Sports In America 1920 To 1939, 2nd Edition


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Sports in America 1920–1939 SECOND EDITION James Buckley Jr. and John Walters SERIES FOREWORD BY LARRY KEITH 1920–1939, Second Edition Sports in America Copyright © 2010 John Walters Foreword copyright © 2010 Larry Keith All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, contact: Chelsea House An Imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York, NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Walters, John (John Andrew) Sports in America, 1920-1939 / John Walters ; series foreword by Larry Keith p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-60413-449-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-60413-449-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-1-4381-2961-7 (e-book) 1. Sports—United States—History—20th century. 2. Sports—Social aspects—United States—History—20th century. I. Title. GV583.W35 2010 796.09730904—dc22 2009016535 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com Produced by the Shoreline Publishing Group LLC President/Editorial Director:â•‹James Buckley Jr. Contributing Editors: Jim Gigliotti, Beth Adelman Text design by Thomas Carling, carlingdesign.com Index by Nanette Cardon, IRIS Cover printed by Bang Printing, Brainerd, Minn. Book printed and bound by Bang Printing, Brainerd, Minn. Date printed: July 2010 Photo credits: AP/Wide World: 11, 14, 19, 22, 30, 31, 39, 40, 43, 44, 47, 49, 52, 53, 54, 57, 58, 63, 65, 69, 75, 81, 85, 86, 89, 90, 93, 94, 95, 97, 99, 101; Courtesy Champions of the Ring: 46; Corbis 7, 8, 9, 15, 72, 103; Pat DeLong: 92; Getty Images: 13, 83, 100, 104; Courtesy Goal Line Art by Gary Thomas: 28, 35; Courtesy Lexington Horse Park: 12; Library of Congress: 51; National Baseball Library: 20, 21, 32, 41, 43 (inset), 50, 57 (inset), 60, 64, 70, 74, 76, 82, 91, 98, 105; Courtesy Notre Dame Archives: 37; Shoreline Publishing Group: 33, 55, 69 (inset), 73, 81 (inset), 87; Whitney Museum of Art (painting by George Bellows): 25. Sports icons by Bob Eckstein. Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. SPORTS I N AM ERICA 1920 –1939 Contents In this ”Golden Age of Sports,” boxing was one of the biggest attractions. Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunny had two famous battles. Foreword 4 Introduction 6 1920 10 1930 56 1921 14 1931 62 1922 18 1932 68 1923 24 1933 74 1924 30 1934 80 1925 34 1935 84 1926 38 1936 88 1927 42 1937 92 1928 48 1938 96 1929 52 1939 102 Resources 106 Index 108 SPORTS I N AM ERICA 1920–1939 Foreword BY LARRY KEITH WHEN THE EDITORS OF SPORTS IN AMERICA invited me to write the foreword to this important historical series I recalled my experience in the 1980s as the adjunct professor for a new sports journalism course in the graduate school of Columbia University. Before granting their approval, the faculty at that prestigious Ivy League institution asked, Do sports matter? Are they relevant? Are they more th