This is a fundamental text for the study of sport history. It answers the ‘why,’ ‘how,’ and ‘what’ questions, introducing the key principles and practices of sport history and walking the reader through the fascinating stories, debates, issues, and national and international narratives that constitute the history of sport. The book provides an overview of the field and the various professional roles assumed by practitioners, such as researchers, academics, and public historians. It is brief, crisp, and to the point. The main general topics of interest within the field – gender, race, nationalism, religion, sport and leisure, and megaevents – are covered with introductory vignettes, stories of interest, a wide variety of theoretical frameworks, and relevant historiography in the most current and timely text of its kind. Each chapter provides a list of further readings for more in-depth study. Students are taught how to conduct research and present their findings in a variety of mediums, and teaching and publication tips are offered for educators. Sport History: The Basics is essential reading for any student on a sport-related degree course or with an interest in social and cultural history. It is also fascinating reading for anybody with a general interest in sport.

From statistical databases to story archives, from fan sites to the real-time reactions of Twitter-empowered athletes, the digital communication revolution has changed the way sports fans relate to their favorite teams. In this volume, contributors from Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States analyze the parallel transformation in the field of sport history, showing the ways powerful digital tools raise vital philosophical, epistemological, ontological, methodological, and ethical questions for scholars and students alike. Chapters consider how the philosophical and theoretical understanding of the meaning of history influence a willingness to engage with digital history, and conceptualize the relationship between history making and the digital era. As the writers show, digital media's mostly untapped potential for studying the recent past via blogs, chat rooms, gambling sites, and the like forge a symbiosis between sports and the internet, and offer historians new vistas to explore and utilize. Sport History in the Digital Era also shows how the best digital history goes beyond a static cache of curated documents. Instead, it becomes a truly public history that serves as a dynamic site of enquiry and discussion. In such places, scholars enter into a give-and-take with individuals while inviting the audience to grapple with, rather than passively absorb, the evidence being offered. Timely and provocative, Sport History in the Digital Era affirms how the information revolution has transformed sport and sport history--and shows the road ahead. Contributors include Douglas Booth, Mike Cronin, Martin Johnes, Matthew Klugman, Geoffery Z. Kohe, Tara Magdalinski, Fiona McLachlan, Bob Nicholson, Rebecca Olive, Gary Osmond, Murray G. Phillips, Stephen Robertson, Synthia Sydnor, Holly Thorpe, and Wayne Wilson.

In The New American Sport History sixteen scholars, many of them among the best known in the field, explore topics as diverse as the historical debate over black athletic superiority, the "selling" of sport in society, the eroticism of athletic activity, sexual fears of women athletes, and the marketing of the marathon. In line with the changing nature of sport history as a field of study, this volume focuses less on "traditional" topics and more on themes of class, gender, race, ethnicity, and national identity, which also define the larger parameters of social and cultural history. It is the first anthology to situation sport history within the broader fields of social history and cultural studies. Contributors are Melvin L. Adelman, William J. Baker, Pamela L. Cooper, Mark Dyreson, Gerald R. Gems, Elliott J. Gorn, Allen Guttmann, Stephen H. Hardy, Peter Levine, Donald J. Mrozek, Michael Oriard, S. W. Pope, Benjamin G. Rader, Steven A. Riess, Nancy L. Struna, and David K. Wiggins.

This lively and deeply researched history - the first of its kind - goes beyond the great names and moments to explain how British sport has changed since 1800, and what it has meant to ordinary people. It shows how the way we play reflects not just our lives as citizens of a predominantlyurban and industrial world, but what is especially distinctive about British sport. Innovators in abandoning traditional, often brutal sports, and in establishing a code of `fair play', the British were also pioneers in popular sports and in the promotion of organized spectator events.Modern media coverage of sport, gambling, violence and attitudes towards it, nationalism, and the role of sport in sustaining male identity are also explored, and the book is rich in illuminating and entertaining anecdotes, which it combines with a serious historical understanding of a fascinatingsubject.

The Routledge Handbook of Sport History is a new and innovative survey of the discipline of sport history. Global in scope, it examines the key contemporary issues in sports historiography, sheds light on previously ignored topics, and sets an intellectual agenda for the future development of the discipline. The book explores both traditional and non-traditional methodologies in sport history, and traces the interface between sport history and other fields of research, such as literature, material culture and the digital humanities. It considers the importance of key issues such as gender, race, sexuality and politics to our understanding of sport history, and focuses on innovative ways that the scholarship around these issues is challenging accepted discourses. This is the first handbook to include a full section on Indigenous sport history, a topic that has often been ignored in sport history surveys despite its powerful upstream influence on contemporary sport. The book also reflects carefully on the central importance of sport history journals in shaping the development of the discipline. This book is an essential reference for any student, researcher or scholar with an interest in sport history or the relationship between sport and society. It will also be fascinating reading for any historians looking for fresh perspectives on contemporary historiography or social and cultural history.

This groundbreaking collection challenges the accepted principles and practices of sport history and encourages sport historians to be more adventurous in their representations of the sporting past in the present. Encompassing a wide range of critical approaches, leading international sport historians reflect on theory, practice, and the future of sport history. They survey the field of sport history since its inception, examine the principles that have governed the production of knowledge in sport history, and address the central concerns raised by the postmodern challenge to history. Sharing a common desire to critique contemporary practices in sport history, the contributors raise the level of critical analysis of the production of historical knowledge, provide examples of approaches by those who have struggled with or adapted to the postmodern challenge, and open up new avenues for future sport historians to follow.

In Whats My Name, Fool? sports writer Dave Zirin shows how sports express the worst - and at times the most creative, exciting, and political - features of our society. Zirins sharp and insightful commentary on the personalities, politics, and history of American sports is unlike any sports writing being done today. Zirin explores how NBA brawls highlight tensions beyond the arena, how the bold stances taken by sports unions can chart a path for the entire labor movement, and the unexplored political stirrings of a new generation of athletes who are no longer content to just ''play one game at a time.'' Whats My Name, Fool? draws on original interviews with former heavyweight champ George Foreman, Olympic athlete John Carlos, NBA player and anti-death penalty activist Etan Thomas, antiwar womens college hoopster Toni Smith, Olympic Project for Human Rights leader Lee Evans and many others. It also unearths a history of athletes ranging from Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali to Billie Jean King, who charted a new course through their athletic ability and their outspoken views.

Every sport has its legends . . . THE RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES THE PINE TAR INCIDENT THE STEEL CURTAIN PHI SLAMA JAMA A Graphic History of Sport presents artist Andrew Janik’s survey of the weird and wonderful world of athletic competition. The unforgettable plays and over-the-top personalities, the heated rivalries and storied dynasties— all come to vivid life in a series of illustrations filled with subtle wit and a modern design aesthetic. Each illustration is paired with a detailed historic overview as well as surprising stats and trivia, capturing a true sports fan’s delight in the games we love to love and the players we love to hate.

"Games People Played is, surprisingly, the first global history of sport. Wray Vamplew assesses how sports have developed and diffused across continents and centuries, exploring topics such as emotion, discrimination and conviviality; politics, nationalism and protest; and how economics has turned sport into a huge consumer industry. Sport is sociable, charitable and health-giving, but this book also examines its dark side: its impact on the environment, players' use of performance-enhancing drugs and the repercussions of match fixing. Covering everything from curling to baseball, boxing to motor racing, Games People Played will appeal to anyone who plays, watches and enjoys sport."--Publisher's description

A riotously entertaining chronicle of larger-than-life sporting characters and dramatic contests, this is an alternative political history of the United States as seen through the games its people played. Replete with surprises for seasoned sports, it will also amaze anyone interested in history with the connections Zirin draws between politics and sports. A groundbreaking book, it looks at the history of sports in the US through the lens of politics and culture, and shows how athlete-rebels have used sports for social and political change.