The Big Scrum; How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football
Amy C. Miller (author photograph) New York: Harper (An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers), 2011. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. xi, [3], 256 pages. Appendix. Notes. Index. Slightly cocked. John J. Miller is the director of the journalism program at Hillsdale College, in Michigan. He also writes for National Review, for which he was previously the national political reporter, The Wall Street Journal and other publications. Miller attended the University of Michigan, where he was the editor in chief of the conservative student newspaper the Michigan Review. He joined National Review in 1998, and continues to contribute to National Review Online. His books include The First Assassin, a thriller set during the Civil War, The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football, and The Polygamist King: A True Story of Murder, Lust, and Exotic Faith in America. He is the founder and executive director of the Student Free Press Association, a non-profit group best known for its news website, The College Fix. The Chronicle of Higher Education has called Miller “one of the best literary journalists in the country.”. Derived from a Kirkus review: The story of football’s rise from a haphazardly organized game dominated by Yale and Harvard to America’s favorite sport is a fascinating one, requiring the contributions of many men—not the least of whom was President Roosevelt. Football’s popularity grew in lockstep with Roosevelt’s political success, though the game became increasingly controversial, the result of a style of play that led to numerous deaths and countless debilitating injuries. Harvard president Charles Eliot, himself a firm believer in exercise, crusaded against football as a dangerous endeavor, making him the perfect foil for Harvard grad Roosevelt. Roosevelt called the game’s most influential coaches—including legendary Yale coach Walter Camp—to a White House summit to discuss the state of the game and urged them to act; the result was the establishment of the NCAA, as well as a series of rule changes to make it safer. Condition: Good / Very good.
Keywords: Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. Presidents, College Football, Sports, Charles W. Eliot, NCAA, Athletics, Progressive Era, Harvard University, Walter Camp, Coaches, Forward Pass, Thomas Hughes, Sports Injuries, Sports Deaths, Physical Fitness, Princeton, Bil
ISBN: 9780061744501
[Book #76794]
Price: $37.50