Remembering the Rumble in the Jungle
The 1974 Rumble in the Jungle was freighted with symbolism regarding American racial politics and the pan-African struggle in the context of the Cold War.
How Sports Shaped Glacier Science
The heroic masculinity that governed early glacial science had its roots in nineteenth-century British sporting culture.
Hi, Jai Alai
Once popular across the United States, jai alai lives on in American sport culture mostly thanks to its history as a legal option for gambling.
Endangered: North American Cricket
Cricket was played and cheered in the United States and Canada in the nineteenth century. Why did it fall out of favor with sports fans?
The French Historian Who Invented the Olympics
Pierre de Coubertin harnessed an enduring fascination with ancient Greece to create a new institution that blended national pride with global unity.
How a Paris Meet Changed Women’s Track and Field
In the early twentieth century, women were discouraged from competing in track and field. The First International Track Meet for Women helped change that.
Sport in America: A Reading List
Covering the colonial era to the present, this annotated bibliography demonstrates the topical and methodological diversity of sport studies in the United States.
Masculinity, Boxing, and the “Wild Brawl” That Changed the Sport
Bennie “Kid” Paret and Emile Griffith were both ready to fight, but it was unlikely either boxer was prepared for the outcome of their final bout.
Pole Vaulting Over the Iron Curtain
When it became clear that the United States and its allies couldn’t “liberate” Eastern Europe through psychological war and covert ops, they turned to sports.
How to Fight Like a Girl
Women have been punching each other in the face (during boxing matches) since the early 1700s.