{"title":"American Sports History Series","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"encyclopedia-of-american-soccer-history-book-roger-allaway-9780810839809","title":"The Encyclopedia of American Soccer History","description":"Many believe that soccer's popularity in the United States is a recent phenomenon, that Pele introduced the sport to the U.S. market. Soccer has in fact enjoyed a long and illustrious history in this country. This book examines American soccer from the 1860s up through the 1999 Women's World Cup and the 1999 MLS season. Entries are present for the many professional and semi-professional leagues that have existed since the 1890s and their great players, teams, and coaches. Important cup competitions, national teams, and major international competitions are also noted. Over two hundred individuals who have contributed to American soccer - coaches, players, administrators, and referees - also have entries. The perfect reference resource for sports scholars, but is also of interest to the ardent soccer fan.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50065831297297,"sku":"CIN0810839806G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0810839806.jpg?v=1751076361"},{"product_id":"mel-ott-book-alfred-m-martin-9780810845985","title":"Mel Ott","description":"What baseball player had more hits than Babe Ruth, a better batting average than Willie Mays, a better slugging average than Ty Cobb, and more bases on balls than Stan Musial? This is the inspirational story of Melvin Thomas Ott, who at the strapping age of sixteen became a major league baseball player under the tutelage of the legendary manager of the New York Giants, John McGraw. Beyond the statistical record of this truly great baseball player, this book focuses on Mel Ott's personal life, his strong family ties, and the contributions which he made to the game of baseball. This volume is enhanced by intimate contact with the Ott family, particularly his daughters Lyn and Barbara, both of whom contributed to the story.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50125364330769,"sku":"CIN0810845989VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52452648812817,"sku":"NLS9780810845985","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0810845989.jpg?v=1750914982"},{"product_id":"chris-von-der-ahe-and-the-st-louis-browns-book-j-thomas-hetrick-9780810834736","title":"Chris Von der Ahe and the St.Louis Browns","description":"Chris Von der Ahe emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1867, and settled in St. Louis, Missouri. Starting out as a clerk in a grocery store, he succeeded quickly in buying the grocery store and establishing a saloon in the back. Although Von der Ahe had no special interest in sports, he did notice that fans liked to drop by after a ball game and have a beer. This initial perception launched Von der Ahe on a rollercoaster ride through early American baseball, contributing to his story of luck, pluck, and bravado. Seeing a natural link between baseball and his saloon, Von der Ahe sponsored an American Association baseball team called the St. Louis Browns, the head of a lineage that includes the present-day St. Louis Cardinals. The American Association only lasted for ten years, but through this period Von der Ahe's Browns captured the pennant four years in a row. After a raucous pennant race in 1889 and a full-scale player revolt, the American Association sank into bankruptcy and dissolved. Such a financial disaster is only one of many bizarre and unique events discussed in this insightful and utterly readable biography of one of America's early baseball owners.  Bearing uncanny similarity to the iron-willed personas of contemporary baseball owners, Von der Ahe was embroiled in legal battles and baseball disputes for nearly a decade that culminated in his own kidnapping and his stadium being burned to the ground. After being bought out in 1899, Von der Ahe disappeared and died in obscurity in 1913, without a baseball team. With bibliography.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50362330054929,"sku":"CIN0810834731A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0810834731.jpg?v=1751233518"},{"product_id":"slide-kelly-slide-book-marty-appel-9780810829978","title":"Slide, Kelly, Slide","description":"Mike King Kelly was the hard-living, hard-drinking son of a Civil War veteran whose skills at baseball and infectious charm turned him into the game's first hero, and a symbol of what it meant to be a celebrity in America in the 1880s and 1890s. Slide, Kelly, Slide reacquaints baseball fans and scholars with this little-known pioneer of the game. Marty Appel, the author of several baseball books, conducted a thorough search of local archives to bring the story of King Kelly to light and place him in his proper historical context. An innovator on the field, who was not above taking advantage of the only umpire running the game, Kelly touched many aspects of American culture while a ballplayer. He was the first player to sign autographs, and wrote the game's first autobiography. A Hall of Famer and a two-time batting champion, Kelly's greatest contribution was the popularity that he brought to the game. Slide, Kelly, Slide will truly delight.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50368313688337,"sku":"CIN0810829975G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0810829975.jpg?v=1751107051"},{"product_id":"american-soccer-league-book-colin-jose-9780810834293","title":"The American Soccer League","description":"It was the \" American Menace\" according to the Scottish and English newspapers of the 1920s. The best players in the Scottish leagues were being drawn to American companies that offered good jobs in return for playing on the company soccer team. The resulting squads, many of them ethnic, beat the best teams in the world at that time. This period from 1921 to 1931 were the \"Golden Years of American Soccer.\"   With the skyrocketing economic prosperity of the United States and its corollary flood of new immigrants to America's shores, came interest in soccer as a new form of sports entertainment. It grew rapidly around Northeastern industrial towns like Fall River, Massachusetts, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. As with the popular North American Soccer League of the 1970s and 80s and its imported stars like Pele, the American Soccer League of the 1920s bid for the best soccer players in the world, creating a competitive, fertile environment for the growth of soccer.    Unfortunately, few detailed records remain about these great teams and players. League records were lost after W.W. II and newspaper coverage was concentrated in smaller cities. Many of the League's heretofore unknown players possess no first name in print, and the unfortunate losers of matches and league championship games often went unreported altogether. During the later, tougher years of the Depression, many of the foreign players hunkered down in jobs or returned to their native countries. The disbanded American Soccer League was revived under the same name but very different circumstances in 1933, but never reached the same level of skill as during the 1920s.    American Soccer League 1921-1931 is the result of Colin Jose's tireless determination to provide accurate history of soccer's evolution in the United States. Soccer was one of the most popular sports in the United States during the 1920s, often drawing huge crowds in relatively small towns to see the world's best players compete. Documented through thousands of newspaper clipp","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50368338297105,"sku":"CIN0810834294G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52487857209617,"sku":"NLS9780810834293","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0810834294.jpg?v=1750979842"},{"product_id":"jimmie-foxx-book-mark-r-millikin-9780810834538","title":"Jimmie Foxx","description":"The story of one of baseball's most ferocious hitters, Jimmie Foxx. The most inclusive biography of Foxx to date, Millikin's book provides a complete picture of his subject.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50368346358033,"sku":"CIN0810834537G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51422880006417,"sku":"CIN0810834537VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0810834537.jpg?v=1751043192"},{"product_id":"border-wars-book-k-adam-powell-9780810848399","title":"Border Wars","description":"In May of 1953, seven institutions—Clemson University, Duke University, the University of Maryland, the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, Wake Forest University, and the University of South Carolina—voted to break away from the Southern Conference and form a new league, the Atlantic Coast Conference. That same year, they were joined by the University of Virginia. Fifty years later, ACC football is still going strong, as chronicled in this definitive history by K. Adam Powell.  From kickoff to touchdown, Powell presents an in-depth look at the players, games, and memorable moments that have shaped the first half-century of Atlantic Coast Conference football. Border Wars covers all of the important details-including the conference's founding, its five national championship teams, and even the scandals that have rocked programs at Clemson and Florida State. The book also provides the coaching records and season standings of ACC football teams from 1953 to 2002, making this the ideal reference source for ACC fans.  Includes 16 photos.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50368466223377,"sku":"CIN0810848392G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0810848392.jpg?v=1751076364"},{"product_id":"jimmie-foxx-book-mark-r-millikin-9780810856851","title":"Jimmie Foxx","description":"While major league baseball gained popularity in large American cities at the beginning of the twentieth century, it was still relatively unseen by small town inhabitants who could only read about it in the newspaper or catch an exhibition game as major league teams traveled through the United States. What was popular was 'town baseball,' fierce competitions between local teams to best the other in all aspects of baseball, particularly power hitting. It was from this environment that Jimmie Foxx, one of major league baseball's most talented players, began his journey toward the majors. Jimmie Foxx: The Pride of Sudlersville, is the story of one of baseball's most ferocious hitters. Growing up in small town Maryland, Jimmie seemed destined to play major-league baseball. By age 16 he was already playing professionally and wowing fans with his ability to smash homers. During his major-league career he appeared in three straight World Series, played for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox, and spent the 1932 baseball season closely pursuing Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. The comparison to Babe Ruth has not been lost on many baseball scholars, but goes relatively unknown by the general public and many baseball fans.  The most inclusive biography of Jimmie Foxx to date, Millikin's book provides a complete picture of his subject.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50368543719697,"sku":"CIN0810856859A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51687375995153,"sku":"NIN9780810856851","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52452027597073,"sku":"NLS9780810856851","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0810856859.jpg?v=1750818751"},{"product_id":"queen-of-the-negro-leagues-book-james-overmyer-9781578860012","title":"Queen of the Negro Leagues","description":"The first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, there was no one like Effa Manley in the sports world of the 1930s and 1940s. She was a sophisticated woman who owned a baseball team. She never shrank from going head to head with men, who dominated the ranks of sports executives and considered sports their exclusive domain. That her life story has remained unchronicled can only be attributed to one thing: her team, the Newark Eagles, belonged to the Negro Baseball League. This book furthers a growing awareness of black baseball before integration and profiles many of the other highly-competitive owners in the Negro league. It also describes a thriving black community in Newark that took the Newark Eagles into their hearts, creating a fascinating relationship between a community and their sports team.  This book was the first to draw extensively on Eagle team records, left behind by Mrs. Manley when she left Newark in the 1950s, and rediscovered nearly intact thirty-five years later. The files are the most comprehensive source of information about the Newark Eagles. They reconstruct the relationship between the baseball team and the community to an extent never thought to be possible. Also included is material from Mrs. Manley's scrapbook chronicling her days as a baseball owner and an active home front volunteer during World War II. Her scrapbook is now part of the collection of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  This important work shines the spotlight on a previously unsung segment of baseball history.  Originally published in cloth as Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles, No. 1 in the American Sports History Series.   Reviews of the Original Edition:   \"...a book that speaks volumes about the history of all of us who grew up in Newark at a time when the city stood for something very different. It's a dandy read.\" —NEWARK STAR-LEDGER   \"...the story of a dynamic woman who, with her husband, owned the New Jersey team in the Negro National League.... Recommended.\" —LIB","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50381679788305,"sku":"CIN1578860016G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51322521911569,"sku":"CIN1578860016VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1578860016.jpg?v=1750991093"},{"product_id":"slide-kelly-slide-book-marty-appel-9781578860036","title":"Slide, Kelly, Slide","description":"Mike \"King\" Kelly was the hard-living, hard-drinking son of a Civil War veteran whose skills at baseball and infectious charm turned him into the game's first hero, and a symbol of what it meant to be a celebrity in America in the 1880s and 1890s. Slide, Kelly, Slide reacquaints baseball fans and scholars with this little-known pioneer of the game. Marty Appel, the author of several baseball books, conducted a thorough search of local archives to bring the story of King Kelly to light and place him in his proper historical context. An innovator on the field, who was not above taking advantage of the only umpire running the game, Kelly touched many aspects of American culture while a ballplayer. He was the first player to sign autographs, and wrote the game's first autobiography. A Hall of Famer and a two-time batting champion, Kelly's greatest contribution was the popularity that he brought to the game. Slide, Kelly, Slide will truly delight.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51037983408401,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51037986849041,"sku":"NIN9781578860036","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51695726526737,"sku":"CIN1578860032G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52326126485777,"sku":"CIN1578860032VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52592714154257,"sku":"NLS9781578860036","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1578860032.jpg?v=1751119236"},{"product_id":"for-pride-profit-and-patriarchy-book-gerald-r-gems-9780810836853","title":"For Pride, Profit, and Patriarchy","description":"Sports history has emerged as a popular study over the past quarter century, and scholars have fueled this interest by providing a wealth of information on baseball and its role in American culture. Despite this increasing focus on the connection between sports and societal values, football, the sport that emerged in the late nineteenth century and merged the values of winning and commercialization with the culture of higher education, has been left relatively unexplored. This gap in sports history has left many questions unanswered, including football's link to American cultural values.  Gerald R. Gems has filled this gap in sports history with his latest title, For Pride, Profit, and Patriarchy: Football and the Incorporation of American Cultural Values. This intriguing resource covers a host of issues including the rise of football, football and feminism, militarism and leadership training, and multiculturalism in football. A broad and comprehensive analysis of the ways in which football addressed the cultural and ideological tensions within American society during its period of development and consolidation after the Civil War, this study is ideal for everyone from the football enthusiast to the general reader.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51687377862929,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51687378157841,"sku":"NIN9780810836853","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52452529799441,"sku":"NLS9780810836853","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0810836858.jpg?v=1751043194"},{"product_id":"sunday-at-the-ballpark-book-wendy-knickerbocker-9780810849723","title":"Sunday at the Ballpark","description":"Paperback edition available October, 2003. Billy Sunday was among the greatest of American evangelists. During the first quarter of the twentieth century his sermons reached hundreds of thousands of people, and he was widely quoted and admired. He was an influential social leader who supported and popularized conservative causes, and he was an ardent champion of Prohibition.  But this was not all Billy Sunday was noted for. He was also well known as a former professional baseball player. During the heyday of Ty Cobb and Christy Matthewson, he set base-stealing records in the 1880s and to have been the first baseball player to refuse to play on Sundays. Many say his reputation as a baseball player was not rightfully deserved. Although his skill alone may not have topped the charts, he was exceptional in his personality, behavior and exciting style of play.  In this work, Wendy Knickerbocker explores Sunday's professional baseball career to examine the coming of age of an interesting and important character in American history. Detail is given to the entirety of his career as well as his playing style. She includes his struggles and accomplishments in his professional career as well as his religious one. A bibliography encourages further reference.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52452016849169,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52452017373457,"sku":"NLS9780810849723","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780810849723.jpg?v=1759363312"},{"product_id":"baseball-s-biggest-blunder-book-brent-kelley-9780810830493","title":"Baseball's Biggest Blunder","description":"The \"bonus rule\" of 1953-1957 required players who signed a baseball contract for more than $4,000 to remain on the major league roster for two full seasons. These were the bonus babies—young men of about 18 or 19 years old, so full of promise and talent that they overshadowed their high school or collegiate teammates and had professional teams scrambling to sign them. This system produced three members of the Baseball Hall of Fame (Al Kaline, Harmon Killebrew, and Sandy Koufax) and several other long-time performers, but the \"bonus rule\" was also responsible for the destruction of many potential careers. In two years or less, professional baseball lost the likes of John Edelman, Bruce Swango, and Paul Martin.  Kelley tells the story of the rule and the players involved, using the files of the National Baseball Library as well as interviews with many of the bonus babies themselves and other players, managers, and baseball executives of the day. He also provides a brief history of bonuses and explains how this rule led to the free agent draft in effect today. Photos.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52946904776977,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":52946904940817,"sku":"CIN0810830493LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780810830493.jpg?v=1765998255"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/american-sports-history-series-book-series.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}