British Baseball and the West Ham Club

British Baseball and the West Ham Club
Author: Josh Chetwynd
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2006-12-15
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0786425946

Few people associate baseball with Great Britain, but for a brief period in the 1930s, America's pastime nearly gained a foothold with the British populace. Though never as popular as the beloved football clubs, or even greyhound races, baseball teams like the West Ham Hammers developed intense local followings, and played some excellent baseball--in 1936, the Hammers defeated the U.S. Olympic team. The outbreak of World War II ended the rising popularity of baseball among Britons, but speculation remains that, under different circumstances, British baseball could have flourished. This book traces the history of baseball as a popular British sport, concentrating on one particularly successful and notable team, the West Ham Hammers. It places the West Ham club within the historical context of 1930s Great Britain, and covers team management, major players (e.g., Roland Gladu, the "Canadian Babe Ruth"), and the fans, many of whom still cling fondly to faded memories of the club and West Ham Stadium. Eight appendices include team rosters, British baseball rules, and year-by-year records from 1890 to 2005.

West Ham United Miscellany

West Ham United Miscellany
Author: Brian Belton
Publisher: Kings Road Publishing
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2008-11-07
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1782198814

Packed with information and little-known facts about the club, the players, the managers and the fans, it cannot fail to please anyone whose obsession is all things claret and blue - and may even surprise a few who thought they knew it all! For many years, the terraces, the pubs and the living rooms of West Ham fans have buzzed with debate, speculation, opinions and laughter. Who was West Ham's best manager? who was their worst? Who should form the greatest-ever Upton Park XI? And who should be included in the worst? These kinds of questions and hundreds like them are answered within the pages of this informative, light-hearted book. From young to old, from die-hard, all-weather supporter to armchair fan, there is something in this collection for everyone. Author Brian Belton is one of the most prolific historians of West Ham United and has drawn on a lifetime of reserach to put this book together. With quotes from some of the greatest Hammers of all times (and their opponents!), Upton Park chants from through the years and much, much more, this unique book provides fans with a Hammers bible they wouldn't dare be without!

Baseball and Cultural Heritage

Baseball and Cultural Heritage
Author: Gregory Ramshaw
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2022-10-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 081307021X

The influence of baseball heritage in society and culture Baseball’s past has been lauded, romanticized, and idealized, and much has been written about both the sport and its history. This is the first volume to explore the understudied side of baseball—how its heritage is understood, interpreted, commodified, and performed for various purposes today. These essays reveal how baseball’s heritage can be a source of great enjoyment and inspiration, tracing its influence on constructed environments, such as stadiums and monuments, and food and popular culture. The contributors discuss how its heritage can be used to address social, political, and economic aims and agendas and can reveal tensions about whose past is remembered and whose is laid aside. Contributors address race and racism in the sport, representations of women in baseball, ballparks as repositories for baseball’s heritage, and the role of museums in generating the game’s heritage narrative. Providing perspectives on the social impact and influence of baseball in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom, Baseball and Cultural Heritage shows how the performance of baseball heritage can reflect the culture and heritage of a nation. A volume in the series Cultural Heritage Studies, edited by Paul A. Shackel

The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2009-2010

The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2009-2010
Author: William M. Simons
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2014-01-10
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0786486317

The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2009-2010 is an anthology of scholarly essays that utilize the national game to examine topics whose import extends beyond the ballpark and constitute a significant academic contribution to baseball literature. The essays represent sixteen of the leading presentations from the two most recent proceedings of the annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, held, respectively, on June 3-5, 2009, and June 2-4, 2010. The anthology is divided into five parts: Baseball as Culture: Dance, Literature, National Character, and Myth; Constructing Baseball Heroes; Blacks in Baseball: From Segregation to Conflicted Integration; The Enterprise of Baseball: Economics and Entrepreneurs; and Genesis and Legacy of Baseball Scholarship, which features an essay written by the co-creator of baseball scholarship, Dorothy Seymour Mills.

The Empire Strikes Out

The Empire Strikes Out
Author: Robert Elias
Publisher: New Press, The
Total Pages: 451
Release: 2010-01-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1595585281

Is the face of American baseball throughout the world that of goodwill ambassador or ugly American? Has baseball crafted its own image or instead been at the mercy of broader forces shaping our society and the globe? The Empire Strikes Out gives us the sweeping story of how baseball and America are intertwined in the export of “the American way.” From the Civil War to George W. Bush and the Iraq War, we see baseball's role in developing the American empire, first at home and then beyond our shores. And from Albert Spalding and baseball's first World Tour to Bud Selig and the World Baseball Classic, we witness the globalization of America's national pastime and baseball's role in spreading the American dream. Besides describing baseball's frequent and often surprising connections to America's presence around the world, Elias assesses the effects of this relationship both on our foreign policies and on the sport itself and asks whether baseball can play a positive role or rather only reinforce America's dominance around the globe. Like Franklin Foer in How Soccer Explains the World, Elias is driven by compelling stories, unusual events, and unique individuals. His seamless integration of original research and compelling analysis makes this a baseball book that's about more than just sports.

Baseball in Europe

Baseball in Europe
Author: Josh Chetwynd
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 391
Release: 2019-10-18
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1476679126

 With the success of The Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, baseball in Europe has begun to receive more attention. But few realize just how far back the sport's history stretches on the continent. Baseball has been played in Europe since the 1870s, and in several countries the players and devoted followers have included royalty, Hall of Famers from the U.S. major leagues, and captains of industry. Featuring approximately 80 new interviews and 70 new photos and images, this second edition builds extensively on the previous edition's country-by-country histories of more than 40 European nations. Also included are two new appendices on European players signed by MLB organizations and European countries' performance in worldwide rankings.

Sports around the World [4 volumes]

Sports around the World [4 volumes]
Author: John Nauright
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 2056
Release: 2012-04-06
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 159884301X

This multivolume set is much more than a collection of essays on sports and sporting cultures from around the world: it also details how and why sports are played wherever they exist, and examines key charismatic athletes from around the world who have transcended their sports. Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice provides a unique, global overview of sports and sports cultures. Unlike most works of this type, this book provides both essays that examine general topics, such as globalization and sport, international relations and sport, and tourism and sport, as well as essays on sports history, culture, and practice in world regions—for example, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and Oceania—in order to provide a more global perspective. These essays are followed by entries on specific sports, world athletes, stadiums and arenas, famous games and matches, and major controversies. Spanning topics as varied as modern professional cycling to the fictional movie Rocky to the deadly ball game of the ancient Mayans, the first three volumes contain overview essays and entries for specific sports that have been and are currently practiced around the world. The fourth volume provides a compendium of information on the winners of major sporting competitions from around the world. Readers will gain invaluable insights into how sports have been enjoyed throughout all of human culture, and more fully comprehend their cultural contexts. The entries provide suggestions for further reading on each topic—helpful to general readers, students with school projects, university students and academics alike. Additionally, the four-volume Sports Around the World spotlights key charismatic athletes who have changed a sport or become more than just an outstanding player.

War Hammers I

War Hammers I
Author: Brian Belton
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2014-08-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 0750958669

This book tells the fascinating story of West Ham United Football Club during the First World War, charting the relationship between war and football by following the pursuits of West Ham from 1913/14 to 1918/19. In many ways, it was their success in wartime competitions that led to them being accepted into the Football League in 1919, paving the way for subsequent FA Cup and League success. As well as a football story, this book is about the impact of the war on Britain. It documents the social implications of war on Londoners and the social and political influence of football, the armed forces and civilians alike. Looking closely at the 13th Service Battalion, also known as the ‘West Ham Pals’, the book includes such players as George Kay, Ted Hufton, and their manager and coach, Syd King and Charlie Paynter respectively.

Arlie Latham

Arlie Latham
Author: L.M. Sutter
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2012-10-06
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 078649168X

One of early baseball's most popular celebrities, Arlie Latham played for the St. Louis Browns in the 1880s. A brainy hitter and base-runner, he was also the sport's brashest, funniest player, his "fresh" personality bringing him as much trouble as reward. He played with the 19th century's greatest names, and was friends with everyone from King Kelly to King George V. He parlayed his stardom into a vaudeville career and the first official major league coaching job. In his fifties he carried the game he loved into world war to cheer Allied troops and in his seventies went to work for the Yankees. Arlie Latham's baseball odyssey is made more compelling by the parade of players, gamblers, boxers, actors, women and mascots that passes through it, providing a unique glimpse into America's game and the people who loved it.

East End Heroes, Stateside Kings - The Amazing True Story of Three Footballer Players Who Changed the World

East End Heroes, Stateside Kings - The Amazing True Story of Three Footballer Players Who Changed the World
Author: Brian Belton
Publisher: Kings Road Publishing
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2008-01-07
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1782195424

On 1 April 1972 West Ham United made sporting history by becoming the first club from the highest echelon of English football to field three black players in League competition. What seems commonplace now was unheard of at the time. Their manager, Ron Greenwood, picked: Clive Charles (born in Canning Town, just a few miles from the Hammers' Upton Park home); Ade Coker (from Nigeria); and Clyde Best, who had made his way to London's Docklands from Bermuda. Together, these three players smashed a social barrier playing for this most romantic and enigmatic of clubs.East End Heroes, Stateside Kings tells of the origins of these players, that fateful day in '72 and their lives over the following 30 years as they became pioneering figures in the success of the North American Soccer League.After being named by Pele in the all-time greatest NASL team, Charles managed the leading College side Portland Timbers, guided the American Women to World Cup glory and achieved historic results in Olympic competition with the US Under-23s.Coker was another leading light in the modern American game and represented the USA at international level, overcoming devastating injury problems.Best grew to be a legend in the NASL and, along with Charles, was one of only four former West Ham players to manage at international level when he took over the Bermudian national side. He has recently been awarded an MBE.Painstakingly researched and including a foreword and interview with Kenny Lynch, one of Britain's best-loved entertainers and lifelong West Ham fan, this book tells the story of three young black men who genuinely broke the mould.