This work brings together 16 of the best presentations on sport from the conferences of the Popular Culture Association. Topics include baseball (the 1941 World Series, the career of Stan Musial, Italian Americans in the game, and Japanese players), golf (Tiger Woods, and the culture wars over women at Augusta National), football (integration at UCLA, the controversy over the Indian mascot at Florida State, and the creation of the New Orleans Saints), auto racing (the revival of dirt tracks, racing’s roots in Virginia, NASCAR in Eastern Iowa, and the NASCAR fan), and sports and men (marketing in hockey, social class and fishing, and Muhammad Ali’s last stand). Together the essays demonstrate that sports are deeply woven into the fabric of American culture—a tapestry of society with all its heroism and triumph, failures and flaws. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

James A. Vlasich is professor emeritus of history in the Department of History and Sociology at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. He is also the Sports Area chair of the Popular Culture Association.

Edited by James A. Vlasich

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 236
Bibliographic Info: index
Copyright Date: 2006
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2397-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0550-0
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii
Preface     1
Introduction     3

PART I. BASEBALL
1. The Fireman and the Mitt: The 1941 New York Yankees-Brooklyn Dodgers World Series      13
2. Eight Ways of Looking at a Musial      28

PART II. BASEBALL AND ETHNICITY
3. “Poos ’Em Up, Tony!”—Italian Americans and Baseball      38
4. Ichiro, Godzilla, and the American Dream: Japanese Players in Major League Baseball      52

PART III. GOLF
5. Tiger Woods: Golf’’s Modern Catalyst for Change      60
6. The Masters on Trial: Culture Wars Over Women Members at Augusta National Golf Club      71

PART IV. FOOTBALL
7. “On the Threshold of Broad and Rich Football Pastures”: Integrated College Football at UCLA (1938–1941)      86
8. Holy War on the Football Field: Religion and the Florida State University Indian Mascot Controversy     104
9. New Orleans Becomes a Big League City: The NFL-AFL Merger and the Creation of the New Orleans Saints      119

PART V. CAR RACING
10. Weekend Warriors: The Survival and Revival of American Dirt-Track Racing      132
11. Racing’s Roots in the Virginia Landscape      143
12. Kickin’ Up Dirt and Puttin’ Down Roots: Keith Simmons and NASCAR’s Dodge Weekly Racing Series in Eastern Iowa      153
13. The NASCAR Fan as Emotional Stakeholder: Changing the Sport, Changing the Fan Culture      166

PART VI. SPORTS NOT FOR MEN ONLY
14. Marketing Multiple Mythologies of Masculinity: Television Advertising and the National Hockey League      180
15. Social Class and Fishing: Fly Fishers vs. the Other     200
16. Ali’s Last Hurrah      207

About the Contributors      215
Index      219