Boxing in black and white : a statistical study of race in the ring, 1949-1983 / Andrew Lindsay.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lindsay, Andrew, 1965-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Boxing--United States--History.

Boxing.

Racism in sports.

History.

United States.

Racism in sports--United States--History.

Physical Description:

xii, 249 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., [2004]

Summary:

Professional sports in America offer numerous examples of equal opportunity and broken down racial barriers. These developments call for pride and celebration. Yet skin color continues to influence how Americans experience sport. From Al Campanis' infamous explanation of the under-representation of blacks in baseball to the almost exclusively white ownership of professional teams, one sees that sports, though admirably more equitable than other societal institutions, are hardly a colorblind American pursuit. Choosing the racially charged sport of boxing for investigation, the author has compiled dozens of statistics measuring whether or not America's racial majority still yearns for a white champion -- a Great White Hope. Drawing upon data from The Ring magazine and its annual record books, this study endeavors to bolster or refute the popular perception in boxing circles that white fighters of lesser ability are helped along to their sport's elite level, as a result of being promotional gold in the eyes of the public.

Contents:

Preface

American boxing in black and white

Segregation in American sports is dead, but

The great white hope: extinct or dormant?

Approaching the summit

For all the marbles

Has the great white hope left the building?

Conclusion: limitations, assumptions and methodological problems.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-245) and index.

ISBN:

0786418001

OCLC:

54952885