The Little League Baseball World Series
Part of the Images of Sports series
Little Rock is small by capital-city standards, but much like larger capitals, it has been quick to demolish the old in favor of the new. There are still striking structures tucked away here and there, and to appreciate how Little Rock has evolved from sleepy, steamboat days to a booming tourist destination, Arcadia Publishing presents photographs from past and present.
Hydroplane Racing in Detroit
1946-2008
Part of the Images of Sports series
Since the start of the 20th century, Detroit has been the hub of the motorized world. It was only natural that the powerful motors built in Detroit's huge factories eventually found their way into high-speed boats and that organized racing soon followed. Starting in 1916, Detroit became the center of powerboat racing. Names like Gar Wood, Chris Smith, and Horace Dodge dominated the sports pages of the 1920s and 1930s. Following World War II, racing in Detroit entered its golden era. Led by local businessmen like Jack Schafer, Joe Schoenith, and George Simon, hydroplane racing captured the heart of the community in a way that has never been equaled.
Cincinnati on Field and Court
The Sports Legacy of the Queen City
Part of the Images of Sports series
Sports are a key expression of civic identity along the Ohio River and are a large part of any discussion of Cincinnati's heritage. Their significance helps us interpret the broader issues of economic and social classes, gender differences, race and ethnicity matters, politics, and community values-in short, sports help us understand ourselves. Covering the time period from the 19th century when German immigrants formed the first American Tuner societies for athletic training, and professional baseball developed to the current age of new ballparks and sports celebrities, Cincinnati on Field and Court takes a look at the place of sports in the cultural life of the Queen City. Included are professional teams like the Reds, Bengals, and Royals; legendary figures like Pete Rose, Oscar Robertson, and Ezzard Charles; dramatic moments like the 1919 World Series, the courageous story of Maurice Stokes, and the Olympic achievements of DeHart Hubbard; and social issues like the impact of women's sports and racial segregation and integration. The good, the bad, the foolish, the innovative, the tragic, and the inspiring are all covered.
Cleveland's Greatest Fighters of All Time
Part of the Images of Sports series
Boxing began in Cleveland in the 1880s. As pugilism was an illegal activity, brawling workers from the iron ore docks surreptitiously met on "Whiskey Island" to settle disputes. They would be followed by crowds of spectators who cheered them on and often ended up fleeing from the sheriff. Boxing grew in popularity and soon became a legitimate sport that brought packed houses to such local venues as Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the Cleveland Arena, and the Public Auditorium. Thousands of fans from across the country would come to Cleveland to attend the marquee bouts of many of the city and the nation's most celebrated fighters. Cleveland's Greatest Fighters of All Time follows the amazing careers of the city's most popular and successful boxers, highlighted by more than 100 rarely-seen images. From the speedy and resilient Johnny Kilbane, Cleveland's first great champion, to the heroic Jimmy Bivins, a true champion in and out of the ring, these stories of triumph and heartbreak are to be enjoyed by boxing fans of all eras. Much of the action inside is described in such a way as to bring the reader ringside.
Hockey in Rochester
The Americans' Tradition
Part of the Images of Sports series
Rochester, New York, emerged courageously with its first professional hockey team in the fall of 1935: the Rochester Cardinals. However, the venture was short-lived due to the financial strain of the Great Depression. Finally, in 1956, thanks to local visionaries such as Sam Toth and Ed House, Rochester became home to the Americans. The "Amerks" began a legacy of greatness from their inception as a joint affiliate of the legendary Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. This volume is a salute to those who have shaped Rochester's hockey history for more than thirty-seven hundred games.
Yankees Baseball
The Golden Age
Part of the Images of Sports series
Between 1920 and 1964, the Bronx Bombers dominated the game of baseball. It was a time when baseball players enjoyed an elevated status as national icons, a time when men wearing baggy, flannel uniforms and sporting pancake gloves played for little more than "the love of the game." In this striking and nostalgic volume featuring many rarely seen photographs, we meet the heroes that were the New York Yankees. The Yankees won 29 American League pennants and 20 World Series during this golden era, their diamond exploits thrilling generations of fans and their statistical achievements becoming familiar numbers in the lore of the game: Babe Ruth's 714 home runs; Lou Gehrig's 2,130 consecutive games played; Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak; Casey Stengel's 5 straight world championships; Mickey Mantle's 565-foot home run; and Roger Maris's 61 round-trippers. The tradition of excellence began in the 1920s with the Murderers' Row teams, named for their "killer" batting lineups, and continued through the early 1960s, by which time the Bronx Bombers had established themselves as the most successful franchise in sports history.
Part of the Images of Sports series
The 1950s and early 1960s are considered by many to be the Golden Era of Racing at the Indianapolis 500, and photographer Ben Lawrence was on hand taking photos of the Greatest Spectacle for the Indianapolis Times. During that era, Ben captured many images of the race and race events that surrounded the Indy 500. He was there when Bill Vukovich met his fate in 1955. He photographed the first Indianapolis 500 Parade, which has become an annual event. He captured A.J. Foyt winning his first race at the Brickyard. He was on hand to photograph the breaking of the 150-mph barrier. Then he saw the transition from the front-engined Offenhauser to the rear-engined Lotus-Fords, which ended the Golden Era.
Hydroplane Racing in the Tri-Cities
Part of the Images of Sports series
Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland sit along the banks of the Columbia River and form a large, vibrant community in Washington known as "the Tri-Cities." For over 40 years, tens of thousands of fans have come to the Columbia River to enjoy a day in the sun and watch the Columbia Cup Unlimited Hydroplane Race. Famous drivers like Bill Muncey, Dean Chenoweth, Chip Hanauer, and Dave Villwock have all come to Tri-Cities and battled deck-to-deck to win the Columbia Cup.
Stamford Sports
by Stamford Historical Society
Part of the Images of Sports series
At the turn of the 20th century, Stamford was fast becoming an industrial powerhouse, quickly earning its nickname of "The City That Works." As manufacturing boomed and drew thousands of immigrants to the city, sports clubs formed at an equally rapid pace. Stamford's large and thriving industrial league provided a means for those working six-day weeks to let off steam productively and enjoyably. Stamford Sports covers the history of sports in Stamford from its earliest baseball and basketball teams in the 1890s through the burgeoning of sports of all types for everyone, brought on by the passage of Title IX in the 1970s.
Long Island High School Sports
by Christopher R. Vaccaro
Part of the Images of Sports series
For nearly 120 years, Long Island has fielded high school sports teams. In that span, numerous local athletes rose to the highest level, dynasties were built, legends were made, and the nation's largest island was filled with captivating athletic stories and sports lore that will live forever. Long Island High School Sports strings together a pictorial history of Long Island's oldest, most famous, and well-respected teams, coaches, and athletes.
New York Giants
A Baseball Album
Part of the Images of Sports series
The New York Giants have sent more men to the Baseball Hall of Fame than any other team, a distinction that only begins to hint at the place this storied franchise holds in the long history of America's national pastime. Between 1883 and 1957, a span of 75 summers, the Giants were one of professional sports' great dynasties. Aside from the17 National League pennants and 8 world pennants the team won during this period, there were the unique personalities and imperishable moments that remain so much a part of the lore of the game: John McGraw's pugnacity, Christy Mathewson's fade away, Fred Snodgrass's muff, Mel Ott's leg kick, CarlHubbell's scroogie, Bobby Thomson's home run, and Willie Mays' catch. Even the Giants' ballpark, the Polo Grounds, had a personality of its own, with a center field that seemed as expansive as Utah and abbreviated foul lines that turned many an ordinary fly ball into a mighty home run.
American League
The Early Years
Part of the Images of Sports series
Ames has been referred to as a railroad town; more correctly the railroad established itself at the same moment that Iowa Agricultural College, now Iowa State University, was taking form. While the railroad helped to develop Ames, it was the college that drew people with names like Welch, Beardshear, "Tama Jim" Wilson, Charles F. Curtiss, and their successors. The flourishing academic community also drew families like the Loughrans and the Tildens, who were attracted by the positive town-gown relationship. In Ames: A Ride Through Town on the "Dinkey," readers will meet some of these people and tour historic Ames, as the narrow-gauge train nicknamed the "Dinkey" weaves its way through the city's history in over 220 vintage photographs. The images in this book, featuring people and landmarks both past and present, include Ames native J. Herman Banning, the first African-American aviator to be licensed in the U.S.; the dramatic 1922 burning and destruction of the Iowa State College Armory; a rare image of the 1895 Iowa State football team, the first to be called the Cyclones; and finally, downtown Ames' growth from dirt streets with wooden sidewalks to a modern college town.
Dartmouth College Hockey
Northern Ice
Part of the Images of Sports series
Martin's Studio photographers Carol W. Martin and Malcolm A. Miller practiced assignment photography for most of their careers. Unlike freelance documentary photographers, they did not choose the times, places, or subjects. However, instead of working at careers that could have easily become tedious and uninteresting, these former newspaper and studio photographers created a vast and amazing body of work, shooting almost every imaginable aspect of community life. Martin and Miller focused their work on Greensboro and Guilford County, but phone calls and appointments took them to all areas of the state. Included in this book are images from Greensboro, as well as Candor, Cape Hatteras, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Lexington, Manteo, Ocean Isle, Raleigh, Reidsville, and Winston-Salem. Images from the Martin's Studio Collection were first published in Martin's and Miller's Greensboro, also by Catlett, which was created as a companion to the Greensboro Historical Museum's exhibit, which will remain on display through the autumn of 2003. Dateline Greensboro: The Piedmont and Beyond includes entirely different historical images from the archive, and unlike the thematic arrangement for the earlier book, this volume takes readers on a chronological journey-a camera ride-from the 1930s through the 1960s. Three chapters offer readers the opportunity to relive three complete days in the life of the studio, with a timeline of images made from early morning to late night.
Hockey in Dayton
Part of the Images of Sports series
In the 1950s, crowds that equaled half the city of Troy's population filled the newly constructed 3,900-seat Hobart Arena to watch the area's first hockey team, the Troy Bruins, take the ice. In the 1960s and 1970s, fans packed one of hockey's great "barns," Hara Arena, to watch the Dayton Gems become one of the more well-known and successful franchises in all of professional hockey. In the 1990s and 2000s, it was the Dayton Bombers that reignited the area's love for hockey. Hockey in Dayton tells the story of the teams, players, people, and events that have permanently frozen hockey's place in the history of Dayton area sports.
Cincinnati Hoops
Part of the Images of Sports series
Oscar Robertson, Jack Twyman, and the Cincinnati Royals. The University of Cincinnati and Xavier University in their annual cross-town shootout, one of the nation's great rivalries. Legendary coaches like Mary Jo Huismann and Bob Huggins. The longest game in college basketball history (seven overtimes!) and the creation of long baggy basketball shorts. The venerable Cincinnati Gardens and the Armory Fieldhouse. These are just a few of the people, places, and events in the colorful history of basketball in Cincinnati. Cincinnati Hoops is the story of basketball in an American city. The heritage of basketball in Cincinnati has never been fully revealed, and this book tells the complete story from the game's arrival in the Queen City to the present, exploring the cultural and social history of the sport. The role of women, segregation, amateur, and collegiate basketball, and the big business of the professional game are all documented in over 200 classic images.
Watkins Glen Racing
Part of the Images of Sports series
The war was won, the Depression was over, and Americans were back on the road. From all across the nation, sports car drivers converged on Watkins Glen to race through the gorges, hills, and village streets of western New York. Over the years, the course has evolved from its humble beginnings on streets lined with hay bales to the modern closed track that plays host to NASCAR today. Through vintage photographs, primarily from the International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen, Watkins Glen Racing chronicles the history of the track with early drivers, like Cameron Argetsinger, Phil Walters, and Dave Garroway, vintage cars, hairpin turns, and death-defying races.
The 1960 Winter Olympics
Part of the Images of Sports series
The 1960 Olympic Winter Games were a long-shot effort that succeeded beyond the wildest expectations. Working in a sparsely populated valley in the Sierra Nevada with only rudimentary facilities, organizers created a world-class Olympic site in four short years. For the only time in Olympic history, the venues and athlete residence halls were located in a compact, intimate setting that encouraged sportsmanship and interaction between athletes. There was elaborate pageantry in the ceremonies and decorations. The underdog American ice hockey team won the first-ever USA gold medal in that sport. American figure skaters swept gold in the individual events. Well-trained Soviet and Scandinavian athletes dominated the speed skating and cross-country skiing events. American women proved their mettle in the Alpine skiing events. German skiers made surprise upsets in the Nordic combined and ski jumping contests. And CBS-TV was there to capture the most exciting moments and make groundbreaking live broadcasts to American audiences.
Stephen F. Austin State University Jacks
Part of the Images of Sports series
Stephen F. Austin State University opened its doors in 1923, and its administrators instituted intercollegiate athletics almost immediately. Over the next eight decades, the Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks--team names derived from the area's predominant forest products industries--participated successfully in the Lone Star, Gulf Star, and Southland Conferences. Such outstanding Lumberjacks as James Silas, Mark Moseley, and Jeremiah Trotter have even gone on to successful careers in the NBA and NFL. This book offers readers a retrospective look at the success of SFA's athletic programs, as well as the players, coaches, and fans that led them to victory.
Bear Memories
The Chicago-Green Bay Rivalry
Part of the Images of Sports series
"Halas would provide food according to how we had fared against the Packers. If we won, it was steaks for everybody. But if we lost, we were lucky to be served hamburgers." --Harlan Hill, 1950s
"I didn't have any particular grievance with any of the Packer players, I just wanted to beat them all." --Hall of Famer Doug Atkins, 1960s
"Doug Buffone took me aside to tell me about Green Bay games . . . to set me straight about the importance of the rivalry. It definitely was not a game to be taken for granted." --Brian Baschnagel, 1970s
"Each year at the start of the season, fans we'd meet would just have the one request--please beat Green Bay." --Jim Flanigan, 1990s
The Early Polo Grounds
Part of the Images of Sports series
The Polo Grounds is one of baseball's most sacred ballparks. Built below Coogan's Bluff in 1891, the bathtub-shaped stadium played host to iconic baseball moments, including Willie Mays's famous catch in the 1954 World Series and Bobby Thomson's "shot heard 'round the world." The era before those moments holds a history all its own, when the New York Giants, Yankees, and the football Giants shared the park. The dawn of the 20th century through the 1920s is a rarely seen chapter in Polo Grounds history, and it is presented here for the first time in all of its photographic glory.
Snyder County's Sports Heritage
Part of the Images of Sports series
If Snyder County sports fans are not the most rabid in the nation, they certainly are among the most rabid. Regardless of the community, regardless of the sport or level at which it is played, Snyder County teams enjoy unconditional support second to none. Through the years, Snyder County has seen more than its share of athletic greatness. Those highly successful athletes, as well as those who played just for the love of the game, are represented in the more than 200 new and different images in this volume.
East Lake Golf Club
Part of the Images of Sports series
East Lake Golf Club was heralded as "one of the finest in the United States" when its first holes were completed in 1907. Bobby Jones called East Lake his home course, as did Alexa Stirling, Watts Gunn, and Charlie Yates. It flourished in the early 1900s as the Atlanta Athletic Club's country club. However, as Atlanta's population shifted to the northern suburbs, East Lake suffered, and in the mid-1960s the AAC sold the property and moved to Johns Creek. In the 1990s, developer Tom Cousins stepped in to restore East Lake. Today, the historical East Lake Golf Club is again considered among the finest courses in the United States and is host to tournament play. The motto adopted at its rebirth rings true: "Golf with a Purpose."
Candlestick Park
Part of the Images of Sports series
Opened in 1960 as the home of the San Francisco Giants, Candlestick Park is among America's most iconic sports facilities. It is a striking example of modernism and was the first reinforced-concrete stadium. The Giants' home for 40 years, it played host to two World Series, including in 1989, when it was infamously delayed by the Loma Prieta Earthquake. Renovated to a dual-purpose stadium in 1970, it became home to the San Francisco 49ers. In 1982, "The Catch," one of the most famous plays in NFL history, heralded the beginning of five Super Bowl Championships. Candlestick Park was also home to the early Oakland Raiders, was visited by Pope John Paul II, and saw the last Beatles concert.
Metro Detroit Boxing
Part of the Images of Sports series
Boxing seemed to spring up in Detroit as early as 1900: heavyweight champ Jim Jeffries and future heavyweight champ Tommy Burns fought that year. With the emergence of Joe Louis in the 1930s and Thomas Mearns in the late 1970s, Motown enjoyed surges of interest in the sport. At the dawn of a new millennium, the presence of three casinos has given the sport another revival of interest in the city. Metro Detroit Boxing showcases over 180 photographs that reveal not only the personalities who have enlivened the sport in the Detroit area, but also the places in which boxers, trainers, managers, and promoters fought, trained, lived, worked, and recreated. Photographs include where Joe Louis went to school, trained, and fought. Various boxing celebrities, including Muhammad Ali, are caught for the camera, socializing with eminent politicians and other figures of the day.
Kingsport Speedway
Part of the Images of Sports series
Kingsport Speedway has hosted many of racing's greatest drivers, whether its track surface was asphalt, red clay, or brushed concrete. The short track, located in East Tennessee, has undergone dramatic changes since 1965 in attempts to keep pace with an ever-evolving motorsports landscape while entertaining three generations of fans. Hall of Fame members have raced and won at Kingsport Speedway, as did a contingent of regional stars. Today, Kingsport Speedway features weekly programs of NASCAR's Whelen All-American Series, which crowns track, state, regional, and national champions.
Gators and Seminoles
A Football Rivalry for the Ages
Part of the Images of Sports series
The University of Florida and Florida State University are two of the best institutions of higher learning in the third most populous state in our country. They cooperate in many academic ventures and have joint programs, especially in the sciences. They do not, however, cooperate in athletic endeavors and, in fact, compete fiercely in all sports, especially football. Since 1958, when they first started playing football against each other, they have met 60 times, twice in postseason bowl games, one of which was for the national championship. The two teams have each had three Heisman Trophy winners and have won the national championship in Division I a total of 13 times: five for Florida and eight for Florida State. This then is the story of one of this country's fiercest football rivalries, complete with outstanding players and coaches, as well as controversies.
East Carolina University Football
Part of the Images of Sports series
East Carolina University played its first intercollegiate football game on October 29, 1932, against the Scots of Presbyterian Junior College. In the more than eight decades that have followed, the ECU Pirates have experienced triumph and tragedy while creating a premier game-day experience. From the team's early days playing on farmland through the decade-long quest to join the Southern Conference, ECU's rise is recounted through these pages. Players are featured alongside legendary and colorful coaches in this history of Pirate football.
Golf in Seattle and Tacoma
by Debbie Sorrentino Kilgren
Part of the Images of Sports series
Golf in Seattle and Tacoma uncovers the local history of this sport through photographs and accounts of events that shaped regional courses. In addition to local favorites, lesser-known stories are recounted. Seattle's Bill Wright became the first African American to win a national championship. Ballard's Karsten Solheim invented the PING golf club. Homer Kelley wrote one of the most influential books on the physics of the golf swing. Golf writer John Dreher located kidnapped George Weyerhaeuser. Minority golfers established the Fir State Golf Club to circumvent rules that prohibited entry into golf tournaments. Plus, this book explores the history of the area's newest course, Chambers Bay.
The Little Brown Jug
The Michigan-Minnesota Football Rivalry
Part of the Images of Sports series
When the Michigan Wolverines arrived in Minneapolis to battle the Minnesota Gophers in 1903, a simple 30¢, five-gallon Red Wing stoneware water jug began football's first rivalry trophy game. The "Little Brown Jug" has been the subject of conspiracy theories, theft, national championships, and most of all pride, with each game's victor prominently displaying the jug on its campus-until it is fought for again.
Hockey in Broome County
Part of the Images of Sports series
The Broome Dusters played their first home game at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena on October 18, 1973. The game was symbolic of what was to come. Down 6-0, they fought back only to lose 8-7. Their fan support followed a similar pattern, lukewarm at first and then ferociously loyal. Hockey became a passion for local fans and has continued to be so to this day. When the Dusters disbanded, they were followed by the Whalers, Rangers, B.C. Iceman, and the Senators. Hockey in Broome County tells this fascinating story with more than 200 photographs and engaging text. Relive the heroics of the Dusters' Rod Bloomfield, "the little guy that everyone picked on." Then skip ahead to the crowd-pleasing toughness of the Whalers' Randy MacGregor and the more recent brilliance of the Senators' Jason Spezza.
Princeton Football
Part of the Images of Sports series
Princeton played the first intercollegiate football game in 1869 and, since then, has gone on to win 28 national championships and nine Ivy League titles. Over the last 140 years, Princeton's Tigers have produced a Heisman Trophy winner, scores of All-Americans, and some of the game's greatest legends. From soldier of fortune Johnny Poe to tragic hero Hobey Baker to Charlie Gogolak, one of the first soccer-style kickers, Princeton Football captures the players, coaches, games, and stadiums that have made the Tigers one of the most storied programs in all of college football.
Hockey in Syracuse
Part of the Images of Sports series
Hockey in Syracuse retraces the history of the eight professional teams that have taken the ice in Syracuse in six different leagues since 1930. Each team has its own colorful story, beginning with the Syracuse Stars of the International Hockey League. The "Twinklers" have the distinction of capturing the first Calder Cup ever awarded. Other teams included the Warriors (1951-1954), the Braves (1962-1963), the Blazers (1967-1977), the Eagles (1974-1975), the Firebirds (1979-1980), and the Hornets (1980-1981). The present-day Crunch brought hockey back in 1994 and have provided Syracuse fans with thrills on the ice ever since. Salt City teams have won four playoff championships and have set several all-time professional hockey records that still stand today. Hockey Hall of Famers from these teams include Keith "Bingo" Allen, Gord Drillon, Phil Esposito, Syd Howe, and Dave "Sweeney" Schriner. Syracuse truly has a rich hockey heritage.
Hockey in Springfield
Part of the Images of Sports series
Hockey in Syracuse retraces the history of the eight professional teams that have taken the ice in Syracuse in six different leagues since 1930. Each team has its own colorful story, beginning with the Syracuse Stars of the International Hockey League. The "Twinklers" have the distinction of capturing the first Calder Cup ever awarded. Other teams included the Warriors (1951-1954), the Braves (1962-1963), the Blazers (1967-1977), the Eagles (1974-1975), the Firebirds (1979-1980), and the Hornets (1980-1981). The present-day Crunch brought hockey back in 1994 and have provided Syracuse fans with thrills on the ice ever since. Salt City teams have won four playoff championships and have set several all-time professional hockey records that still stand today. Hockey Hall of Famers from these teams include Keith "Bingo" Allen, Gord Drillon, Phil Esposito, Syd Howe, and Dave "Sweeney" Schriner. Syracuse truly has a rich hockey heritage.
Warren Ballpark
Part of the Images of Sports series
Author Mike Anderson is the historian and founding member of the Friends of Warren Ballpark in Bisbee. He is also the captain of the Bisbee Black Sox vintage baseball club.
The New York Rangers
Part of the Images of Sports series
For more than three quarters of a century, the New York Rangers have been delighting hockey fans-New Yorkers and suburbanites alike-with a classy brand of entertainment that has no equal. The team's history includes four Stanley Cups, scores of individual stars, and countless magic moments. All of the excitement and drama of these triumphs is captured in The New York Rangers. This book salutes not only the Rangers' tradition of excellence but also the masterful talents of the photojournalists who have chronicled the team since its birth in 1926.
Brooklyn Dodgers
Part of the Images of Sports series
If there was ever a place in America where a city and its baseball team were as close as family, it was Brooklyn. The legacy of this relationship comes down to us in stories of childhoods spent at Ebbets Field and in the stories of Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey, whose courage changed the face of America. Baseball in Brooklyn goes back to the beginning of the sport, when a young city embraced a new game and, like missionaries, carried it to the nation. This book tells the story of that beginning and concludes with the heart-wrenching move of the franchise to the West Coast after the 1957 season. Brooklyn Dodgers carries us from the birth of baseball in the streets of Brooklyn through the decades in Flatbush when Ebbets Field was the center of the Brooklyn community. That was a time when the players lived in the neighborhoods not far from the ballpark, side by side with their followers. Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges, and Johnny Podres all make appearances in this exciting selection of photographs. A large part of Brooklyn Dodgers is dedicated to those teams of the 1950s and their irrepressible fans.
The Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games
Part of the Images of Sports series
The Games of the XXIII Olympiad, Los Angeles 1984, reimagined the Olympic Games and reinvigorated a troubled Olympic movement. Its innovations included the following: a nationwide torch relay that yielded millions for children's charities; an arts festival that surpassed any prior efforts; the first Opening Ceremony featuring a professional theatrical extravaganza; new sports disciplines, such as distance races for women, windsurfing, synchronized swimming, heptathlon, and rhythmic gymnastics; an army of volunteers; vast increases in sponsorship and television revenue while avoiding commercialization and keeping expenses low using existing facilities; and a financial surplus of over $232 million, which has endowed sports for youngsters in the Los Angeles area to this day-all through a privately financed organizing committee without government contributions.
Hydroplane Racing in Seattle
Part of the Images of Sports series
Hydroplane racing burst onto the Seattle scene in 1950, and local sports fans embraced it with a passion that is hard to imagine. Throughout the early 1950s, thousands of fans flocked to Lake Washington to watch classic races between Seattle's Slo-mo-shun boats and a fleet of East Coast challengers. For over 40 years, hydroplane racing was synonymous with summertime in Seattle. During its golden age, when "hydro fever" was at its height, drivers like Bill Muncey, Ron Musson, and Mira Slovak were sports heroes on par with today's Ken Griffey Jr. or Ichiro. Seattle became the "hydro" capital of the nation.
Hockey in Charlotte
Part of the Images of Sports series
Charlotte is considered the birthplace of professional hockey in the South. The city of Charlotte, home of the Checkers (originally known as the Clippers), is the greatest Southern town in the history of professional hockey, winning the most play-off championships: three Eastern Hockey League titles, two Southern Hockey League titles, and one East Coast Hockey League title. Several Charlotte players and coaches starred in the National Hockey League--including Walter "Turk" Broda, John Brophy, Fred Creighton, Bill "Cowboy" Flett, Mike Hartman, Pat Kelly, Jackie Leclair, and John Muckler.
University of Nebraska-Omaha Football
Part of the Images of Sports series
From its inaugural season in 1911 through its final season in 2011, the University of Nebraska-Omaha football team always faced an uphill struggle in terms of resources. The program reached a pinnacle in 1954 with its lone unbeaten season. Many other teams and individuals also found great success, winning conference titles and bowl games and moving onto professional careers. Just because the school no longer offers football, it does not mean that the thousands of men who played for the Mavericks from 1971 to 2011, the Indians from 1939 to 1971, and the Cardinals and the Maroons before should not be remembered and honored for the years they poured their hearts and souls into the Omaha football program.
University of Maine Ice Hockey
Part of the Images of Sports series
Maine's long winters would seem the ideal place for hockey to develop, but blistering winter conditions, frigid temperatures, and windchill made the sport unpleasant and even dangerous. The problem was not solved until 1976, when Harold Alfond donated a large sum of money for the establishment of a suitable facility for indoor hockey. University of Maine Ice Hockey tells the story of how a small school from Maine with a student body of under 12,000 rose to be one of the top-tier hockey programs in the nation, one of the great success stories in modern collegiate sports.
Skiing in Colorado
Part of the Images of Sports series
Skiing in Colorado evolved from a transportation necessity to a world-class recreational pursuit. The first documented use of skis in Colorado occurred in the winter of 1859. As the popularity of the activity grew, ski resorts opened throughout the state. After World War II, Colorado saw a boom in the industry along with advancements in equipment, lifts, and safety; the development of ski schools; and the opening of new ski areas. This volume includes photographs from the Colorado Snowsports Museum that illustrate and celebrate the history of skiing in Colorado.
Indiana's Lost Speedways and Legendary Drivers
Part of the Images of Sports series
From the Indianapolis 500 Motor Speedway to the dirt oval tracks in small Indiana towns, thousands of Hoosiers frequent the raceway of their choice each year. Today, there are an estimated 40 asphalt, clay, and dirt-covered oval tracks in Indiana where race fans cheer local drivers, often navigating jalopies pieced together from junkyard parts, to victory lane. Though many racetracks remain in operation throughout the state, dozens have fallen to the wayside over the past 100 years. Forever in remembrance are the famous and not so famous Indiana-born drivers who thrilled fans at those now defunct tracks. Evansville native Charlie Wiggins won the Gold and Glory Sweepstakes four times. Bob Kinser from Bloomington raced over 40 years and is an inductee of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, and Tom Cherry of Muncie won the Little 500 four times.
Minnesota-Wisconsin College Football Rivalry
Part of the Images of Sports series
There are many great rivalries in Division I college football, but only one can say it has been played the longest: Minnesota and Wisconsin. Since 1890, the Golden Gophers and Badgers have faced each other in the annual game known as the Border Battle. Early teams competed for the coveted "Slab of Bacon" trophy until 1948, when the winning team would take home Paul Bunyan's Axe, a tradition that continues to this day. Images of Sports: Minnesota-Wisconsin College Football Rivalry features magnificent games through the years, plus stories and images of remarkable players and coaches. Included are the historic national championships, Rose Bowls, All-Americans, and even fantasy teams, plus the involvement of presidents Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy in this enduring football rivalry.
South Carolina Sports Legends
Part of the Images of Sports series
South Carolina Sports Legends celebrates the golden anniversary of the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. Legendary figures include football luminaries Banks McFadden, Doc Blanchard, "Deacon" Jones, Steve Wadiak, and George Rogers; basketball hotshots Frank Selvy, John Roche, and Alex English; baseball stars Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Bobby Richardson; coaching giants John Heisman, Frank McGuire, Frank Howard, Danny Ford, and John McKissisck; NASCAR legends David Pearson and Cale Yarborough; boxing champion "Smokin' Joe" Frazier; golfer Beth Daniel; Thoroughbred trainer Frank Whiteley; contributors Herman Helms and Bob Fulton; and barrier-breakers Althea Gibson, Lucille Godbold, and Willie Jeffries.
The Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame
Part of the Images of Sports series
The Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame (PABHOF) was established in 1958 to honor the elite performers of the state's boxing history. The first five-person class of inductees included ring legends Billy Conn, Harry Greb, Tommy Loughran, Philadelphia Jack O'Brien, and Lew Tendler. The PABHOF continued to induct outstanding participants of the sport who either hailed from the state or had an impact on the Pennsylvania boxing story. By 2023, the list of honorees numbered 438 and included champions, contenders, club fighters, trainers, managers, promoters, cutmen, and other key members of the boxing community.
John DiSanto is a boxing historian and writer. He coauthored the books Boxing in Atlantic City and Grace and Grit: Boxing at Shuler's Gym . DiSanto, the founder and editor of PhillyBoxingHistory.com, is a New Jersey Boxing Hall of Famer and is the chairman of the PABHOF. For this work, he has compiled photographs and profiles of many noteworthy PABHOF members as well as a complete listing of every person inducted from 1958 to 2023.
Skiing in the Mad River Valley
Part of the Images of Sports series
In 1948, the first skiers to experience the steep and twisting downhill trails of Mad River Glen had to traverse muddy or frozen dirt roads to get to their destination. The warmth of a country inn was a comfort on those cold winter nights and continues as a hallmark of the Mad River Valley today. Even with the condo boom that developed after the opening of Sugarbush on Christmas Day in 1958, little has upset the ambience of the 20-mile-long valley. The valley developed a distinct personality, attracting "ski bums" who exchanged urban pressures for a laid-back lifestyle that continues today.
Wrestling in Akron
Part of the Images of Sports series
From the time it was founded in 1825, Akron was a town on the move. Once known as the "Rubber Capitol of the World," it brought droves of new workers to downtown and the suburban areas. With expansion came a need for entertainment, and wrestling was there for the multitudes. From the contrast of high school amateurs on mats to snarling villains and heroes in the professional ring, the sport thrived. There were the early days of traveling carnivals, with circuit-riding wrestlers who would take on all comers from the audience, to secretive fights set by shifty promoters in railroad yards with onlookers placing bets. There were the glory days of the Akron Armory--offering the crowd a chance to see such luminaries as the cigar-chewing Killer Tim Brooks, the smiling Johnny Powers, or the devious Don Kent--and beyond after the famed arena closed.