During the 1968 Olympics at Mexico City, two American 200-meter sprinters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos performed arguably the most overtly political statement in the history of the Modern Olympic […]
Category: sports history
Q&A with Roger R. Tamte, author of “Walter Camp and the Creation of American Football”
Roger R. Tamte is a patent attorney and scholar of early American football who has studied Camp for many years. He recently answered some questions with us about his new […]
3rd & FINAL IPad Giveaway
The University of Illinois Press is celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year. In order to celebrate, we decided to do something special for our readers. In honor of 100 years, we have […]
Q&A with Jesse Berrett, author of “Pigskin Nation: How the NFL Remade American Politics”
Jesse Berrett earned a PhD in History at the University of California, Berkeley. He has worked as a rock critic, television columnist, and book reviewer. He teaches history at University High […]
All Things Sports
Even the discerning reader may not associate an academic press with sports. But what occurs in a sports venue—whether stadium or gym, track or sandlot—contests far more than results on a […]
Q&A with Stephen Hardy and Andrew C. Holman, authors of Hockey: A Global History
Stephen Hardy is a retired professor of kinesiology and affiliate professor of history at the University of New Hampshire. His publications include Sport Marketing, Fourth Edition, and How Boston Played: Sport, Recreation, and Community. Andrew […]
Holiday Gift Guide 2017
Everyone knows that books make the best gifts. Especially for yourself! Stock up on these books for all your gift giving needs this holiday season. Now through December 1, 2017, use […]
Cheating for more than just NCAA basketball recruits
It would be easy to call a significant part of the NCAA basketball landscape a cesspool of cheating, money, and other sins. Indeed, an oft-alleged mariner on those dark waters was […]
Helen Jacobs and the wearing of shorts
Yesterday marked the birthday of tennis champion Helen Jacobs. Born in 1908, Jacobs learned her trade in Berkeley, California before going on to a term as the world’s top-ranked player […]
Harry Edwards on fighting for black athletes and coaches, whether they like it or not
An excerpt from the new introduction to The Revolt of the Black Athlete: 50th Anniversary Edition, by Harry Edwards. I believe that over the last fifty years, the facts, the relationships, […]
Q&A with Debra Shattuck, Author of “Bloomer Girls”
Debra A. Shattuck is Provost and Associate Professor of History at John Witherspoon College. She recently answered some questions regarding Bloomer Girls: Women Baseball Pioneers. […]
Backlist Bop: Lifters and jaffas and twin killings and homers
I once tried to explain baseball to a British friend while we watched a Cubs game. By the sixth inning, after going aground on the dropped third strike and tagging […]