA) season-ending event, The CME Group Tour Championship, was won by Korean golfer Sei Young Kim. First place was…
Segrave, Kerry. 2019. Women and Bicycles in America, 1868-1900. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishing Company, 2020. Pp. 230. 146 photos, notes, bibliography, index. $55.00 paperback. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy In Women and Bicycles in America, 1868-1900, author Kerry Segrave examines the growing bicycle craze in the late-nineteenth century and its effect women. Although the tricycle started…
By Cat Ariail On May 5, ESPN NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski dropped a “Woj bomb.” The Milwaukee Bucks intend to interview Becky Hammon, a fourth-year assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs and, of course, the first woman to serve as an NBA assistant coach, for their vacant head coach position. Instantly, I was excitedly…
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 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…
Steidinger, Joan. Sisterhood in Sports: How Female Athletes Collaborate and Compete. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. xi+191. Notes, bibliography, and index. Reviewed by Russ Crawford Women like to talk. Women athletes like to talk to each other while practicing and competing. While there is a bit more to Joan Steidinger’s Sisterhood in Sports, the…
By Erin Morris, Guest Contributor Hockey season is coming to an end for teams across the country with league championships occurring every weekend. The professional women’s leagues in North America are no different. The Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) concluded their season on March 5 with Les Canadiennes de Montreal taking home the Clarkson Cup…
Building off of our recent series, The Life and Legacy of Muhammad Ali Blog Series, the Sport in American History blog is happy to announce a new series titled Title IX at 45. On June 23, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, which included Title IX. This law, which…
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…
Sport in American History 