Sports in the Western World"Human beings cannot live by bread alone. They dream and they strive. Not merely for warmth do they take fire from the altar of the gods; curiosity is their glory and their pain. They climb mountains, cross uncharted seas, and explore outer space for reasons other than material benefit. They thrive on challenges. Seekers of laurel, they especially measure themselves in competition with fellow humans. Where there is no contest, they create one. From deep within, and from millennia past, comes the impulse for athletic competition. This book is about the history of competitive sports in the Western world--from ancient religious ritual and simple tribal contests to highly organized modern spectacles."--From the introduction |
Contents
FROM RITUAL TO RECREATION THE BEGINNINGS OF SPORT | 1 |
The Competitive Impulse | 3 |
Organized Greek Games | 14 |
The Decline and Fall of Athletics | 28 |
Medieval People at Play | 42 |
SPORTS IN AN EXPANDING WORLD FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION | 57 |
The Day of the Scholar Athlete | 59 |
Frowning Puritans | 72 |
IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW SPORTS IN THE AGE OF CONFLICT | 189 |
The Shaping of Modern Sports | 191 |
Days Dark and Golden | 209 |
Coping With Depression | 229 |
Testing the Super Race | 245 |
YESTERDAYS SPORTS PAGE DOMINANT THEMES SINCE 1945 | 261 |
EastWest Games | 263 |
Breaking Barriers Through Sports | 283 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
amateur American football ancient archery aristocratic ball games baseball basketball became began black athletes Boston bowling boxing Britain British champion championship cities clubs coach college football competed competitive contests Coubertin court cricket crowd Davis Cup decade Dempsey dominated early England English Europe European festivals field fight final France French German gold medals golf Greek gymnastics Hitler horse racing ice hockey indoor International Olympic Committee Italian Jack Johnson Jesse Owens King lawn tennis League London major-league mass match National Nazi nineteenth century officials Olympia Olympic Games opponents organized owners pastimes physical play players political popular professional Puritan reserve clause Roman rugby football rules Russian schools season soccer football social Soviet spectacle sports and games stadium style team sports television tion took tournament towns track traditional turned United Univ University victory Western Wimbledon winter women World Cup wrestling York youths