Great American Sports Book: A Casual but Voluminous Look at American Spectator Sports from the Civil War to the Present Time [Hardcover]

George Gipe (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 570 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (November 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385130910
• ISBN-13: 978-0385130912
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,626,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars What a Find!, August 28, 2011

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Ohioan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great American Sports Book: A Casual but Voluminous Look at American Spectator Sports from the Civil War to the Present Time (Hardcover)

I stumbled across this book in the library one day and began to read it and couldn't put it down. The information is organized according to year, in two columns down each page. The author merely lists interesting facts about sporting events -- but these events and facts are fascinating. For example: oared-boat racing in Pittsburgh in the 1840s. In the year 1880 professional baseball reduces the number of balls needed to earn a walk: from 9 balls to 8! In 1890 the men's 100-yeard dash record is set at 9.8 seconds (previously 10.25 seconds). In 1899 ping pong is invented by James Gibb, an engineer. And so on. Fascinating information, fun browsing.