Format: lecture and discussion
Office Hours: Holden Hall 48: 9:0010:00 MWF & by arrangement.
Required Texts: all are paperback
Rader, Benjamin American Sports: From the Age of Folk Games to the Age of Spectators, PrenticeHall, 3rd. Edition, 1996.
Cayleff, Susan, Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias (U. Illinois Press)
Euchner, Charles C., Playing the Field: Why Sports Teams Move and Cities Fight to Keep Them (John Hopkins U. Press)
Guttmann, Allen, A Whole New Ball Game: An Interpretation of American Sports, (North Carolina U. Press.)
Smith Ronald A., Sports and Freedom: The Rise of BigTime College Athletics, (Oxford U. Press)
Examinations & grade breakdown:
Test One: Feb. 14, 1997 (30% ) Test Two: March 26, 1997 (30%)
Final: May 5, 1997 (1:30 pm -4:00 pm) 40%
All Makeups: April 30
NOTE: This is an upper level university class and students are expected to conduct themselves as responsible adults in such matters as adding and dropping, attendance, punctuality and class
demeanor. Being late for this class may cost the offender as much as 5% of his semester grade for each instance. If you can't come on time, don't come. Tape recorders are not permitted in this class without the consent of the instructor who rarely gives such consent. Any instance of cheating will result in an automatic F for the course and the instructor reserves the right to pursue the matter further.
Tentative Schedule History 3338 Spring 1997
Jan. 13 INTRODUCTION
A. Why Sports History?
B. Poodah for Passing
Jan. 15 The Western Sporting Heritage
A. The Origins of Sport
B. Greece and the Olympics
Guttmann, ix-12;
Jan. 17 C. Sport in Ancient Rome
D. Sport in Medieval Europe
Jan. 20 M. L. King Holiday No Classes
Jan. 22 The American Sporting Heritage
A. Sport in England
B. Indian Sport
Guttmann, 13-34.
Jan. 24 Sport in Colonial America
A. Obstacles
B. Colonial Pastimes
Rader, 1-18; Guttmann, 35-50.
Jan. 27 The Rise of Organized Sports, 1800-1890
Rader, 19-48.
Jan. 29 Baseball A Mirror on American History
Rader, 49-63; 153-171
Jan. 31 Why Baseball Grew
Feb. 3 The House of Baseball
Guttmann, 51-69.
Feb. 5 Amateurs, Elites, and the Masses
Boxing A Case Study
Rader, 64-79.
Feb. 7 The Rise of Collegiate Sports
All of Smith, Sports and Freedom should have been read by now.
Rader, 81-97.
Feb. 10 The First Great Football Era
Rader, 172-189.
Feb. 12 B. Problems and Reform
Feb. 14 ! Test Number 1
Feb. 17 Sports and the American Mentality, 1880-1920
A. The Search for Order
Rader, 116-132 ; Guttmann, 83100.
Feb. 19 Sport in the Schools
Rader 98-115; Guttmann, 70-100
Feb. 21 Early American Sports Literature
Feb. 24 The 1920s Sports Boom W Day
A. Causes
B. The Second Collegiate Boom
Rader, 191-205.
Feb. 26 C. The Modern Sports Hero: Babe Ruth
Rader, 133-151.
Feb. 28 D. Red Grange and Other Heroes
Rader. 133-151.
March 3 Sport and Race
A. The Era of Segregation
Rader, 292-303; Guttmann, 119-138.
March 5 B. Integration
March 7 Women and Sports
Rader, 207-223; 303-314; Guttmann, 139-158;
March 10 Women and Sports: Babe Didrickson
Cayleff, Susan, Babe should have been read by now.
March 12 Modern Sports Literature
March 14 Modern Sports Literature
March 17-21 Spring Break
March 24 The Modern Olympics
March 26 Test 2
March 29 The Sports Society
Rader, 224-240, 261-275.
March 31 Day of No Classes
April 2 Sport and Media
A. Sportswriters
April 4 B. Radio*
April 7 Television
April 9 The Rise of the NFL
Rader, 241-259.
April 11 The Dominance of of the Football
April 14 The Rise of Basketball
Rader, 256-259; 268-275; Guttmann, 70-82.
April 16 Global Sport
April 18 The Sports Business
A. From Mom and Pop to the Top
B. Sports and Labor
Rader, 276-291; 315-333 Guttmann, 159-172.
April 21 Why Franchises move?
All of Euchner Playing the Field should have been read by now.
April 23 Sport in Film *
April 25 Sport in Film*
April 28 Review
April 30 All Make-Up Exams
May 5 Final exam 1:30 pm -4:00pm
*denotes audiovisual presentation
SAVE THIS SYLLABUS! A TREE GAVE ITS LIFE FOR IT!
SOME IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.@
Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard=s Almanac
The following information reflects your teacher's experience with more than 12,000 students at Texas Tech and his belief that how you approach a university class may be as important for your
future and success as the material you encounter. This information is also policy for everyone in the class.
My office hours are there for your questions and problems. Please use them. Your questions are also welcome in class.
This class begins at 8:00 am and ends at 8:50 am. If conflicts your inclinations, habits, or schedule make adjustments before the end of the add drop/period. ARRIVING LATE OR LEAVING THIS CLASS EARLY MAY COST YOU 5% OF YOUR SEMESTER GRADE FOR EACH OCCURRENCE. IF YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS CLASS ON TIME, DO NOT COME! Missing class harms only you. Being late bothers others.
If you have a vision or hearing problem, or some type of learning disability, you should notify me as soon as possible and no later than the second day of classes.
You should purchase all the books for this course as soon as possible. In the event a book is out of print, out of stock, or there is some other problem, the bookstore can often do something
if notified early. There is little that can be done later in the semester.
This is a classroom, not the UC or your dorm room. If you feel compelled to talk, sleep, or read the University Daily (or something serious), you should drop this class immediately. If you persist, you may be asked to leave. Smoking, snuff, chewing tobacco, food and drink are frowned on in this classroom.
You are responsible for all material presented in class. This includes directions, as well as subject matter. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to make up what you missed.
Your grade will be based on your examinations and other required work. There is no opportunity for extra credit.
The examination days including the final are noted on the syllabus. If they conflict with your schedule, you should remove the conflicts or drop this class. For example if the Schedule of Classes shows that you have three finals the same day, the time to do something about it is now.
If you do not perform as well as you expected on an exam, the time to see me is as soon as possible after the exams are returned. Bad academic habits like illnesses are best attacked in
an early stage. Besides, instructors are not very impressed with the seriousness or commitment of students who discover that they have problems during the last two weeks of the semester.
Grades are not posted in this class. I will return the first two examinations as soon as possible during the semester. If you want your final grade earlier than the registrar provides
them, give me a stamped, selfaddressed card on the day of the final examination.
I promise not to call you at home with my personal problems, please extend me the same courtesy.
When you miss an examination, your grade is a "0" until that examination is made up. If you miss the final without an excuse, you fail (forgetting the exam is not an excuse). With an excuse
you may receive an Incomplete until the final is made up. You cannot receive a grade of Incomplete if you are failing.
If I didn't think the required readings were important, I wouldn't assign them.
History is much more fun when you are making good grades than bad ones.
Some questions you probably should not ask:
1. Will this be on the test?
If it is mentioned in class or the texts or given out to you, it is important.
2. I was absent Friday, did I miss anything?
On a good day your teacher will say: No, I just babbled nonsense for fifty minutes; on a bad day he might get angry.
3. What are your office hours?
These are on the syllabus or will be announced in class.
4. When is the test?
This too is on the syllabus.
5. Do you count off for English?
Your class is taught in English not Hindi or Finnish. Our primary concern is your mastery of the material, but abysmal English can hurt your grade.