Practiced and watched by billions, sport is a global phenomenon. Sport history is a burgeoning sub-field that explores sport in all forms to help answer fundamental questions that scholars examine. This volume provides a reference for sport scholars and an accessible introduction to those who are new to the sub-field.

Robert Edelman is currently leading a multi-year research project on the global history of sport during the Cold War.
Wayne Wilson is Vice President for Education at LA84 Foundation, where he is responsible for the digital library, commissioned research projects, conference development and the coaching education program.

• Introduction - Robert Edelman and Wayne Wilson


• Part I. THEORIZING SPORT HISTORY


• 1. Sport and Social Theory - Douglas Hartmann


• 2. Sport and Political Doctrine in a Post-Ideological Age - John Hoberman


• 3. The "Somatic/Linguistic Turn and Histories of Exercise and Sport - Richard Gruneau


• 4. Sport History and the Historical Profession - David McDonald


• Part II. PRE-MODERN SPORT


• 5. Ancient Greek and Roman Sport - Donald G. Kyle


• 6. Medieval Sport - Angela Gleason


• 7. Early Modern Sport - Mike Huggins


• Part III. THE BIRTH AND ESTABLISHMENT OF MODERN SPORT, 1820-1940


• 8. Industrialization and Sport - Wray Vamplew


• 9. Sport and Urbanization - Michael T. Friedman and Jacob Bustad


• 10. Communications and Journalism - John Carvalho


• 11. Diffusion and Empire - Laurent Dubois


• Part IV. PATTERNS OF DIFFUSION


• 12. The Global Spread of Football - Matthew Taylor


• 13. Baseball's Global Diffusion - Rob Ruck


• 14. Cricket: The Indianization of an Imperial Game - Amit Gupta


• 15. Surfing: A Global Phenomenon - Douglas Booth


• Part V. SITES OF SPORT DEVELOPMENT


• 16. Sport in China - Susan Brownell


• 17. South Asian Sport - Boria Majumdar


• 18. Diffusion and Transformation of Western Sports in North Asia - Sayuri Guthrie-Shimizu


• 19. Sport in the Middle East - Alon K. Raab


• 20. Sport in Africa - Pascal Charitas


• 21. Sport in Russia and Eastern Europe - Mauricio Borrero


• 22. Sport in West and North Europe - Christopher Young


• 23. Sport in Southern Europe - Andrew McFarland


• 24. Sport in Latin America - Brenda Elsey


• 25. The Changing Field of Sports History in Australasia - Gary Osmond


• Part VI. NEW GLOBALIZATIONS and THEIR DISCONTENTS


• 26. Contemporary Globalization and Recent Olympic Leadership - Stephen R. Wenn and Robert K. Barney


• 27. WADA and Doping in World Sport - Thomas M. Hunt


• Part VII. RECONSIDERING ESTABLISHED CATEGORIES AND CONTEMPLATING NEW ONES


• 28. Class and Sport - Lewis H. Siegelbaum and Sasu Siegelbaum


• 29. Gender Matters in Sport History - Patricia Vertinsky


• 30. Race and Sport - Daniel Widener


• 31. Sport and National Identity - Dilwyn Porter


• 32. History of Sport and Religion in the United States and Britain - Amy Koehlinger


• Part VIII. EMERGING AREAS OF INTEREST


• 33. The Visual Turn in Sport History - Mike O'Mahony


• 34. Sports and Sexuality - Erik N. Jensen