Sport

provide s] informative and entertaining browsing, depicting how filled our language is with sports metaphors, many of whose derivations are little known: the devil to pay, ' hazard a guess, ' red herring, ' etc. Even libraries with numerous other sports dictionaries will want this work. Recommended for high school, public, and academic libraries. Choice

This comprehensive dictionary brings together for the first time the popular words and expressions in American English that derive from terms associated with sports, games, and recreation. Many of these terms are now an...

From the gruff, sword-toting swashbucklers of the Middle Ages to modern adventure epics like The Princess Bride, the aura surrounding the sword is one that is both romantic and pragmatic. Thoughts of this weapon bring to mind images of the Knights of the Round Table, Zorro, the Three Musketeers--the things daydreams are made of. Historically, the fate of the empires revolved around the sword; nations rose and fell based on the power of their swordsmen. For centuries it was the weapon of choice in settling personal disputes. Today, the art of sword fighting has been incarnated as the...

John W. Heisman (1869-1936) was a man of many faces whose public image has suffered from a diffused, enigmatic, and mostly misunderstood private personality. Since his death the popular reception of the memorial trophy named in his honor has also obscured his identity. In singling out his many innovative contributions to the development of intercollegiate football, this book attempts to present a true picture of Heisman as both man and coach.

Because he coached at schools throughout the country during some of the most eventful years in our history, Heisman's life relates to significant...

The foremost sporting event in the world, the Olympic Games have grown from a quaint idea in the 1890s to a major world happening. This unique book shows the historical context in which each of the Olympic Games has taken place. Divided into sections on the Summer Games and the Winter Games, the book includes chronologically arranged entries on each of the games since 1896. Entries focus on such information as site selection, political questions, controversies, collateral events, changes in programming, and political and economic consequences of the games--all information that is not...

An impressive amount of literature, particularly literature on soccer and baseball, has appeared since Joseph Arbena's 1989 bibliography, "An Annotated Bibliography of Latin American Sport." This new bibliography includes titles published during the past decade as well as a few items omitted from the earlier bibliography. Arranged topically, it includes sections on indigenous traditions, Iberian background, the National Period in Middle America and in South America, and Hispanic sports and sportsmen in the United States.

A comprehensive reference work on the development of athletics in the United States; this encyclopedia examines the sporting experience of Native Americans, African Americans and the immigrant groups of the United States from Colonial times to the present. It includes entries on racial and ethnic groups, ethnic sports, mainstream sports, ethnic and racial institutions and famous sports figures.

The category of ethnic sports includes games and pastimes that Native American Indians and immigrants have played to help preserve their ancestral traditions and cultural identity in the United...

This guide to the available literature on sports in American culture during the last two decades of the 20th century is a companion to Jack Higg's Sports: A Reference Guide (Greenwood, 1982). The types of individual or team sports included in this volume include those that are viewed as physical contests engaged in for physical, emotional, spiritual, or psychological fulfillment. With a focus on books alone, chapters review the available literature regarding sports and each concludes with a bibliography. Academic journals likely to contain articles on the topics discussed are listed...

Contemporary life in the United States would be difficult to understand withouth examining the pivotal role sports have played in it. Controversies of the Sports World is designed to take readers of all ages into the heart of the tensions and conflicts that arise from the wide-ranging enterprise that now dominates the lives of millions of people. The controversies explored include such issues in sports as recruitment procedures, steroid and other drug use, discrimination against women, discrimination against African Americans, and violence.

Each of sixteen chapters...

From its beginnings at the turn of the 20th century to its pervasive presence in 21st-century America, basketball has grown into an undeniably important sport. The 575 entries in this biographical dictionary present concise narratives on the lives and careers on the most important names in basketball history. Entries include both classic players such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob Cousy as well as more recently established and up-and-coming stars such as Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett, and LeBron James. Entries for coaches such as the Boston Celtics' Red Auerbach and Mike Krzyzewski from...

From the Thirteenth century through the Nineteenth, the waterways of the world provided the major means of transportation for exploration, trade, the military, and even criminals. Find out what life was like for those who chose to sail the high seas, as well as for those who didn't choose to be on board, like wives brought to sea by husbands and slaves en route to the auction block. What were their quarters like? What did they eat? How did they pass their long days at sea? These and other questions are answered in animated prose that brings the lives of ordinary people who oftentimes...

African Americans and Latino Americans have played an increasingly significant role in the ongoing saga of American sports--and not just in popular sports like basketball and baseball. This is the first comprehensive, multisport biographical resource to concentrate exclusively on the accomplishments, achievements, and personal struggles of notable African American and Latino American athletes of the last quarter century. A total of 175 important contemporary athletes--113 African Americans and 62 Latino Americans--are profiled. Most made significant contributions to their sport since 1990....

Baseball is increasingly popular throughout the world, as evidenced by the many talented players (such as Ichiro Suzuki, Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, and Hideki Matsui) coming to the Major Leagues from around the globe. The influx of such players is testament to the many high-quality professional and amateur leagues that thrive throughout the world. In this reference book--the first of its kind-- narrative chapters trace the history of baseball in Australia, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and throughout the rest of the world. Bjarkman profiles...

A quaint idea in the 1890s, the Olympic Games are now the foremost sporting event in the world. Information on the winners and medals abounds, but this unique book provides information on the events surrounding the Olympics: political controversies, scandals, tragedies, economic issues, and peripheral incidents. Covering specific games from the 1896 Olympics in Athens to the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, this volume also presents plans for the 2004 Athens games, 2006 Turin games, and the 2008 summer games.

Enhanced with new illustrations, this book includes sections on both...

This encyclopedia is a great resource for those wishing to learn more about the history of the disability sport movement. Research shows that little has been written about disability sports and the people, events and organizations that created the movement. Sports and physical activity transcend many barriers--thus, a book about disability sport and the people and events involved is likely to eradicate some of the barriers people with disabilities themselves face, by creating a greater awareness and understanding of the abilities of people with disabilities.

This encyclopedia is a great...

Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played stood for decades until Cal Ripken Jr. broke it in 1995. Most people remember Gehrig for this record, or for the disease that claimed his life (and now bears his name). But what many forget is how prolific a hitter he was. The son of German immigrants, Gehrig rose from inauspicious beginnings to become a scholar-athlete at Columbia University, and then moved to Major League Baseball, where he knocked in almost 2,000 runs and helped his team win six world championships. William Kashatus recounts the perserverance and poise of a life which...

The last player to hit .400 in the Major Leagues, Ted Williams approached hitting as both an art and a science. Through his discipline, drive, and extraordinarily keen eyesight, "The Splendid Splinter" became the best hitter in baseball. From his early days as a cocksure rookie for the Boston Red Sox, through his two Triple Crown seasons, six batting titles, his service in two wars, and his tenure as a Major League manager, Ted Williams forged an indelible image in the minds of baseball fans. Yet Williams's public resentment toward fans and, especially, the media, made him few friends....

When the National Baseball Hall of Fame inducted its first class of players in 1936, Ty Cobb received more votes than any other player--even more than did fellow inductee Babe Ruth. Cobb, known as the Georgia Peach, was universally recognized as the best player from the dead ball era. He also had the reputation of being its most ferocious player. His fierce determination to succeed helped Cobb equal or surpass more offensive records than any other player, and his career average of .367 is still the highest of all time. Cobb's unyielding and often ferocious work ethic, though, made him many...

Rogers Hornsby has the highest career batting average of any right-handed hitter and the second highest career mark overall. The Rajah won seven batting titles and hit over .400 three times. He was also one of baseball's most successful player-managers, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a historic World Series triumph over the Yankees in 1926. Hornsby had an unrivaled passion for baseball; as a young player, he once even donned a disguise to play in a women's league. But his unyielding drive to succeed often alienated him from lesser players, and his penchant for the racetrack made him...

Pete Rose is baseball's Hit King, the Major Leagues' all-time leader in career hits. But some fans consider his off-the-field actions a black mark on the sport. Major League Baseball's investigations into Rose's gambling led to his lifetime banishment from the game--which, in turn, has barred him from otherwise--certain induction into the Hall of Fame. Rose brought to the sport an unparalleled drive to succeed. Now, people from every part of society debate the nature of his legacy. Baseball author David Jordan presents an even-handed look at Rose's life, career, and post-baseball life, and...