Originally published in 1982, How Boston Played helps bring the study of sport within the broader scope of social history. Focusing on the fifty-year period following the Civil War, Stephen Hardy examines how Bostonians reacted to urban disorder by attempting to shape meaningful forms of community through the use and production of leisure.
Whether consciously molding the city through the construction of public spaces or developing social ties through organizations such as athletic clubs, Bostonians of all classes participated in recreation-based community building, often at...