IN THE GAME: RACE, IDENTITY, AND SPORTS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY; ED. BY AMY BASS

Talking About Race And Sports Almost Always Leads To Trouble. Rush Limbaugh's Stint As An Nfl Commentator Came To An Abrupt End When He Made Off-handed Comments About Black Quarterback Donovan Mcnabb. Cincinnati Reds' Owner Marge Schott And Cbs Commentator Jimmy The Greek Snyder Also Landed In Hot Water For Public Remarks That Most People Construed As Racist. Ask A Simple Question Along These Lines--why Do African Americans Dominate The Nba?--and Watch The Sparks Fly. It Is Precisely This Flashpoint That Amy Bass Seeks To Explore. Sports Wield A Tremendous Amount Of Cultural Power In The United States And Around The World, And Often Influence Our Ideas About Race. In The Game Is A Collection Of Essays By Top Thinkers On Race That Survey This Treacherous Terrain. They Engage Topics Like Boxer Joe Louis's Iconic Status During The Jim Crow Era, How Blacks Shaped The Nfl In The 1970s, American Indian Sports Team Mascots, And Soccer In Argentina. No Compromise With Slavery! No Union With Slaveholders, Or, Who Was The Last Team To Integrate? / Amy Bass -- Heroes. Richie Allen, Whitey's Ways, And Me : A Political Education In The 1960s / Matthew Frye Jacobson ; In Sports The Best Man Wins : How Joe Louis Whupped Jim Crow / Theresa E. Runstedtler -- Fans. Race And Silence In Argentine Football / Grant Farred ; Reading And Rereading The Game : Reflections On West Indies Cricket / Michael Arthur And Jennifer Scanlon ; Wa A O, Wa Ba Ski Na Me Ska Ta! : Indian Mascots And The Pathology Of Anti-indigenous Racism / David Anthony Tyeeme Clark -- Aesthetics. Backfield In Motion : The Transformation Of The Nfl By Black Culture / Joel Dinerstein ; The Harmonizing Nation : Mexico And The 1968 Olympics / Eric Zolov -- Futures. Courtside : Race And Basketball In The Works Of John Edgar Wideman / Tracie Church Guzzio ; The Stepping Stone : Larry Holmes, Gerry Cooney, And Rocky / Carlo Rotella. Edited By Amy Bass. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Talking about race and sports almost always leads to trouble. Rush Limbaugh's stint as an NFL commentator came to an abrupt end when he made some off-handed comments about the Philadelphia Eagles' black quarterback, Donovan McNabb. Ask a simple question along these lines - 'Why do African Americans dominate the NBA?' - and watch the sparks fly. It is precisely this flashpoint that the contributors to this volume seek to explore. Professional and amateur sports wield a tremendous amount of cultural power in the United States and around the world, and racial, ethnic, and national identities are often played out through them. In the Game collects essays by top thinkers on race that survey this treacherous terrain. They engage fascinating topics like race and cricket in the West Indies, how black culture shaped the NFL in the 1970s, the famed black-on-white Cooney/Holmes boxing bout, and American Indian mascots for sports teams. Front Matter....Pages i-vii Introduction....Pages 1-16 Front Matter....Pages 17-17 “Richie” Allen, Whitey’s Ways, and Me: A Political Education in the 1960s....Pages 19-46 In Sports the Best Man Wins....Pages 47-92 Front Matter....Pages 93-93 Race and Silence in Argentine Football....Pages 95-115 Reading and Rereading the Game....Pages 117-135 Wa a o, wa ba ski na me ska ta!....Pages 137-166 Front Matter....Pages 167-167 Backfield in Motion....Pages 169-189 The Harmonizing Nation....Pages 191-217 Front Matter....Pages 219-219 Courtside....Pages 221-236 The Stepping Stone....Pages 237-263 Back Matter....Pages 265-273 A collection of essays by top critics and thinkers considers the impact that sports has on societal perceptions about race, in a volume that explores such topics as boxer Joe Louis's iconic status during the Jim Crow era, the contributions of African Americans to the NFL during the 1970s, and Native American sports team mascots.