This work brings together 16 of the best presentations on sport from the conferences of the Popular Culture Association. Topics include baseball (the 1941 World Series, the career of Stan Musial, Italian Americans in the game, and Japanese players), golf (Tiger Woods, and the culture wars over women at Augusta National), football (integration at UCLA, the controversy over the Indian mascot at Florida State, and the creation of the New Orleans Saints), auto racing (the revival of dirt tracks, racing's roots in Virginia, NASCAR in Eastern Iowa, and the NASCAR fan), and sports and men (marketing...

The origins of baseball are controversial. James A. Vlasich discusses the debates between two men intimately involved in nineteenth-century baseball, Henry Chadwick and Albert G. Spalding. Abner Graves of the Mills Commission claimed that Abner Doubleday had invented the game and he had done it in Cooperstown, New York. This claim was scrutinized at the time but the myth became etched into baseball history. Through the years, however, some critics have questioned the Mills Commission report. The problem is that the Baseball Hall of Fame is built on this shaky foundation. The lack of diligence...

The origins of baseball are controversial. James A. Vlasich discusses the debates between two men intimately involved in nineteenth-century baseball, Henry Chadwick and Albert G. Spalding. Abner Graves of the Mills Commission claimed that Abner Doubleday had invented the game and he had done it in Cooperstown, New York. This claim was scrutinized at the time but the myth became etched into baseball history. Through the years, however, some critics have questioned the Mills Commission report. The problem is that the Baseball Hall of Fame is built on this shaky foundation. The lack of diligence...