Once in a Lifetime: the Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos

Once in a Lifetime: the Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos
Author: Gavin Newsham
Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2007-12-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1555848699

The “compelling . . . detailed and thoughtful account” of the rise and fall of the Cosmos, New York’s first superstar soccer team (Kirkus Reviews). In the summer of 1977, soccer was poised to finally conquer America and the New York Cosmos were the premier sports team of the city. They boasted the greatest roster of the world’s best players—notably, Brazil’s international sensation Pelé—ever assembled for any sport. For a time, they were the darlings of the press. Their first game was televised in twenty-two different countries. They were favorites at Studio 54. They partied behind the velvet ropes with Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger. Less a growing sports phenom than a pop-culture happening, the hottest ticket in town drew the likes of Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, Henry Kissinger, and Robert Redford. Warner Brothers chairman and Cosmos owner Steve Ross may not have known a goalkeeper from a zookeeper, but in a city awash in celebrity and decadence, Ross knew spectacle. He also knew how to make a dollar, and stars. But as the Cosmos players soon became enmeshed in a world of millionaires, gangsters, groupies, glamour, power struggles, alcoholic excess, drugs, disco and very public fistfights, they were set for a heartbreaking and inevitable fall. “Colorful and keen . . . [and] detail-rich, this unlikely drama of a quintessentially American flirtation” (Publishers Weekly), “is a gripping evocation of a glorious but brief moment when the beautiful game had the US entranced” (Time Out London).

A History of American Sports in 100 Objects

A History of American Sports in 100 Objects
Author: Cait Murphy
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2016-10-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 0465097758

Beautifully designed and carefully curated, a fascinating collection of the things that shaped the way we live and play in America What artifact best captures the spirit of American sports? The bat Babe Ruth used to hit his allegedly called shot, or the ball on which Pete Rose wrote, "I'm sorry I bet on baseball"? Could it be Lance Armstrong's red-white-and-blue bike, now tarnished by doping and hubris? Or perhaps its ancestor, the nineteenth-century safety bicycle that opened an avenue of previously unknown freedom to women? The jerseys of rivals Larry Bird and Magic Johnson? Or the handball that Abraham Lincoln threw against a wall as he waited for news of his presidential nomination? From nearly forgotten heroes like Tad Lucas (rodeo) and Tommy Kono (weightlifting) to celebrities like Amelia Earhart, Muhammad Ali, and Michael Phelps, Cait Murphy tells the stories of the people, events, and things that have forged the epic of American sports, in both its splendor and its squalor. Stories of heroism and triumph rub up against tales of discrimination and cheating. These objects tell much more than just stories about great games-they tell the story of the nation. Eye-opening and exuberant, A History of American Sports in 100 Objects shows how the games Americans play are woven into the gloriously infuriating fabric of America itself.

Legacies of Great Men in World Soccer

Legacies of Great Men in World Soccer
Author: Kausik Bandyopadhyay
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2017-10-02
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1317399676

Soccer, the world’s most popular mass spectator sport, gives birth to great achievers on the field of play all the time. While some of them become heroes and stars during their playing career, transforming themselves into national as well as global icons, very few come to be remembered as all-time greats. They leave an enduring legacy and thereby claim to be legends by their own rights. While the rise and achievements of these soccer greats have drawn considerable attention from scholars across the world, their legacies across time and space have mostly been overlooked. This volume intends to reconstruct the significance of the legacies of such great men of world soccer particularly in a globalized world. It will attempt to show that these luminous personalities not only represent their national identity at the global stage, but also highlight the proven role of the players or coaches in projecting a global image, cutting across affiliations of nation, region, class, community, religion, gender and so on. In other words, the true heroes, icons and legends of the world’s most popular sport have always floated at a transnational global space, transcending the limits of space, identity or culture of a nation. This book was published as a special issue of Soccer and Society.

The Last Sultan

The Last Sultan
Author: Robert Greenfield
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2012-11-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1416558403

As the founder and head of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun signed and/or recorded many of the greatest musical artists of all time, from Ray Charles to Kid Rock. Working alongside his older brother, Nesuhi, one of the preeminent jazz producers of all time, and the legendary Jerry Wexler, Ertegun transformed Atlantic Records from a small independent record label into a hugely profitable multinational corporation. In successive generations, he also served as a mentor to record-business tyros like Phil Spector, David Geffen, and Lyor Cohen. Brilliant, cultured, and irreverent, Ertegun was as renowned for his incredible sense of personal style and nonstop A-list social life as his work in the studio. Blessed with impeccable taste and brilliant business acumen, he brought rock 'n roll into the mainstream while creating the music that became the sound track for the lives of multiple generations.--From publisher description.

Football FAQ

Football FAQ
Author: Dave Thompson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 380
Release: 2015-02-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1495025934

Football FAQ is a fast, furious, and opinionated guide to the world's most popular game, an all-encompassing history that introduces readers to the biggest clubs, the greatest games, the finest players, and the fiercest rivalries. From Sunderland to Seattle, from Berlin to Buenos Aires, Football FAQ delves into every aspect of the sport, tracing its development from a victorious Anglo-Saxon army kicking the heads of their fallen enemies around a field, to the multibillion-dollar industry of today, and every stop in between. Record breakers and giant killers alike file through the pages, illustrating the beautiful game as it is played at every level, from the World Cup Final to the village green, with fully updated commentary on all the world's major competitions, including the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Soccer FAQ

Soccer FAQ
Author: Dave Thompson
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Total Pages: 380
Release: 2015-02-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1617136255

(FAQ). Soccer FAQ is a fast, furious, and opinionated guide to the world's most popular game, an all-encompassing history that introduces readers to the biggest clubs, the greatest games, the finest players, and the fiercest rivalries. From Sunderland to Seattle, from Berlin to Buenos Aires, Soccer FAQ delves into every aspect of the sport, tracing its development from a victorious Anglo-Saxon army kicking the heads of their fallen enemies around a field, to the multibillion-dollar industry of today-and every stop in between. Record breakers and giant killers alike file through the pages, illustrating the beautiful game as it is played at every level, from the World Cup Final to the village green, with fully updated commentary on all the world's major competitions, including the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Historical Dictionary of Soccer

Historical Dictionary of Soccer
Author: Tom Dunmore
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2011-09-16
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 0810871882

The Historical Dictionary of Soccer presents a comprehensive history of the game through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, numerous appendixes that list everything from the FIFA World Player of the Year to FIFA World Cup Winners and Runners-Up to the UEFA Ch...

Great Expectations

Great Expectations
Author: Christopher B. Doob
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 428
Release: 2018-05-20
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1351039008

In Great Expectations: The Sociology of Survival and Success in Organized Team Sports, sociological analysis proves to be a powerful ally for grasping how the sports world unfolds for team players, providing a range of sociological ideas and concepts that extend throughout the book. The text boxes and class discussion sections help summarize key issues, linking important sociological concepts to the topics at hand. The eight chapters begin with an introduction and then detail athletes’ activities at different stages in their development.

Long-Range Goals

Long-Range Goals
Author: Beau Dure
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2010-05-31
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1597975095

All over the world, soccer is known as “the Beautiful Game” and is the most popular sport. But in the United States, professional soccer still has a hard time catching on. It has had some successes here. The American Soccer League of the 1920s, Pélé and other international stars in the North American Soccer League's glamorous 1970s, the indoor soccer phenomenon of the 1980s, and the U.S. women's win in the Women's World Cup of 1999 all hinted that the American public is ready to embrace pro soccer. In its short history, Major League Soccer (MLS) has survived and even started to thrive, drawing steady crowds and loyal fans. In Long-Range Goals, Beau Dure profiles teams and players, including D.C. United, the Los Angeles Galaxy, Landon Donovan, Freddy Adu, and Coach Bruce Arena, who are all vital to MLS. Some of the triumphs include an expansion of the league and its ownership group, the contribution of MLS players to a strong U.S. World Cup showing in 2002, and the construction of soccer stadiums nationwide. At the same time, MLS has occasionally stumbled, during costly legal battles with players and seeing two teams fold, but its investors have remained strong, figured out how to make money, and support the league. From the league's formation in 1993 to the David Beckham era, this book reveals all the action on and off the pitch: the politics, the lawsuits, the management of its teams, and the savvy business deals that helped MLS rebound. It also revels in the big personalities of its stars, the grace of its utility players, and the obstacles the league faces in meeting its long-range goals.

Beach Soccer Histories

Beach Soccer Histories
Author: Lee McGowan
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 118
Release: 2023-09-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000960811

Beach Soccer Histories is the first text to consider the sport as a historical, social and cultural phenomenon, to define its traditions, and present leading research on the development and significance of football played on sand. Following a period of expansive, rapid growth, beach soccer is an internationally governed professional sport, which has come a long way from its origins in Rio de Janeiro in the 1920s. The sand-based variant is distinguished from football by a range of factors, including the dramatic impact of the playing surface. Yet, the game has undergone very little academic scrutiny. This research adopts and adapts qualitative methods related to oral history and football studies, including extensive archival research, semi-structured interviews, and textual and thematic analyses. As it looks beneath the game’s contemporary reach, it considers origins, organisations – including FIFA’s influence – and the beach cultures that underpin its sporting and historical development. This the most comprehensive exploration of beach soccer and a century of its existence. Beach Soccer Histories examines the game’s historical development, critical moments and movements in its progress, successes and contentions, and its contemporary state of play with a view to deepening and advancing our understanding of the game.