INTRODUCTION
This course studies basketball's development within the context of American history. Since sport in America involves widespread political, social, economic, legal, educational, and cultural issues, its study can illuminate numerous historical themes. The course is inspired by a Baseball History class I taught at the Boston Center for Adult Education.
COURSE OUTLINE
Origins and Growth, 1891-1945
19th Century American Sport
Urban America
James Naismith
Evolving Rules
YMCA
AAU
Popularity
Buffalo Germans
The Golden Age of Sport
Radio
The Denver Tournament
High Schools: Indiana and Kentucky
Madison Square Garden
Tournaments: NIT, NCAA, NAIA
Senda Berenson Abbott
Black Colleges
International Play
Early Professionals
The First Leagues
The Original Celtics
American Basketball League
World Professional Club Tournament
National Basketball League
Harlem Globetrotters
New York Renaissance
The Rise of the Professionals, 1946-1979
Postwar America
Television
The City Game
CCNY
Betting Scandals
Adolph Rupp and Kentucky
John Wooden and UCLA
Texas Western
Early Entry
Small Colleges
Hoosiers
AIAW
World Series of Basketball
AAU and NIBL
Military Basketball
Olympics
Basketball Association of America
National Basketball Association
George Mikan
Integration
The 24-Second Clock
Boston Celtics
Rivals: NPBL and ABL
Expansion
American Basketball Association
The Merger
Minor Leagues
Racial Issues
Labor Issues
Hall of Fame
The Modern Game, 1979-
1979 NCAA Championship
March Madness
Academics and Winning
The Origins of Usenet
The NCAA and the Woman's Game
Icons: Bird, Johnson, Jordan
David Stern and the Business of Basketball
The NBA in the Global Era
Olympic Pros
Women Pros: The ABL and WNBA
Basketball and American Culture
Politics
Gambling
The Sporting Press
Language
Fiction
Movies
Music
Folklore and Myth
Simulations and Games
Sport History Organizations
Fantasy Leagues
Memorabilia
RESOURCES
Books: General
Pete Axthelm and Rick Telander, The City Game: Basketball from the Garden to the Playgrounds
Peter C. Bjarkman, The Biographical History of Basketball
Bob Kuska, Hot Potato: How Washington and New York Gave Birth to Black Basketball and Changed Americas Game Forever
James Naismith and William Joseph Baker, Basketball: Its Origins and Development
David L. Porter, ed., The Biographical Dictionary of American Sport: Indoor Sports
Benjamin G. Rader, American Sports: From the Age of Folk Games to the Age of Televised Sports
Kenneth A. Shouler, et al., Total Basketball: The Ultimate Basketball Encyclopedia
Alexander Wolff, Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure
Books: Professional
Bijan C. Bayne, Sky Kings: Black Pioneers of Professional Basketball
John Feinstein, The Punch: One Night, Two Men, and the Fight that Changed Basketball Forever
David Halberstam, The Breaks of the Game; Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made
Eldon L. Ham, The Playmasters: From Sellouts to Lockouts-An Unauthorized History of the NBA
David Levine, Life on the Rim: A Year in the Continental Basketball Association
David S. Neft, et. al., The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Basketball
Robert W. Peterson, Cages to Jumpshots: Pro Basketball's Early Years
Terry Pluto, Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association
Dan Shaughnessy, Ever Green-The Boston Celtics
The Sporting News, Official NBA Guide; Official NBA Register
Thomas J. Whalen, Dynasty's End: Bill Russell and the 1968-69 World Champion Boston Celtics
Books: The Amateurs
Nelson Campbell, ed., Grass Roots and Schoolyards: A High School Basketball Anthology
Mike Douchant, Encyclopedia of College Basketball
John Feinstein, A March to Madness; A Season on the Brink; A Season Inside, Forever's Team; The Last Amateurs: Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball
Frank Fitzpatrick, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: The Basketball Game That Changed American Sports
Darcy Frey, Last Shot: City Streets, Basketball Dreams
Greg Guffey and Bob Hammel, The Greatest Basketball Story Ever Told: The Milan Miracle, Then and Now
Joan S. Hult and Marianna Trekell, eds., A Century of Women's Basketball: From Frailty to Final Four
Ben Joravsky, Hoop Dreams: The True Story of Hardship and Triumph. Also a PBS documentary
Bill Reynolds, Fall River Dreams : A Team's Quest for Glory, A Town's Search for Its Soul
Charley Rosen, Scandals of '51: How the Gamblers Almost Killed College Basketball
Games and Simulations
Above the Rim. Free revision of Stais Pro Basketball. also free football and golf games
Basketball Strategy
March Madness
Negamco Basketball
Strat-O-Matic Pro Basketball. board and computer versions
Ultra-Quick College Hoops
Web Sites
The Association for Professional Basketball Research
Basketball-Reference.com
BasketballReference.com
History of College Basketball: 1939-2003
The History of Women's Basketball
The Journal of Basketball Studies
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
National Basketball Association
USA Basketball
FRENCH REVOLUTION by Lloyd Krassner