MW 5:30-6:45 p.m.

Spring 1999

Dr. Leslie Heaphy

This course will examine the development of sports in American History. We will examine

how sports have affected the growth of America and how events in American History

have influenced the growth of sports as a major industry. The course will rely on lectures,

discussion, film, guests and group work to help students develop their critical thinking skills,

their writing skills and their knowledge regarding the important role sports has played in the

history of the United States.

Students are expected to be in class. If you miss class you are responsible for all materials

that you miss-lecture notes, films, discussions etc. In-class assignments cannot be made up

if you miss class because part of the assignment is working with others to evaluate and

critique material. If you are not in class your grade can be affected by missing in-class work.

Also, if you miss more than four classes your grade will be lowered.

There will be two take home exams during the semester. Questions and expectations will be

handed out separately. Due dates will be listed on the exam and no late exams will be accepted

unless there is some kind of emergency and the instructor decides this is acceptable. If there is

a problem it is the student’s responsibility to let the instructor know before the due date

otherwise there will be no late exams accepted.

Midterm Exam

Due dates and requirements for all papers are listed separately. Late papers lose three

points for every day they are late before finals week. No late papers will be accepted during

final exam week. All written work must adhere to Academic Honesty: The use of the

In accordance with University policy, if you have a documented disability and require

accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact Kelly Oster in Student

Services to submit documentation. Then you must contact the instructor so that they are aware

of any required accommodations.

This year’s Campus Theme is "Ways of Knowing". The theme is created to help students see

that what they learn from class to class is connected and not just separate bits of information.

Campus speakers, arts events and other programs are set-up to reflect the campus theme. Students

will find the theme reflected in some assignments and some class discussions as well.

All readings listed in the following outline are tentative and subject to change as the semester

goes along. The instructor expects that all reading will be done at the beginning of each week

so that the information presented in class will go along with what is being read. Due dates

for assignments will not change unless there is an emergency of some kind that forces unexpected changes.

Week 1 Introduction and Beginnings

Read Handouts

Week 2 Colonial sports

Read Part 1 in Wiggins

Week 3 Native American Sports

Read Part 2- sect. 3, 4, and 5 in Wiggins

Week 4 Sport in the Antebellum Era

Week 5 Civil War Era and sports

Read Part 2-sect. 6, handouts

Week 6 Industrialization and Big business

Read Part 3 in Wiggins and Reiss

Week 7 Industrialization continued

Finish Reiss

Week 8 1920s--Golden Era

Read Part 4 in Wiggins

Week 9 Sport and Immigration

Read Handouts and Levine book

Week 10 Sport and Race

Handouts and Levine book

Week 11 ****Spring Break *****

Begin reading Tygiel book

Week 12 Sport and Race

Read Tygiel and handouts

Week 13 Sport, Race and Gender

Read Tygiel and handouts

Week 14 Postwar developments

Read Part 5 in Wiggins and handouts

Week 15 Sport as big business

Read handouts

Week 16 **** Oral Presentations ****

Finals Week ****Take Home Due and Oral Presentations 6 p.m on 5/10****

Take Home Exams: March 10 and May 10^th

Research papers: May 3^rd

Web Evaluations: Feb. 1^st, Feb. 24^th , April 7th

Oral Presentations begin on May 5^th

Annotation and thesis: March 17^th

Museum Evaluations: March 24^th, April 21^st

Web Evaluations

Each student will complete two web evaluations. Separate directions will be handed out for the evaluation. After evaluating a cite students will write a 2-3 page, typed paper explaining their evaluation. Cites chosen must fit the time frame of this class. All evaluations will be shared with other members of the class. Proper citations must be used and the web address should appear at the beginning of each paper. Evaluation forms will be handed out in class.

Museum Evaluations

Each student will turn in two evaluations of visits they make to the Football Hall of Fame and the Amateur Sports Hall of Fame. Papers are to be typed and should be 3-4 pages. Students will be graded on their critique of the museum, focusing on questions about its organization and set-up, how it is supported, what the museum's purpose is, what types of materials are displayed and explained, how visitors are guided through the museum and what questions you are left with after the visit. Some of these questions will require speaking to staff and volunteers at the two museums in order to learn more about what you are viewing. The Amateur Sports Hall is located at 1414 Market Ave, No. and the number there is 453-1552. Open daily 12-4 and closed on Mondays but always call before you go because it is staffed by volunteers. We will try to set-up a visit to the Football Hall as a group, if that can be worked out.

Research Project

Each student will complete a 20 page research paper focusing on a subject within American Sports History. Students choose their topic and must turn it in to the instructor by February 10^th for approval. In choosing a topic the key is to find a topic you are interested in and that is narrow enough to cover in detail in a 20 page paper. Suggestions for topic areas follow the description of this project. The basic requirements for this project include: the use of a minimum of 7 sources of which at least 2 must be primary sources (encyclopedias are not included in these numbers), footnotes or endnotes using Chicago Manual of Style, a full bibliography page, and a title page. All papers must be typed, double spaced and use proper style.

Students will be graded on the following:

Strong thesis statement

Conclusion that summarizes the research

Proper citations

Meeting the minimum requirements for length, number of sources and types of sources

Organization and structure of paper

Clear Focus

Proofreading--lack of grammatical and spelling errors

Historical accuracy

Not overquoting from one or two sources

Supporting material for your argument--overall strength of content

With the topic chosen students should find appropriate sources and not rely on just one or two but use them all in constructing the body of the research. Be sure you do not over quote--no more than 2-3 quotes per page and no more than 2 block quotes in the entire paper. Failure to cite properly will result in a failing grade for the class.

Suggested areas for topics

Kent State Sports Kent Stark Sports Integration in sports

Harlem Globetrotters Curt Flood Black Sox Scandal

Gambling and sports Abner Doubleday Title IX and Sports

Women's Sports Foundation NCAA Development Larry Doby

Hank Aaron Babe Ruth's sale 1^st Superbowl

WNBA AAGPBL Colorado Silver Bullets

Sports Reporting Religion and Sports Sporting metaphors

Sports and politics Massillon Tigers McKinley Bulldogs

Local area sports Little League Paul Brown

Stadiums Cleveland Spiders Babe Didrikson

Highland Games War and football Billiards

Nascar Turnvereins 1936 Olympics

Jesse Owens Rivalries in sport Olympics

Greatest Sports Event/team/player Joe Jackson

Sport Photography Media and Race Media and Gender

Negro Leagues Strikes/lockouts Arthur Ashe

Althea Gibson Major Taylor Isaac Murphy

Joe Louis Roberto Clemente Muhammad Ali

Student Athletes Ray Chapman 1905 Football

Development of sport history Heisman Trophy

Police Athletic League Halls of Fame and locations

These are just some suggestions, but you are not limited to these choices.

Annotations and Thesis

Each student will turn in on March 17^th the thesis statement for their research project along with annotations for three sources from their bibliography. These must be typed and proofread before handing in. Annotations are a simple paragraph telling others the basic information about the particular source. This should include full bibliographic information, thesis or general argument, time frame or sport covered, if there is a bibliography included, whether footnotes/endnotes are used, any helpful appendices and/or photographs. Examples will be handed out during the semester.

Oral Presentation

Each student will present a ten minute talk to the class about their research project. The presentation should highlight the key ideas and material related to their research. These presentations will begin during the final week of classes. Every student must make a presentation in order to receive a passing grade for the project. Students will be graded on content, organization, presentation, focus, creativity and visuals and their outline for the class.