This book provides biographical information for 2200 American and Canadian individuals representing over 50 competitive sports. Olympic gold medalists, members of major sports Halls of Fame, and individuals responsible for major innovations in their sport are included. To this mix, Hickok adds a handful of people he finds personally interesting (e.g., a one-legged gymnast named George Eyser merits an entry). The major professional and college sports receive the best coverage, and entries are written with an emphasis on the subjects' connections to their sports. Personal details are added to pique the reader's interest. This title, whose closest competitors are 30 years out of date, collects in a single volume information that is otherwise scattered and hard to access. As such, it belongs in most medium to large reference collections and should be considered for circulating collections in public libraries where there is a large demand for sports-related material.
Terry Madden, Boise State Univ. Lib., Id.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Claiming to be the first single-volume biographical reference source for sports in more than 60 years, A Who's Who of Sports Champions lists in a single alphabet U.S. and Canadian champion athletes, plus foreign athletes who have won a major championship in North America. The 2,200 entries cover more than 50 different sports at all levels, including professional, college, and Olympic play. Each entry runs from approximately 60 to more than 1,000 words. Who's included? All players, coaches, and managers in the major team-sports halls of fame, winners of major sports awards, and athletes who have led a league in a major statistical category or who are high on all-time career statistics. All Olympians who have won two or more gold medals are included. Unlike most books with who's who in the title, this one includes such deceased persons as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Each entry is accompanied by an icon identifying the sport played. Entries give birth and death dates; statistics are included in the narrative. An index by sport enables the reader to find the champions in a particular sport.
This book is fun to read since many of the entries contain anecdotal material in addition to the statistical. Since it is issued in paperback at $19.95, a library could acquire it for the circulating collection, especially if the six-volume Biographical Dictionary of American Sports (Greenwood, 1987^-95) is already owned. A Who's Who of Sports Champions is highly recommended as an addition to both the reference and circulating collections.
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