How Boston Played: Sport, Recreation, And Community, 1856-1915 (Sports & Popular Culture) [Paperback]

Stephen Hardy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 2003 | Series: Sports & Popular Culture

Originally published in 1982, this multifaceted work played a pivotal role in bringing sport history within the broader scope of social history. In placing the rise of sport in Boston within the context of urban history, community building, and dynamic political, ethnic, religious, class, labor, and leisure issues, this book helped set a new paradigm for sports historians. Part of the University of Tennessee Press Sport and Popular Culture series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Univ Tennessee Press; 1 edition (April 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572332182
• ISBN-13: 978-1572332188
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,752,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat misleading, September 24, 2009

By 

M. Bulger (Boston MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Boston Played: Sport, Recreation, And Community, 1856-1915 (Sports & Popular Culture) (Paperback)

I gave this book a three star, fair to middlin' grade. The title isn't totally misleading, but I would have put sport last in order of coverage. There's a lot of academic talk about past sociological work and general social coverage, but not a lot about the history of sporting activities. Maybe this was written too soon, but there's a lot known about the history of baseball now that I would have been interested in reading. One hundred years ago, Boston had huge crowds for ice skating on every available pond, curling teams, soccer leagues, and large numbers of baseball teams sponsored by community groups, employers, churches, etc. This book is OK for what it covers, but it does not tell you how Boston played in the post-Civil War years.