A Brief History of American Sports

How sports have changed! At the end of our century, a baseball player won a contract that paid him several million dollars a year; a boxer consistantly earns millions of dollars for a single fight; a television network pays billions and billions to broadcast our national pastime.

Two distinguished cultural historians trace the evolution of American play from its English origins through the explosive and controversies of modern sports. From the eariest years, our attitudes about games have been played by major social and cultural forces, religious structures, industrialization, racial and gender discrimination, drug abuse, the growth of the cities, the power of money, and the rise of mass culture.