American Sports

Pamela Grundy is an independent historian who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. She is the author of Learning to Win: Sports, Education and Social Change in Twentieth-Century North Carolina (2001) and Shattering the Glass: The Remarkable History of Women’s Basketball (2005, with Susan Shackelford).Benjamin G. Rader is James L. Sellers Professor of History, Emeritus, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is the author of Down on Mahans Creek: A History of an Ozarks Neighborhood (2017) and Baseball: A History of America’s Game (4th edition, 2018).

"Since its first edition, American Sports has admirably detailed not only the rise of sports in the country but why they are important. Ben Rader, and now Pamela Grundy, illustrate how our games reflect our society and provide agency for change. American Sports is everything I could ask for in a brief one-volume history." Randy Roberts, 150th Anniversary Distinguished Professor, Purdue University "This well-written, excellent text presents a much more inclusive history of sport in the United States than most textbooks do, broadly exploring the experiences of American athletes of various genders, races, ethnicities, and economic statuses across the centuries. The text embraces the diversity of American athletes and, thus, provides a comprehensive look at the strengths and weaknesses of sport in American society." Sarah K. Fields, Professor and Associate Dean, University of Colorado - Denver "A perfect mix of specific anecdotes and broader trends. Comfortable prose that moves well yet includes tons of detail. Astute and timely quotations from prominent historical figures. Grundy and Rader have produced a comprehensive history of American sport - and they've done it well!" Chad Carlson, Associate Professor of Sports Studies, Hope College

• Chapter 1. Sports in Early AmericaChapter 2. The Setting for Nineteenth-Century SportsChapter 3. The Sporting Fraternity and Its SpectaclesChapter 4. The Rise of America's National GameChapter 5. Elite SportsChapter 6. The Rise of Intercollegiate SportsChapter 7. Broader HorizonsChapter 8. Sports, Culture and Nation: 1900-1945Chapter 9. The Rise of Organized Youth SportsChapter 10. The Age of Sports HeroesChapter 11. Baseball's Golden AgeChapter 12. The Intercollegiate Football SpectacleChapter 13. The Rise and Decline of Organized Women's SportsChapter 14. Globalizing Sports, Redefining RaceChapter 15. The Setting of Organized Sports Since World War IIChapter 16. Professional Team Sports in the Age of TelevisionChapter 17. College Sports in the Age of TelevisionChapter 18. Racial RevolutionChapter 19. Women's LiberationChapter 20. All Sports All the TimeChapter 21. Sports in the Twenty-First Century