Ballplayer or Barrier Breaker? Branding through the Seven Statues of Jackie Robinson

Abstract

Jackie Robinson is the baseball player most frequently depicted by a public statue within the USA, a ubiquity explained by his unique position as barrier breaker of the Major League colour bar. Utilising a detailed inspection of statue designs, locations and inscriptions, and comparisons with wider baseball statuary, Robinson's monuments reveal a distinctive set of cultural projections. These are commemorations distinguished by their age, location away from MLB ballparks, lack of action poses and their use of inscriptions consisting of platitudes or discourse on the subject's relationship with the statue's location as opposed to athletic achievement. Such characteristics indicate that Jackie Robinson statues neither fulfil the typical role of branding host communities through nostalgia and reflected glory nor that of reparations. Instead, Robinson's statues act as mediators of reflected character and as tolerance branding. By projecting the softer aspects of Robinson's personality, and promoting a local history of racial tolerance as much as Robinson's triumph over wider intolerance, the host communities are seeking to identify themselves with these twin positive attributes. However, in neglecting a visual connection with baseball in the design and interpretative material, Robinson's statuary marginalises the relationship between his ability as a sportsman and his wider social impact.

Jackie Robinson é o jogador de baseball mais representado em estátuas públicas nos Estados Unidos, uma ubiquidade explicada pela sua posição ímpar de marco da quebra da barreira racial na Liga de Baseball (Major League Baseball, ou MLB). Utilizando uma inspeção detalhada do desenho de estátuas, suas localizações e inscrições, e comparando-as com outras estátuas ligadas ao baseball, os monumentos a Robinson revelam um conjunto distinto de projeções culturais. Essas comemorações se distinguem por sua idade, localização distante dos estádios da MLB, ausência de poses em ação e a utilização de inscrições consistindo em platitudes ou discursos sobre a relação do sujeito com a localização da estátua, e não com seu êxito atlético. Essas características indicam que as estátuas de Jackie Robinson não desempenham o papel típico de marcar as comunidades que as abrigam pela nostalgia e pela glória que refletem, nem o de reparações. Ao invés disso, as estátuas de Robinson agem como mediadores de caráter refletido e como marcas de tolerância. Ao projetar os aspectos mais suaves da personalidade de Robinson e promover uma história local de tolerância racial pelo triunfo de Robinson sobre a intolerância majoritária, essas comunidades procuram se identificar com esses dois atributos positivos. No entanto, ao negligenciar o contato visual com o baseball em seu desenho e material interpretativo, o estatuário de Robinson marginaliza a relação entre sua habilidade como esportista e seu impacto social mais amplo.

Jackie Robinson es el jugador de béisbol al que más estatuas públicas se le han dedicado en Estados Unidos. Esto se explica por su condición de pionero a la hora de superar la barrera racial en la Major League. Mediante un análisis detallado de los diseños de las estatuas, su ubicación y las inscripciones que las acompañan, y comparándolas con otras estatuas de temática relacionada con el béisbol, se observa que los monumentos dedicados a Robinson poseen un conjunto específico de proyecciones culturales. Se trata de monumentos conmemorativos que se distinguen por su antigüedad, su ubicación alejada de los estadios de la MLB, poses carentes de acción e inscripciones consistentes en obviedades o que destacan la relación del sujeto con la ubicación de la estatua y no con sus éxitos deportivos. Estas características indican que las estatuas de Jackie Robinson no desempeñan el típico papel de ensalzar a las comunidades que las acogen mediante la nostalgia y la irradiación de la gloria del homenajeado, y tampoco el de compensar o reparar la memoria de este último. Las estatuas de Robinson funcionan como reivindicaciones de su personalidad y como acciones de promoción de la tolerancia. Al proyectar los aspectos más suaves de la personalidad de Robinson y al promover una visión de la historia local basada en la tolerancia racial, así como el triunfo de Robinson ante la intolerancia generalizada, las comunidades que acogen las estatuas intentan identificarse con estos dos atributos. No obstante, al dejar de lado los vínculos visuales con el béisbol en el diseño y el material interpretativo, las estatuas de Robinson oscurecen la relación entre sus habilidades como deportista y su impacto en el conjunto de la sociedad.

Jackie Robinson est le joueur de baseball le plus fréquemment représenté par une statue publique aux Etats-Unis. Cette ubiquité s'explique par son statut très particulier puisqu'il est celui qui a fait tomber la barrière raciale dans la Major League of Baseball (MLB). A travers une étude détaillée du modèle des statues, de leur localisation et de leurs inscriptions, et par comparaison avec l'ensemble de la statuaire du baseball, les monuments élevés à la mémoire de Robinson révèlent clairement une série de projections culturelles. Il s'agit de commémorations marquées par l'âge, situées loin des stades de la MLB, dans des poses peu dynamiques et avec des inscriptions sans relief ou des discours relatifs au lien existant entre le modèle et le lieu et non avec ses exploits sportifs. De telles caractéristiques indiquent que les statues de Jackie Robinson ne remplissent ni le rôle typique de porte-drapeau de la communauté à travers la nostalgie et le reflet de sa gloire ni celui dette morale. Les statues de Robinson jouent plutôt le rôle de médiateurs au caractère réfléchi et symboles de tolérance. En projetant les aspects les plus doux de la personnalité de Robinson et en brandissant une histoire locale de tolérance raciale autant que le triomphe de Robinson sur l'intolérance à plus grande échelle, ces communautés cherchent à s'identifier à ces deux attributs positifs. Cependant, en négligeant une connexion visuelle avec le baseball dans le modèle et dans le matériel explicatif, la statuaire de Robinson marginalise la relation entre son habileté en tant que sportif et son impact social plus large.

Jackie Robinson ist der Baseball-Spieler, der am häufigsten als öffentliche Statue in den USA dargestellt wird, eine Allgegenwärtigkeit, die sich durch seine einzigartige Situation als Hürdenbrecher der Rassenschranke in der Major League erklärt. Indem Statuen-Designs, Standorte und Inschriften ausführlich untersucht und mit großen Baseball-Statuen verglichen werden, lassen Robinsons Monumente eine besondere Reihe von kulturellen Projektionen erkennen. Dies sind Erinnerungen, die sich durch ihr Alter, ihre Lage abseits von MLB-Stadien, durch fehlende Aktionsposen und ihre Verwendung von Inschriften bestehend aus Plattitüden oder aus Diskursen über die Beziehung des Subjekts zum Standort der Statue im Gegensatz zur sportlichen Leistung unterscheiden. Solche Eigenschaften zeigen, dass Jackie-Robinson-Statuen weder die typische Rolle des Brandings von Gastgemeinschaften durch Nostalgie und Abglanz erfüllen noch jene von Wiedergutmachungen. Stattdessen fungieren Robinsons Statuen als Vermittler von reflektiertem Charakter und als Toleranz-Branding. Durch das Herausragen der weicheren Aspekte von Robinsons Persönlichkeit und durch die Förderung einer lokalen Geschichte der Rassentoleranz ebenso wie jene von Robinsons Triumph über die weitreichende Intoleranz versuchen die Gastgemeinschaften, sich selbst mit diesen doppelt positiven Eigenschaften zu identifizieren. Dadurch, dass eine visuelle Verbindung mit dem Baseball im Design und im erläuternden Material vernachlässigt wird, marginalisieren Robinsons Skulpturen jedoch die Beziehung zwischen seinem Talent als Sportler und seiner großen sozialen Bedeutung.

杰基·罗宾逊在美国是最常被公共雕像描述的棒球运动员。这一普遍性被认为是由其职业联盟种族歧视破雷舰式的独特地位所致。作者通过详细检查这些雕塑的设计、地点和碑文，并与更宽泛的篮球雕塑艺术进行比较后发现，罗宾逊的雕像揭示了一个与众不同的文化预测。这些雕像以年龄为特征，其位置远离美国职业大联盟球场且缺乏动作姿势。此外，这些雕像所使用的铭文包含了一些与运动成绩截然相反而与雕像位置有关的陈词滥调或叙述的主题。这些特征表明，杰基·罗宾逊的雕像既没有起到通过怀旧和借助他的荣誉提升其来自社区的影响力的作用，也不承担其赔付的角色。反而，这些雕像充当了映射性特征的调节者和社会宽容的角色。通过突出罗宾逊性格温和的一面和推广与罗宾逊战胜狭隘主义同样重要的种族容忍的本地历史，原有社区的居民正在努力使他们自己与这些积极方面保持一致。但本文认为，忽略了棒球在设计和解释性材料方面的视觉联系，罗宾逊的雕像边缘化了作为运动员的能力与其宽泛的社会影响之间的关系。

ジャッキー・ロビンソンは米国で最も多くの彫像が建てられている野球選手である。これは、メジャーリーグの人種障壁を打ち破った選手という彼特有の立ち位置によるものである。彫像のデザイン、ロケーション及び碑文を詳細に調べ、また他の野球関連の彫像と比較すると、ロビンソンの彫像からは特有の文化観が見出される。ロビンソンの彫像を他と差異化するのは、その制作年代、メジャーリーグの球場から離れたロケーション、動的ポーズの欠如、及びロビンソンの競技上の業績ではなく、彼とその彫像のロケーションとの関係についての決まり文句や言説からなる碑文である。こうした特色からは、ジャッキー・ロビンソンの彫像が、ノスタルジーや過去の栄光を通じたホストコミュニティのブランディング、ないしは過去への賠償といった典型的な役割のいずれをも果たしていないことが明らかになる。ロビンソンの彫像はむしろ、彼の人格を伝え、人種的寛容をブランディングする役割を果たしているのである。ロビンソンの人となりの穏健な側面を投影するとともに、人種的寛容に関するローカルヒストリーや、より広い不寛容に対するロビンソンの勝利を強調することで、ホストコミュニティはこれら二つのよい属性と同化しようとしているのである。しかしながら、デザインにおいても資料においても、野球との視覚的なつながりを欠いていることにより、ロビンソンの彫像は、彼のスポーツマンとしての能力とそのより広範な社会的影響力との間の関係性を軽視している。

Keywords::

• Jackie Robinson
• statue
• tolerance
• race
• baseball

Underlying Research Materials

The underlying research materials for this article can be accessed at the Sporting Statues website, at http://www.sportingstatues.com

Notes

^1. For the purposes of this article, we define the North American baseball statuary as being the collection of publicly accessible full body figurative sculptures depicting baseball players, managers, founders/owners/executives, broadcasters and fans, which have been erected to honour their subject for reasons primarily related to their career in the baseball industry.

^2.Phillips, O'Neill and Osmond, “Broadening Horizons.”

^3. Ibid., 28.

^4.Huggins and O'Mahony, The Visual in Sport, 1090.

^5.Seifried and Meyer, “Nostalgia-Related Aspects”; Stride et al., “Modeling Stadium Statue”; Stride, Wilson and Thomas, “Honouring Heroes.”

^6.Wood and Gabie, “The Football Ground.”

^7.Osmond, Phillips and O'Neill, “Putting Up Your Dukes.”

^8.Smith, “Frozen Fists.”

^9.Osmond, “Shaping Lives.”

^10.Huggins, “Death, Memorialisation.”

^11.Smith, “Mapping America's Sporting Landscape,” 1256.

^12. See note 2 above.

^13.Schein, Landscape and Race, 5.

^14. Between January 2011 and March 2013, the first and second authors constructed a database of existing North American-sited statues of baseball players, managers, broadcasters and executives as part of a wider project into commemoration in sport. Data and images were obtained through a literature, archival and online search, and via interviews with sculptors and project organisers. Variables collected included the precise location, date of unveiling, design type (broadly classified as ‘action’, ‘posed’ or ‘triumph’), the full plaque or plinth inscription, and the identity of the statue project promoters and funders, as well as further demographic and performance information on the subjects depicted. The database is complete and accurate to the best of our knowledge. In March 2013, the primary elements of the database (the statue location, sculptor, unveiling date, inscription and photos of the statue showing the design) were made publicly available through the project website at www.sportingstatues.com. Prior to its launch, baseball historians from a national spread of chapters of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum (NBHOF) were invited to view the draft version and suggest any omissions or errors. In the month following its launch, the website received more than 10,000 unique visitors and substantial regional and national press coverage across North America, yet only one further subject-specific statue erected prior to March 2013 was discovered added as a result of information received after the launch. The authors have continued to maintain and update the database with information drawn from through frequent online searches and contacts within the sports sculpture industry.

^15.Cialdini et al., “Basking in Reflected Glory.”

^16.Schein, Landscape and Race, 221.

^17.Lamb, Blackout, 26; Osmond, “Shaping Lives”; Tygiel, Extra Bases.

^18.Baltov, Baseball Is America, 108

^19.Dorinson, Warmund and Schumer, Jackie Robinson; Rampersad, Jackie Robinson; Robinson and Duckett, I Never Had It Made; Tygiel, Baseball's Great Experiment.

^20.Tygiel, Baseball's Great Experiment, 63.

^21.Tygiel, Baseball's Great Experiment.

^22.Robinson and Duckett, I Never Had It Made; Tygiel, Baseball's Great Experiment.

^23.Rampersad, Jackie Robinson; Robinson and Daniels, Jackie Robinson; Tygiel, Baseball's Great Experiment.

^24.Mandell, Sport: A Cultural History; McMillen and McMillen, “The Legal Aspects,” 22

^25.Munslow, Narrative and History; Seifried and Meyer, “Nostalgia-Related Aspects”; Stride, Wilson and Thomas, “Honouring Heroes”; Stride, Thomas and Wilson. “The Sporting Statues Project.” Across North America, just 17 subject-specific baseball statues were in situ as of January 1, 1993; a total that had grown at an increasing rate to 197 by October 1, 2013.

^26.Osmond, Phillips and O'Neill, “Putting Up Your Dukes,” 85.

^27. The statue of Albert Pujols in St Louis offers an example of how multiple meanings can be carried simultaneously and develop over time. It depicts the great slugger celebrating a homerun; knowledge of Pujols' faith would enable the viewer to interpret the religious overtones of his celebratory gesture. At the time of the statue's erection it was a site of hero worship for St Louis Cardinal's fans, but Pujols' departure subsequently changed the interpretation of the statue: for some it will have become a representation of betrayal. Over time it may begin to evoke nostalgia in those for whom the preferred memory of the subject will be his contribution to a successful cardinals team. Associated Press, “Albert Pujols Statue Unveiled”; Strauss. “Pujols Signs with Angels.”

^28.Doorman, “Sculpture's Location.”

^29.Pascal, Sprott and Muehling, “The Influence of Evoked Nostalgia”; Funk and James, “Consumer Loyalty”; Gladden and Funk, “Developing an Understanding.”

^30.Rosensweig, Retro Ballparks.

^31.Ritzer, The McDonaldization of Society; Ritzer and Stillman, “The Postmodern Ballpark.”

^32. Having starred for the Chicago Bulls franchise for the preceding decade, Michael Jordan retired from basketball in 1993. In 1994 he was honoured by a statue, named ‘The Spirit’, erected outside the Bull's home arena, The United Center. Jordan came out of retirement and returned to the Bulls line-up in 1995.

^33. See note 15 above.

^34.Wann and Branscombe, “Die-Hard and Fair-Weather Fans.”

^35. See note 8 above.

^36.Smith, “Mapping America's Sporting Landscape.”

^37. The statistics given in this and the following paragraphs are drawn from the sporting statues database described in note 13.

^38.Stride et al., “Modeling Stadium Statue.”

^39.Huggins and O'Mahony, The Visual in Sport.

^40. In 1997, after Mack's death, giant busts of Jackie and Mack Robinson, sculpted by Ralph Hemrick, were erected in Pasadena.

^41.Rampersad, Jackie Robinson, 58.

^42.Rampersad, Jackie Robinson, 58; Kaliss, Everybody's All-Americans.

^43.Barber, “Statue Still Clay Dream”. Richard Ellis (sculptor), telephone interview, first author, February 2012.

^44. Richard Ellis (sculptor), telephone interview, first author, February 2012.

^45. Robinson is also honoured by UCLA with a further playing field, Jackie Robinson Field at Brookfield Park, adjacent to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

^46.Polner, Branch Rickey.

^47.Humber and Jones, A Sporting Chance; Todd, “Events Planned to Honour Robinson.”

^48.Farber, “A Color Bar.” Todd, “Events Planned to Honour Robinson.”

^49. The Montreal (and Daytona copy) statue of Robinson represents Lasalle's only baseball-related statuary, though this is not surprising given the departure of MLB from Montreal and the tendency for sports sculpture commissions to be awarded to local artists.

^50. Jules Lasalle (sculptor), telephone interview, first author, March 2012.

^51. Jules Lasalle (sculptor), telephone interview, first author, March 2012. Both the hair and facial features of the second child reflect Afro-Canadian heritage.

^52. Ibid.

^53.Lamb, Blackout; Lee and Jennings, Baseball in Savannah, 64.

^54.Lempel, “Toms and Bombs,” 92.

^55.Lamb, Blackout, 90–2.

^56. Ibid.

^57.Bozzo, “Jackie Robinson's Images.”

^58.Carter, “Robinson Memorial Plans.”

^59. Suzanne Kuehn (project organiser), telephone interview, first author, May 2012. In the majority of cases where a statue is sculpted of a deceased subject with a living spouse, the sculptor and statue project organisers will seek information and approval from the spouse regarding the project and the design, and potentially amend the design if it was considered unsatisfactory or unsuitable. This was relevant in that by Daytona using an existing design there was no risk of it not being considered satisfactory to Rachel Robinson, a scenario which would have been a major embarrassment, and would have delayed a project which the organisers were looking to complete quickly and at minimal cost.

^60.Carter, “Robinson Memorial Plans”; Unattributed, “Funding for Jackie Robinson Statue.”

^61.Wirt, “Montreal Sculptor.”

^62.Bozzo, “Jackie Robinson's Images”; Libby, “A Whole New Ballgame.”

^63. Wagner has created five statues of baseball players, making her among the more prolific sculptors within the genre. Her portrayal of Roberto Clemente (PNC Park, Pittsburgh, 1992) is a particularly popular and highly regarded example. In addition, she has been responsible for sculpting the inductee images on plaques for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Sandomir, “Baseball.”

^64. Susan Wagner (sculptor), telephone interviews, first author, February 2012, November 2012.

^65.Robinson, “The Jackie Robinson Foundation.”

^66.Rampersad, Jackie Robinson. 272–3.

^67.Lavoie, “Stamford Plans.”

^68.Lavoie, “Stamford Plans”; Polner, Branch Rickey.

^69. Jeffries is one of only three African-American sculptors to be listed among the creators of the North American baseball statuary. African-American sculptors have only been commissioned to sculpt African-American or African-Latino players.

^70.Lavoie, “Robinson Statue Unveiled.”

^71.Sandomir, “An Effort to Cherish.”

^72.Eig, Opening Day, 128.

^73.Rowan and Robinson, Wait Till Next Year.

^74.Miller, The 100 Greatest Days, 396

^75.42, Directed by Helgeland (2013, Warner Bros).

^76. Behrends is a prolific sports sculptor, with commissions from across the USA. His other baseball works including statues at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Petco Park in San Diego and the NBHOF in Cooperstown.

^77.Crotty, “Character And Courage Foundation.”

^78.Maraniss, Clemente; Eig, Luckiest Man.

^79. Personal communication by first author with Tom Shieber, curator, National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum, October 18, 2012.

^80.News Wire Staff, “MLB”; Marcus. “Citi Field.”

^81.Stride et al., “Modeling Stadium Statue.”

^82.Associated Press, “Jackie Robinson's Native Town”; Wright, “Jackie Robinson.”

^83.Rampersad, Jackie Robinson, 61.

^84. Ralph Hemrick (sculptor), telephone interview, first author, February 2012.

^85.Norkunas, Monuments and Memory, 65.

^86.Purdom. “Philadelphia Public Art.”

^87.Brown, Baseball's Fabulous Montreal Royals.

^88.Polner, Branch Rickey, 151.

^89.Rampersad, Jackie Robinson, 273.

^90.Rutkoff and Hall, Cooperstown Symposium, 239.

^91.Lempel, “Toms and Bombs.”

^92.Associated Press, “Statue of Clemente Unveiled”; Stanley, “Making a Dream Come True”; Purdom, “Philadelphia Public Art. Roberto Clemente”; Staff, “Roberto Clemente”; Slattery, “Baseball Legend.” Photos of each statue and the full plinth inscriptions, recorded in person by either the first or third authors, or in the case of the Philadelphia statue, by the PhilArt public art database (www.philart.net), can be viewed at the first and second author's aforementioned project website http://www.sportingstatues.com. If statue totals in North America and Latin America are added, Roberto Clemente surpasses Robinson as the baseball player with the most such monuments, with at least seven further erected in Puerto Rico and Nicaragua.

^93.Anderson, “A Serious Statesman”; Martin and Martin, The Negro Leagues. The plaque reads ‘LAWRENCE EUGENE DOBY. “LARRY”. Born Camden, South Carolina December 13, 1923; … Eastside High School, Paterson 1938-1942; … Lettered in Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Track; …. All-State in Football, Basketball, and Baseball; …. Attended L.I. University; …. Negro League, 1942, 1946–1947; …. U.S. Navy 1943–1946; … American League, 1947-1959; …. First African American Player in the American League; …. First African American to hit a home run in the World Series; …. American League All-Star, 1949-1955; …. Led the League in Home Runs in 1952; …. Led the League in Home Runs and RBI's in 1954; …. Manager of the Chicago White Sox 1978; …. Baseball Hall of Fame 1998; …. Eastside High School Hall of Fame 1999. I cannot change yesterday, I can only make the most of today, and look with hope toward tomorrow.’

^94.Corcoran, Induction Day; Hill, “Statue of Paige.”

^95.Haskell, “Racial Pioneer”; De la Torre, “Boxing Champion”; Major-Taylor-Association, “The Statue.”

^96.Leib, “The Witting Autobiography”; Schultz, “Contesting the Master Narrative.” Ashe holds both a racket and books, balancing his image as an athlete and supporter of education. A second statue of Ashe playing tennis stands by the Arthur Ashe Stadium, at Flushing Meadows, venue of the US Open Tennis Championships.

^97.Stride, Thomas and Wilson, “The Sporting Statues Project.”

^98.Anholt, Competitive Identity.

^99. See note 58 above.

^100.Koslow, “Projects in Line.”

^101.Farber, “A Color Bar.”

^102.42, Directed by Helgeland (2013, Warner Bros); Skyler, Mayor Bloomberg.

^103.Wang, “UCLA unveils Jackie Robinson mural.”

^104. , “When Baseball Wouldn't Let Him In,” “April 15, 1947 The Name.”

^105.Norkunas, Monuments and Memory, 44; Dupre, Monuments: America's History, 7.

^106.Lempel, “Toms and Bombs,” 93; Lamb, Blackout, 91.

^107.Lamb, Blackout; , The Road to Now, The Jackie Robinson Myth; Humber and Jones, A Sporting Chance.

^108.Veeck and Linn, Veeck – As in Wreck, 175; Wilder, A Covenant with Color, 201.

^109.National Baseball Hall Of Fame Museum, “BBWAA Election Rules.”

^110.Posnanski, “Hall of Fame”; Bush, Rule 5.

^111.Robinson and Duckett, I Never Had It Made, 32.

^112.Baltov, Baseball Is America, 107.

^113.Swaine, “Jackie Robinson,” 9; Tygiel, Baseball's Great Experiment, 64.

^114.Tygiel, Extra Bases.

^115.Dorinson, Warmund and Schumer, Jackie Robinson, 19.

^116. See note 21 above.

^117.Swaine, “Jackie Robinson,” 7.

^118.Falkner, Great Time Coming.

^119.Gutman, Giants of Baseball.

^120.Lowerman, Branch Rickey, 376.

^121.Tygiel, Baseball's Great Experiment, 214.

^122.Powers, The Business of Baseball, 108.

^123.Rampersad, Jackie Robinson, 66.

^124. Ibid.

^125.Thorne, 2009. “Robinson's Role.”

^126.Eig, Opening Day, 129.

^127.Gehring, Mr. Deeds Goes.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christopher Stride

Dr Chris Stride is the statistician at the Institute of Work Psychology, University of Sheffield. He has published across a wide range of social science disciplines, even poking a toe into pure science or humanities upon occasions, and is particularly interested in the use of statistical methods to support and add rigour to research in areas where advanced quantitative analysis would typically be considered an anathema.

Ffion Thomas

Ffion Thomas is a postgraduate student at the University of Central Lancashire, UK, with research interests in football and baseball, and is currently investigating the impact of nostalgia upon the visual culture of sport.

Maureen M. Smith

Maureen M. Smith is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science at California State University, Sacramento. She is the past president of the North American Society for Sport History.