American Sports

American Sports, now in its ninth edition, is a comprehensive, analytical introduction to the history of American sports from the precolonial era to the present. Concise, thought-provoking chapters outline the complex relationships between sports and class, gender, race, religion, sexuality, and region in the United States, offering a definitive examination of how athletics have both shaped and reflected American culture across generations. Building on the expanded attention paid to women, African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos in the previous volume, this new edition brings the narrative to the present, covering subjects such as the rising interest in soccer, the legalization of sports gambling, and the transformation of college sports through the advent of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). Students will develop critical thinking skills by connecting sporting events with broader historical contexts. Engaging sidebars on topics that include the Black Sox scandal, the worldwide influence of Jack Johnson, the significance of softball in lesbian communities, and the reasons for recent changes in baseball rules will spark meaningful classroom discussions. Ten new primary source activities invite deeper student participation. This insightful introduction continues to be a vital tool for the study of both sports history and American history.

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 and, with Susan Shackelford, of Shattering the Glass: The Remarkable History of Women's Basketball. She is also the editor, with Brad Austin, of Teaching US History Through Sports. Her work has received awards from, among others, the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and the North American Society for Sport History. Benjamin 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), When Grandpa Delivered Babies and Other Ozarks Vignettes (2024), and Baseball: A History of America's Game (5th edition, 2025).

Lists of figures Preface Chapter 1. Sports in Early America Chapter 2. The Setting for Nineteenth-Century Sports Chapter 3. The Sporting Fraternity and Its Spectacles Chapter 4. The Rise of America's National Game Chapter 5. Elite Sports Chapter 6. The Rise of Intercollegiate Sports Chapter 7. Broader Horizons Chapter 8. Sports, Culture and Nation: 1900-1945 Chapter 9. The Rise of Organized Youth Sports Chapter 10. The Age of Sports Heroes Chapter 11. Baseball's Golden Age Chapter 12. The Intercollegiate Football Spectacle Chapter 13. The Rise and Decline of Organized Women's Sports Chapter 14. Globalizing Sports, Redefining Race Chapter 15. The Setting of Organized Sports Since World War II Chapter 16. Professional Team Sports in the Age of Television Chapter 17. College Sports in the Age of Television Chapter 18. Racial Revolution Chapter 19. Women's Liberation Chapter 20. All Sports All the Time Chapter 21. Sports in the Twenty-First Century Chapter 22. Sports and American Identity Chapter 23. Transformations Index