Sport in Industrial America, 1850–1920

Sport in Industrial America, 1850–1920 presents the second edition of Stephen A. Riess’s highly acclaimed study of the development of sports during one of the most transformational times in American history. Incorporating a wealth of updated material, Riess explores how American sport blossomed in the late nineteenth century. The widespread acceptance by the middle class of a positive sports creed justified sport as promoting health, morality, and character. Detailed chapters examine urbanization and the influence of technological innovation, including transportation; social class; ethnicity and race; sport and educational institutions; the rise of professional sports; and an entirely new concluding chapter on American sport in the international arena. The second edition of Sport in Industrial America, 1850–1920 , offers a wealth of insights into the origins and evolution of American sport while unfurling a pageant of celebrities, players, spectators, and entrepreneurs—all engaged in the drama that is American sport.

Preface and Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 C H A P T E R  O N E : Urbanization, the Technological Revolution, and the Rise of Sport 13 Urban Reform and the Ideology of Sport 16 Sport and Urban Space 22 Sport and the Promotion of Public Pride 28 The Technological Revolution and the Rise of Sport 30 Sport and the Communications Revolution 30 Sport and the Transportation Revolution 35 Lights, Camera, Action 38 Technological Innovations and Sports Equipment 39 Conclusion 44 CHAPTER TWO: Sport and Class 45 Sport and the American Elite 47 The Elite Sports Club 50 Thoroughbred Racing and the Jockey Clubs 51 The Athletic Club 53 Women and the Elite Sports Clubs 56 The Country Club 57 Sport and the Middle Class 59 Middle–Class Sports Clubs 63 Middle–Class Women 67 Working–Class Sport 70 The Working–Class Saloon 75 Track–and–Field 77 Blue–Collar Baseball 79 Industrial Sport 81 Working–Class Women’s Sport 84 Conclusion 85 C H A P T E R  T H R E E : Sport, Ethnicity, and Race 87 The Old Immigrants 88 British Americans 88 Irish Americans 90 German Americans 99 The New Immigrants 103 Jewish Americans 105 Native Americans 112 African Americans 114 Asian Americans 122 Conclusion 123 C H A P T E R  F O U R : Sport and the Educational Process 125 Sport and Higher Education 126 Men’s Intercollegiate Athletics 126 Football: The Big Game 129 The Football Crisis of 1905–1906 and the Rise of the NCAA 137 Women’s Collegiate Athletics 141 Secondary School Sport 144 Adult–Directed Youth Sport 147 Conclusion 152 C H A P T E R  F I V E : Baseball and the Rise of Professional Sport 153 Thoroughbred Racing 159 The Racetracks 159 Reformers Close the Tracks 162 Professional Baseball 166 The Rise of the National League 168 Baseball in the Early Twentieth Century 175 The Ballparks 181 The Ballplayers 186 The Game in the Dead Ball Era 186 The Black Sox Scandal 189 Conclusion 192 C H A P T E R  S I X : American Sport in the International Arena 195 The Cultural Diffusion of Sport 196 Sports and the Borderlands 198 The Baseball Tours 201 Hawaii 205 China 206 Japan 208 The Philippines and American Imperialism 212 American Sport in the Caribbean 215 Cuba 215 The United States and the Olympic Games 219 The 1900 and 1904 Olympics and the Intercalated Games of 1906 221 The London Olympics of 1908 227 The 1912 Olympics at Stockholm 228 The Inter–Allied Games and the 1920 Olympics 230 Conclusion 231 Bibliographical Essay 234 Index 273 Photographs follow pages 44 and 194

Steven A. Riess is Bernard Brommel Research Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at Northeastern Illinois University.  He is the author or editor of eleven books and the former editor of The Journal of Sport History .

“Sport in Industrial America could serve well as a textbook for sport studies or a supplement for courses in US history for the period the book covers.  Summing Up:  Recommended.  General readers, upper–division undergraduate students, graduate students, and research faculty.”  ( Choice , 1 September 2013)