David George SurdhamThe Big Leagues Go to Washington: Congress and Sports Antitrust, 1951-1989

University of Illinois Press, 2015

by Heath Brown on July 24, 2015

David George Surdham

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David George Surdham is the author of The Big Leagues Go to Washington: Congress and Sports Antitrust, 1951-1989 (University of Illinois Press, 2015). Surdham is Associate Professor of Economics at Northern Iowa University.

Just back from the Major League Baseball All-Star break, Surdham has written a book for sports lovers. Why do major league sports receive such preferential treatment from Congress? And what does this have to do with labor and economic development policy? Surdham examines Congressional hearings held over decades to figure out how Washington's role in professional sports has changed over since the 1950s.

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Eric ReedSelling the Yellow Jersey: The Tour de France in the Global Era

July 17, 2015

The Tour de France is happening right now! The 2015 edition started on July 4th and will continue until July 26th. I'm excited to be able to share this interview with Eric Reed about his new book, Selling the Yellow Jersey: The Tour de France in the Global Era (University of Chicago Press, 2015) as […]

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Samir ChopraEye on Cricket: Reflections on the Great Game

June 27, 2015

Samir Chopra describes himself as a "cricket exile." For three decades, he has lived in country where most people not only pay little attention to the sport, they actually dislike it, or at best treat it dismissively as a game of wimps and foreigners. The experience of being a cricket fan in America colors many […]

Interview with Samir Chopra [ 51:16 ] Play Now| Play in Popup | Download
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James A. Holstein, Richard S. Jones, and George Koonce, Jr.Is There Life After Football?: Surviving the NFL

March 17, 2015

The health of former NFL players has received plenty of attention in recent years. The suicides of Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, along with stories of retired players in only their 40s and 50s affected by dementia and ALS, have revealed the toll that a professional football career can take on a man’s body and […]

Interview with Jim Holstein and Rick Jones [ 53:28 ] Play Now| Play in Popup | Download
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Jules BoykoffActivism and the Olympics: Dissent at the Games in Vancouver and London

December 22, 2014

A new chapter in the history of the Olympic Games appears to be opening. As one city after another has dropped out of the bidding for the 2022 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee has been faced with the prospect that no one might be willing to host its wonderful, expensive party. Meanwhile, American cities […]

Interview with Jules Boykoff [ 44:17 ] Play Now| Play in Popup | Download
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Eric Allen HallArthur Ashe: Tennis and Justice in the Civil Rights Era

November 4, 2014

When he died from AIDS in 1993, Arthur Ashe was universally hailed as a man of principle, grace, and wisdom—a world-class athlete who had transcended his game. But a closer look at Ashe’s life reveals a more complex picture. Certainly, Ashe was an admirable figure. When tennis tournament organizers barred the teenage phenom because of […]

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Matthew AlgeoPedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America’s Favorite Spectator Sport

September 4, 2014

Once upon a time, before baseball drew crowds to America’s ballparks and English workers spent their Saturdays at the football grounds, one of the most popular spectator events in both countries was watching people walk. Pedestrianism had its start outdoors, as walkers set off on long-distance treks for the simple challenge of it—or to win […]

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Stefan Rinke and Kay Schiller (eds.)The FIFA World Cup 1930-2010: Politics, Commerce, Spectacle and Identities

August 1, 2014

The history of globalization is found in more than international political organizations and multinational corporations, free-trade agrteements and foreign direct investments, satellite communications and special export zones.  When looking at the forces that have driven globalization over the last decades, we must also look to football and especially the World Cup.  Indeed, there is no […]

Interview with Stefan Rinke & Kay Schiller [ 56:10 ] Play Now| Play in Popup | Download
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J. C. HerzLearning to Breath Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness

July 18, 2014

In industrial parks, converted warehouses, and pole barns across the country, a fitness revolution is taking place. It’s a revolution, according to J.C. Herz, that’s leading us not so much forward as back, into what she calls “the primal future of fitness.” This future is one in which fitness connects us with the deep memories […]

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Roger Kittleson, "The Country of Football: Soccer and the Making of Modern Brazil" (University of California Press, 2014) and Joshua Nadel, "Fútbol! Why Soccer Matters in Latin America" (University Press of Florida, 2014)

June 24, 2014

Passion. Flair. Instinct. Improvisation. As the World Cup advances to the knockout stage, you’ll hear these terms associated with the football styles of Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico rather than those of Belgium and Germany.  As historians Roger Kittleson and Joshua Nadel explain, the soccer cultures of Brazil and other countries of Latin America have long […]

Interview with Roger Kittleson & Joshua Nadel [ 52:22 ] Play Now| Play in Popup | Download
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