The History Book Club discussion

This is the folder for the discussion of the history of sports and hobbies



"The history of sports may extend as far back as the beginnings of military training, with competition used as a mean to determine whether individuals were fit and useful for service.

Team sports may have developed to train and to prove the capability to fight in the military and also to work together as a team (military unit).

The physical activity that developed into sports had early links with ritual, warfare and entertainment.

Study of the history of sport can teach lessons about social changes and about the nature of sport itself, as sport seems involved in the development of basic human skills.

As one delves further back in history, dwindling evidence makes theories of the origins and purposes of sport more and more difficult to support."

Remainder of article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...

Note: Suggestions for additional sports and hobbies' folders can be added on this thread.

Great, Bentley.

I would add: football, basketball, boxing, horse racing, and the Olympics.

Those sound good.

Yay! I concur with Bryan's suggestions, perhaps distinguish between american football and soccer in separate threads as we have an international community and certainly there are differences and personalities and histories in both. Another thought might be a thread for elite atheletes and coaches(Lance Armstrong, John Wooten, Vince Lombardi, etc) which may or many not be tied do specific sports yet who write and/or are written about.

Yay! :-)

Excellent points Alisa; I agree.

We will see; all good suggestions.

Folks, all in messages 1 -6 have been added plus a few more.

Be good if you could add Rugby.

Could you add Track and Field / Running ?

Sorry! Just saw where you did add a thread topic for each! Thanks,

Since there is no post on swimming, here you have a nice interview with the sympathetic Norwegian athlete Dale Oen, one of the very few refusing the slick "fast" suits - and explaining why. Terrific! A man with principles!

http://nos.nl/video/39559-alexander-d...

I see that there is a baseball topic but I wonder if a sub-topic on the Negro Leagues would be appropriate. There were so many great players in that League before integration opened up the sport. There are many books dealing with this time period, one being:

by Kadir Nelson.

Just a thought.

Hi Jill,

I thought that the baseball thread would be generic enough for all related topics and sub-topics but I have added your suggested thread. Please move message 12 to that thread. Thanks and I hope you have some additional recommendations for books for this new thread and related time period.

I am sorry for the delay in responding to you but I am traveling out of the country until next month and some of the wifi connections have been spotty at best.

Bentley

André wrote: "Since there is no post on swimming, here you have a nice interview with the sympathetic Norwegian athlete Dale Oen, one of the very few refusing the slick "fast" suits - and explaining why. Terrifi..."

Andre, I have added a thread on aquatic sports.

Steven wrote: "Could you add Track and Field / Running ?"

Steven, I see that you noticed that both threads are already up. Please feel free to add to them; I would enjoy seeing the selections that you would recommend for both. Thanks Bentley.

Thanks, Bentley. I take it you're just back from a vacation/trip. Hope you had a good one!
And hope you will take your time with all the fill-inns here. Remember, some of us are actually patient!

Yes, I know you are; I hope I do not miss any notes. It was a great and long trip but a thoroughly exhausting one.

If I do, just remind me.

I am about to add the request for rugby.

Bentley

Folks, I have now added all suggestions; if I missed yours - please let me know. It was certainly unintentional.

Even though it has a baseball on the cover, this seems to reference the 'how' in many sports.

by Frank Vizard

Sports. They get our blood pumping and our hearts racing. Fans scream and cheer as their favorite athletes run, throw, pedal, dive, or swing their way to victory. But what makes an athlete successful? Why do some players excel when others fall behind?
In Why a Curveball Curves, the experts at Popular Mechanics, along with top athletes, coaches, and sports journalists, explore the science behind sports. Fluid dynamics, biomechanics, and technology determine everything from speed in cycling to protection in football to performance measurement in all sports. This book is designed for both the player and the fan, helping athletes become better-prepared and giving enthusiasts a more complete understanding and appreciation of competition. The issues discussed range from Tiger’s swing to Lance’s legs, from gene doping to the physics of why a seemingly straight kick curves drastically just before its target—in other words, how to bend it like Beckham—plus so much more.

This looks interesting. Despite the cover photo this appears to be about sports in general.

What's My Name, Fool?: Sports and Resistance in the United States
by Dave Zirin
Synopsis
“Zirin is America’s best sportswriter.”—Lee Ballinger, Rock and Rap Confidential

“Zirin is one of the brightest, most audacious voices I can remember on the sportswriting scene, and my memory goes back to the 1920s.”—Lester Rodney, N.Y. Daily Worker sports editor, 1936–1958

“Zirin has an amazing talent for covering the sports and politics beat. Ranging like a great shortstop, he scoops up everything! He profiles the courageous and inspiring athletes who are standing up for peace and civil liberties in this repressive age. A must read!”—Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive

“This is cutting-edge analysis delivered with wit and compassion.”—Mike Marqusee, author, Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties

Here Edgeofsports.com sportswriter Dave Zirin shows how sports express the worst, as well as the most creative and exciting, features of American society.

Zirin explores how Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl flash-time show exposed more than a breast, why the labor movement has everything to learn from sports unions and why a new generation of athletes is no longer content to “play one game at a time” and is starting to get political.

What’s My Name, Fool! draws on original interviews with former heavyweight champ George Foreman, Olympian and black power saluter John Carlos, NBA basketball player and anti-death penalty activist Etan Thomas, antiwar women’s college hoopster Toni Smith, Olympic Project for Human Rights leader Lee Evans and many others.

cricket?

We already have a thread for cricket.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

I am very sorry, I did not see it in the list.

No problem Marren - glad to help - thank you for your posts on the Cricket thread.

No problem, anything I can do to help. When I first discovered this group and through the months going through some post, I could not believe it. Where were you guys when I was desperately looking for books.(or where was I :D) Keep up the great work.

Thank you Marren - glad to have you.

Here is a book on polo, a true classic sport with much tradition and grace.

Polo in Britain: A History



Synopsis
Ever since British soldiers returning from India in the mid-nineteenth century introduced their homeland to a fast-paced ball game on horseback, polo has remained the quintessential British sport. Although its origins lie in Asia, British pioneers are credited with both modernizing the game and spurring its spread worldwide. This volume chronicles the history of polo in the British Isles from its beginnings in the 1860s through the summer of 2011. It recounts the development of polo clubs, including the rise and fall of once mighty citadels of the game; describes the major competitions and many of the lesser tournaments in England and Ireland; and gives particular attention to international contests. Biographical sketches of top players, from early innovators to current superstars, and reflections on current issues affecting the game, including the rise of commercialism and the decrease of civility and sportsmanship, complete this vivid panorama of British polo.

As sports fans know, there is a move on to allow college sports players to join a union (or form their own). It will change the face of college sports dramatically. Any thoughts?

Too true, Mike. I think it will be an interesting turn of events in collegiate athletics although I'm not sure at this point whether it is positive or negative.

Very interesting discussion. Thanks to Jill and Mike.

by James Andrew Miller

I found this book to be quite complete. If you like to read about the rises and falls of ESPN over the first 30 years, then this book is for you. It is a fast read, It comes from the point of interviews from the people who made the history.

The author did a great job and well worth the time.

Great post, James. Good job with the citations.

Floodlights and Touchlines: A History of Spectator Sport

by Rob Steen (no photo)

Synopsis:

Focusing on spectator sports and their accompanying issues, tracing their origins, evolution and impact, inside the lines and beyond the boundary, this book offers a thematic history of professional sport and the ingredients that magnetise millions around the globe.

It tells the stories that matter: from the gladiators of Rome to the runners of Rift Valley via the innovator-missionaries of Rugby School; from multi-faceted British exports to the Americanisation of professionalism and the Indianisation of cricket. Rob Steen traces the development of these sports which captivate the turnstile millions and the mouse-clicking masses, addressing their key themes and commonalities, from creation myths to match fixing via race, politics, sexuality and internationalism.

Insightful and revelatory, this is an entertaining exploration of spectator sports' intrinsic place in culture and how sport imitates life - and life imitates sport.

wasn't sure where to put this, but a book I've been planning to get to for quite a while (even started it at one point but didn't have the time to finish it then) is By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions by Richard Cohen - some really good writing, from what I was able to get to, in addition to a fascinating subject :)

Synopsis:

Napoleon fenced. So did Shakespeare, Karl Marx, Grace Kelly, and President Truman, who would cross swords with his daughter, Margaret, when she came home from school. Lincoln was a canny dueler. Igantius Loyala challenged a man to a duel for denying Christ’s divinity (and won). Less successful, but no less enthusiastic, was Mussolini, who would tell his wife he was “off to get spaghetti,” their code to avoid alarming the children. By the Sword is an epic history of sword fighting—a science, an art, and, for many, a religion that began at the dawn of civilization in ancient Egypt and has been an obsession for mankind ever since. With wit and insight, Richard Cohen gives us an engrossing history of the world via the sword.

by Richard Cohen (no photo)

Since we don't have a fencing/sword fighting topic, this is the spot for your book. Good job with the book citation. Thanks so much.

An upcoming book:
Release date: July 7, 2015

The Jewish Olympics: The History of the Maccabiah Games

by Ron Kaplan

Synopsis:

Having grown from 390 athletes from fourteen countries to nine thousand athletes from seventy-eight countries, the Maccabiah Games (or the “Jewish Olympics,” as it has come to be known) continue to gain popularity. The Maccabiah Games, which take place in Israel, first began in 1932, and the latest games took place in July of 2013, with the debut of participants from Cuba, Albania, and Nicaragua. Sports range from table tennis to ice hockey, basketball, chess, and much more. Past participants have included former NBA coach Larry Brown, Olympic swimmers Mark Spitz and Jason Lezak, and Olympic gymnast Mitch Gaylord, among others.

The Jewish Olympics details the history of the Maccabiah Games, including how they began, how they have grown in popularity, how they have impacted the Jewish community worldwide, and much more. In addition, it highlights the countless special achievements of the athletes over the course of the nineteen games. The Jewish Olympics is a detailed and fascinating history that will interest any sports fan, as well as individuals interested in cultural events.

A competing Olympics? Why? I might have to read the book.

An upcoming book:
Release date: April 26, 2016

Players: The Story of Sports and Money--And the Visionaries Who Fought to Create a Revolution

by Matthew Futterman (no photo)

Synopsis:

For fans of Michael Lewis, the astounding untold story of how professional sports transformed, in the span of a single generation, from a cottage industry into a massive global business.

In the cash-soaked world of contemporary sports, where every season brings news of higher salaries, endorsement deals, and television contracts, it is mind-boggling to remember that as recently as the 1970s elite athletes earned so little money that many were forced to work second jobs in the off-season to make ends meet. Roger Staubach, for example, made only $25,000 in his first season as the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys and wound up selling commercial real estate in the summer. Today, when Fortune reports that every athlete on its Top 50 list makes more than twenty million dollars per year, it’s clear that a complete reversal of power occurred under our eyes.

Players is the first book to chronicle the astonishing business story behind modern sports—a true revolution that moved the athletes from the bottom of the financial pyramid to the top. It started in 1960, when a Cleveland lawyer named Mark McCormack convinced a golfer named Arnold Palmer to sign with him. Within a few years, McCormack raised Palmer’s annual income off-the-course from $5,000 to $500,000 and forever changed the landscape of the sports industry. Futterman introduces a wide-ranging cast of characters to tell the story of athletes, agents, TV executives, coaches, and owners who together created the dominating and multifaceted industry we know today.

Players is a riveting, fly-on-the-wall account of the creation and rise of the modern sports world, and the people who fought to make it happen. From landmark moments such as the 1973 Wimbledon boycott and baseball pitcher Catfish Hunter’s battle to become MLB’s first free agent to the outsize influence of companies like IMG, Nike, and ESPN, this fascinating book details the wild evolution of sports into the extravaganza we experience today, and the inevitable trade-offs those changes have wrought.

Another:
Release date: April 19, 2016

On the Origins of Sports: The Early History and Original Rules of Everybody’s Favorite Games

by Gary Belsky (no photo)

Synopsis:

On the Origins of Sports is an illustrated book built around the original rules of 21 of the world’s most popular sports, from football and soccer to wrestling and mixed martial arts. Never before have the original rules for these sports coexisted in one volume. Brimming with history and miscellany, it is the ultimate sports book for the thinking man.

Each sport’s chapter includes a short history, the sport’s original rules, and a deeper look into an element of the sport, such as the evolution of the baseball glove; sports with war roots; a compendium of sports balls; and iconic sports trophies.

Written by ESPN The Magazine’s former editor in chief, Gary Belsky, and executive editor, Neil Fine, and filled with period-style line drawings in a handsome package, On the Origins of Sports is a book that sports fans and history buffs alike will want to display on their coffee tables, showcase on their bookshelves, and treasure for generations.

I didn't see a thread specific to the Iditarod, so putting this here.

Fast Into The Night: A Woman, Her Dogs, and Their Journey North on the Iditarod Trail

by Debbie Clarke Moderow (no photo)

Synopsis:

A captivating memoir of one woman’s attempt to finish the Iditarod, led by her team of spunky huskies with whom she shares a fascinating and inextricable bond

At age forty-seven, a mother of two, Debbie Moderow was not your average musher in the Iditarod, but that’s where she found herself when, less than 200 miles from the finish line, her dogs decided they didn’t want to run anymore. After all her preparation, after all the careful management of her team, and after their running so well for over a week, the huskies balked. But the sting of not completing the race after coming so far was nothing compared to the disappointment Moderow felt in having lost touch with her dogs.

Fast into the Night is the gripping story of Moderow’s journeys along the Iditarod trail with her team of spunky huskies: Taiga and Su, Piney and Creek, Nacho and Zeppy, Juliet and the headstrong leader, Kanga. The first failed attempt crushed Moderow’s confidence, but after reconnecting with her dogs she returned and ventured again to Nome, pushing through injuries, hallucinations, epic storms, flipped sleds, and clashing personalities, both human and canine. And she prevailed. Part adventure, part love story, part inquiry into the mystery of the connection between humans and dogs, Fast into the Night is an exquisitely written memoir of a woman, her dogs, and what can happen when someone puts herself in that place between daring and doubt—and soldiers on.

Yes very good Alisa - a human and dog sport

30 by 30

Link: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/M...

Genre: Sports

Why You Should Listen: If you are a fan of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentaries, you’ll love this spin-off with host Jody Avirgan. Each episode tackles a new sports saga with the same impressive journalistic rigor of the TV series. The podcast takes listeners behind meaningful moments, like when the Miami Heat players snapped that famous “Hoodies Up” photo, and of more obscure stories like that of an all-female trek to the North Pole.

Episode to Get Hooked on: “On the Ice”

Source: Apple and Time

The Grasshopper

by Bernard Suits (no photo)

Synopsis:

In the mid twentieth century the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein famously asserted that games are indefinable; there are no common threads that link them all.

"Nonsense," says the sensible Bernard Suits: "playing a game is a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles."

The short book Suits wrote demonstrating precisely that is as playful as it is insightful, as stimulating as it is delightful. Suits not only argues that games can be meaningfully defined; he also suggests that playing games is a central part of the ideal of human existence, so games belong at the heart of any vision of Utopia.

Originally published in 1978, The Grasshopper is now re-issued with a new introduction by Thomas Hurka and with additional material (much of it previously unpublished) by the author, in which he expands on the ideas put forward in The Grasshopper and answers some questions that have been raised by critics.

Review:

Here is an excerpt from an interview on FiveBooks which discussed this book - Nigel Warburton interviews Philosophy professor and sports enthusiast - David Papineau.

"Now, let’s go to the first of your book choices, Bernard Suits’s The Grasshopper which, for a long time, was a very-little-known classic, and now it’s probably just a little-known classic.

My first choice is a book about the nature and value of sport. I wanted to look at this via Suits because his is probably the best-known full-length work in this area. It’s a wonderfully engaging, eccentric, ingenious book, which has a terrific idea in it, but I think it’s completely wrongheaded about the nature and value of sport.

So I’ll start by explaining the good idea, and then explain why I think it’s not as helpful for understanding sport as many of its enthusiasts suggest.

The book is a quasi-Socratic dialogue with the grasshopper as the main character, and the grasshopper’s idea is that the highest virtue is playing, that he is going to spend all his time playing, doesn’t care if he dies, and the overall argument of the book is that in utopia, where humans have all their material needs satisfied at the push of a button, what we would do would be play games, and therefore playing games is the ideal of human activity.

Freed from all the necessities of having to do things we don’t want to do in order to get the material means of life, we’d do nothing but play games. That’s the main thesis."

More:
https://fivebooks.com/best-books/davi...

Source: FiveBooks

This is the folder for the discussion of the history of sports and hobbies

Suggestions for additional sports - hobby - game - gaming threads can be made on this thread and they will be considered

I would definitely suggest a figure skating category! :)