Terrace Heroes: The Life and Times of the 1930's Professional Footballer (Sport in the global society)

The 1930s saw the birth of the football idol - prototype for today's powerful media sport stars. The players of the 1930s were the first generation of professionals, yet until recently the life and careers of footballers of this generation has been little studied. In 1930s Britain, football became increasingly commercialized, and the rise and development of both local and national media enabled players to become widely recognized outside of their immediate local context for the first time. Tracing the origins, playing careers and 'afterlives' of several First Division players of the era, Graham Kelly's revealing history explores the reality of living in Britain between the wars and draws interesting comparisons with lives of the modern football hero today. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 List of illustrations......Page 10 Acknowledgements......Page 11 Series editor's foreword......Page 12 Professional footballers as 'terrace heroes'......Page 14 The career path of professional footballers......Page 19 Footballers as employees......Page 29 Directors, managers, trainers and coaches......Page 38 Footballers' lifestyles......Page 49 Footballers and the media......Page 56 Jack Atkinson - Bolton Wanderers......Page 66 Bob Baxter - Middlesbrough......Page 74 Harry Betmead - Grimsby Town......Page 82 Jack Crayston - Arsenal......Page 92 Billy Dale - Manchester City......Page 104 'Jock' Dodds - Sheffield United and Blackpool......Page 116 Harold Hobbis - Charlton Athletic......Page 126 Joe Mercer - Everton......Page 138 Cliff Parker - Portsmouth......Page 148 Bert Sproston - Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspurs and Manchester City......Page 158 Conclusion......Page 166 Notes......Page 169 Select bibliography......Page 178 Index......Page 182

The 1930s saw the birth of the football idol - prototype for today's powerful media sport stars.

The players of the 1930s were the first generation of professionals, yet until recently the life and careers of footballers of this generation has been little studied.

In 1930s Britain, football became increasingly commercialized, and the rise and development of both local and national media enabled players to become widely recognized outside of their immediate local context for the first time.

Tracing the origins, playing careers and 'afterlives' of several First Division players of the era, Graham Kelly's revealing history explores the reality of living in Britain between the wars and draws interesting comparisons with lives of the modern football hero today.

"The 1930s saw the birth of the football idol, the 'terrace hero' prototypes for today's powerful media sport stars." "The players of the 1930s were the first generation of what we now regard as 'professionals', yet until recently the lives and careers of footballers of this era have been little studied." "During the 1930s British football became increasingly commercialised, and the rise and development of both local and national media, in particular broadcast media, enabled players to become widely recognised outside of their immediate local context for the first time." This original book examines 1930s football in England in its social, economic and political context by focusing on 10 of the top players of the era. It sheds light on the decade that saw players taking on a public persona as 'terrace heroes, ' This original book examines 1930s football in England in its social, economic and political context by focusing on ten of the top players of the era. It sheds light on the decade that saw players taking on a public persona as 'terrace heroes'. Graham Kelly. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [156]-168) And Index.