Boxing Kings (eBook)

When American Heavyweights Ruled the Ring

Paul Beston (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2017
374 Seiten
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (Verlag)
978-1-4422-7290-3 (ISBN)

Infos

For much of the twentieth century, boxing was one of America’s most popular sports. This book details the illustrious history of the heavyweight title in the days when Americans reigned supreme and tells the stories of legendary champions such as John L. Sullivan, Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali.

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For much of the twentieth century, boxing was one of America's most popular sports, and the heavyweight champions were figures known to all. Their exploits were reported regularly in the newspapersoften outside the sports pagesand their fame and wealth dwarfed those of other athletes. Long after their heyday, these icons continue to be synonymous with the ';sweet science.'In The Boxing Kings: When American Heavyweights Ruled the Ring, Paul Beston profiles these larger-than-life men who held a central place in American culture. Among the figures covered are John L. Sullivan, who made the heavyweight championship a commercial property; Jack Johnson, who became the first black man to claim the title; Jack Dempsey, a sporting symbol of the Roaring Twenties; Joe Louis, whose contributions to racial tolerance and social progress transcended even his greatness in the ring; Rocky Marciano, who became an embodiment of the American Dream; Muhammad Ali, who took on the U.S. government and revolutionized professional sports with his showmanship; and Mike Tyson, a hard-punching dynamo who typified the modern celebrity. This gallery of flawed but sympathetic men also includes comics, dandies, bookworms, divas, ex-cons, workingmen, and even a tough-guy-turned-preacher. As the heavyweight title passed from one claimant to another, their stories opened a window into the larger history of the United States. Boxing fans, sports historians, and those interested in U.S. race relations as it intersects with sports will find this book a fascinating exploration into how engrained boxing once was in America's social and cultural fabric.

Autor

Paul Beston is managing editor of City Journal, published by the Manhattan Institute. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, City Journal, Real Clear Sports, The American Spectator, The American Conservative, The Christian Science Monitor, The Millions, and The New York Journal of Books, as well as on the boxing website The Sweet Science.

Inhalt

Acknowledgments Introduction: The Lineage Chapter One: Progenitor Chapter Two: Pariah Chapter Three: The Million-Dollar Hobo Chapter Four: The Substitutes Chapter Five: Black Moses Chapter Six: The Last White King Chapter Seven: Freudian Floyd, the Swede, and Sonny Chapter Eight: The Butterfly Chapter Nine: The Greatest and a Golden Era Chapter Ten: Bloom in the Shadows Chapter Eleven: Kid Dynamite Chapter Twelve: End of the Line Epilogue: A Funeral Bibliography IndexAbout the Author

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 8.9.2017
• Zusatzinfo: 20 Illustrations including: - 20 Halftones, Black & White including Black & White Photographs.
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Sport ► Kampfsport / Selbstverteidigung
• Themenwelt: Weitere Fachgebiete ► Sportwissenschaft
• Schlagworte: American boxers • American boxing history • American Culture • American heavyweights • Battle of the Century • best boxers • Boxers • Boxing • boxing champions • boxing greats • boxing history • boxing icons • boxing stars • Cassius Clay • Cultural Studies • greatest boxers • heavyweight • Heavyweight Boxing • heavyweight champions • Jack Dempsey • Jack Johnson • James Jeffries • Joe Louis • John L. Sullivan • Mike Tyson • Muhammed Ali • professional boxers • professional boxing • pugilists • race and sport • Rocky • Rocky Marciano • Social Studies • Sport History • Sweet Science • the Great White Hope
• ISBN-10: 1-4422-7290-2 / 1442272902
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4422-7290-3 / 9781442272903