Sports & Recreation Fads

True to the spirit of the all-American athlete and our society's seemingly endless pursuit of and passion for leisure activities is Sports & Recreation Fads. This readable and fascinating reference book highlights some of the most notable as well as some long-forgotten pastimes and personalities. Sporting and recreation events have thrived in the United States for more than two centuries. Just about every sport and recreation embraced from Colonial America to the present has had its faddish aspects. The fascinating introduction provides a basic understanding of the importance of fads in the development of sports and recreation. No book on sports fads would be complete without several chapters on baseball, and this exciting volume is no different--Hank Aaron's 715th home run, baseball card collecting, Mark "the Bird" Fidrych's shining season with the Detroit Tigers, Bo Jackson's double career, Jackie Robinson's success in breaking the color barrier, and Pete Rose's gambling troubles--a true slice of Americana, the best and the worst of our favorite pastime!From the controversial people and events in professional athletics--Mohammed Ali, Joe Namath, Mike Tyson, the "battle of the sexes" between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, the "Black Sox Scandal," and the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, to the heroes--Charles Atlas, Joe Louis, and Babe Ruth, Hoffmann and Bailey illustrate the often fickle and sometimes enduring interest that Americans have for sports figures and their games. This informative and entertaining book also examines our personal quest for fitness, our devotion to automobiling, and our love of games, including bridge, charades, crossword puzzles, Monopoly, Dungeons & Dragons, Scrabble, and Trivial Pursuit. Sports &Recreation Fads is a handy guide to our favorite leisure activities of the last 200 years.

Hoffmann, Frank; Ramirez, Beulah B

Contents Introduction - Hank Aaron: 715 - Aristocratic Pastimes (1880-1910) - Arnie's Army - Artificial Turf - Charles Atlas and Dynamic Tension - Autographs - Automobiling - Bagatelle - Balloon Jumping - Barking off Squirrels - The Rise of Baseball - Baseball Card Collecting - The "Battle of the Sexes": Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs - Bicycling - Billiards - Bison Shooting - Black Power at the XIX Olympics - The "Black Sox Scandal" - Blacks in Sports Management Positions - Boom Cars - Bowling - Bridge - Charades - Classic Baseball Shirt Reproductions - Cooperative Sports and Games - Crossword Puzzles - The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders - Dance Marathons - Joe Di Maggio's Consecutive Game Hitting Streak - Drive-In Restaurants - Drive-In Theaters - Dungeons and Dragons - The Endless Summer - Exercise Videos - Fantasy Baseball - Mark "Bird" Fidrych - Bobby Fischer and the Chess Craze - Flagpole Sitting - Fletcherizing: A Dietary Route to Fitness - The Flying Wedge - Franchise Shifting in Major League Baseball - Frisbee - Game Improvement Sports Gear - Games of Deception - Gliders - Gouging - The Herkie Jump - Hoosier Hysteria - Horseless Carriage Races - The Hot Rod Cult - Hot Tubs - Hula Hoops - Ice Yachting - The Ickey Shuffle - Bo Jackson and 2-Sport Athletes - Lotteries - Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling for the Heavyweight Championship - The M&M Boys' Race With Ruth - Mah Jong - Mickey Mantle's Race With Ruth - Marathon Flying - Medical Electricity as a Tool for Fitness - Frank Merriwell - Them Amazin' Mets - Miniature Golf - Monopoly - Muhammed Ali - Muscular Christianity - "Broadway Joe" Namath - North/South Horse Races - The Notre Dame Mystique - Ouija Board - Parachuting - Parlor Disguises - Pedestrian Events - Pelota - Perestroika in Pro Sports - Personal Watercraft - Pick Up Sticks - Ping Pong - Platform Tennis - Pushball - Quoits - "The Refrigerator": William Perry - Jackie Robinson and Baseball's Color Line - The Pete Rose Gambling Scandal - Babe Ruth Calls His Shot - Scandals in College Athletics - Scrabble - Skateboarding - The Slam Dunk - Slave Fights - Snow Bat - Spirit of the Times - Spiritualism - Sting Ray Bicycles - Streaking - The John L. Sullivan Mystique - Surfing - The Topless Bathing Suit - Trivial Pursuit - Tug-of-War - The Mike Tyson-Robin Givens Affair - Volleyball - "We Are Family": The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates - WrestleMania - Yo-Yos - Index