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April 25, 2024

American Legion, Episode 1: An Excerpt from “Cracks in the Outfield Wall”

The following is an excerpt from Cracks in the Outfield Wall: The History of Baseball Integration in the Carolinas by Chris Holaday, which is now available wherever books are sold. In the summer of 1934, six teams of high school–age boys met in Gastonia, North Carolina, for a three-day tournament to decide the Eastern Sectional Champion of American Legion baseball.… Continue Reading American Legion, Episode 1: An Excerpt from “Cracks in the Outfield Wall”

Categories African American History/North Carolina/Sports
April 5, 2024

The Road to Madness: How the 1973-1974 Season—and the NC State Wolfpack—Transformed College Basketball

In an era when only one team per conference could compete, the dramatic defeat of coach John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins by the North Carolina State Wolfpack ended a decade of the Bruins’ dominance, fueled unprecedented national attention, and prompted the NCAA to expand the tournament field to a wider range of teams.  The following is an excerpt from The Road… Continue Reading The Road to Madness: How the 1973-1974 Season—and the NC State Wolfpack—Transformed College Basketball

Categories Sports
September 20, 2023

Billie Jean King Wins Again

The following is a guest post by Susan Ware, author of Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women’s Sports. As part of the research for my 2011 biography of Billie Jean King, I watched a video of “The Battle of the Sexes,” which took place fifty years ago on September 20, 1973. There it all was:… Continue Reading Billie Jean King Wins Again

Categories Guest Bloggers/Sports/Women's Studies
September 15, 2022

The Peculiar Passion Surrounding Team Sports

The following is an excerpt from Passion Plays: How Religion Shaped Sports in North America by Randall Balmer, available everywhere books and e-books are sold. To Everything a Season The Peculiar Passion Surrounding Team Sports Competitive team sports developed in North America at a time of rapid social, economic, political, demographic—and religious—change. From the emergence of baseball in the 1840s to… Continue Reading The Peculiar Passion Surrounding Team Sports

Categories Excerpts/Religion/Sports
April 5, 2022

Together: The Amazing Story of Carolina Basketball’s 2021-2022 Season, Coming Fall 2022!

PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE NOWPublished in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Athletics, featuring 150 color images, on sale November 2022: The definitive source on this year’s UNC Basketball team, Together: The Amazing Story of Carolina Basketball’s 2021-2022 Season by Adam Lucas, Steve Kirschner, and Matt Bowers, with a foreword by Hubert Davis, offers a behind-the-scenes… Continue Reading Together: The Amazing Story of Carolina Basketball’s 2021-2022 Season, Coming Fall 2022!

Categories Sports
April 2, 2022

An NCAA/College Basketball Reading List (Go Heels!)

If you’d like to do some reading up on past North Carolina Tar Heels seasons and successes, as well as learn about the history of the NCAA and college hoops in general, we offer you a curated baskeball reading list (plus take 40% off at checkout with promo code 01DAH40; valid for print books only). And: GO HEELS! Carolina Basketball:… Continue Reading An NCAA/College Basketball Reading List (Go Heels!)

Categories Sports/UNC Press News
February 2, 2022

How Martin Luther King Jr. Mastered the Masters

The following is a guest blog post from Lane Demas, author of Game of Privilege: An African American History of Golf. This groundbreaking history of African Americans and golf explores the role of race, class, and public space in golf course development, the stories of individual black golfers during the age of segregation, the legal battle to integrate public golf… Continue Reading How Martin Luther King Jr. Mastered the Masters

Categories African American Studies/Guest Bloggers/Sports
December 12, 2021

Staff Picks: 2021 UNC Press Holiday Gift Guide

We hope you’ve got your hot chocolate and eggnog ready for this winter season! Today we wanted to share some holiday gift recommendations from our staff. Don’t forget, we’re having a Holiday Sale too! Save 40% on any of these great stocking stuffers and all of our other UNC Press print books. You’ll also receive free shipping on orders of… Continue Reading Staff Picks: 2021 UNC Press Holiday Gift Guide

Categories African American Studies/Appalachian Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Biology/Birds & Birding/British History/Civil War/Cooking / Food/Creative Nonfiction/Environmental Studies/Gardening/History/Literature/Military History/Music/Nature/North Carolina/Political Science/Sports/Travel/UNC Press News
June 4, 2021

Communing with Golf and Nature

Guest blog post by Lee Pace, author of Good Walks: Rediscovering the Soul of Golf at Eighteen of the Carolinas’ Best Courses Howard Lee was an administrator in Governor Jim Hunt’s administration in 1977 when he initiated what would become a walking trail of some 1,200 miles from the North Carolina mountains to the Outer Banks. “To be able to get out… Continue Reading Communing with Golf and Nature

Categories North Carolina/Sports/Travel/UNC Press News
April 14, 2021

Looking Forward, Looking Back

Guest blog post by Pamela Grundy and Susan Shackelford, authors of Shattering the Glass: The Remarkable History of Women’s Basketball Aari McDonald stares out of her WNBA draft photo, arms folded, biceps sculpted, looking ahead. On April 15, when the draft kicks off the WNBA’s silver anniversary season, McDonald will go high. She has just come off a stellar NCAA… Continue Reading Looking Forward, Looking Back

Categories Guest Bloggers/Sports/Women's Studies
April 2, 2021

Pelé as Avatar of Afro-Brazilian Soccer History

Guest blog post by Jack A. Draper III, translator of the new English language edition of The Black Man in Brazilian Soccer by Mario Filho Recently another film about Brazilian soccer legend Pelé was released. The word “another” is necessary because, not surprisingly considering the worldwide popularity of the subject, there have been a number of documentaries and at least one… Continue Reading Pelé as Avatar of Afro-Brazilian Soccer History

Categories Latino Studies/Sports
December 21, 2020

Jack A. Draper III: Pibes and Moleques on the Soccer Field: The Parallel Stories of Maradona and Pelé, Argentina and Brazil

Today we welcome a guest post from Jack A. Draper III, translator of The Black Man in Brazilian Soccer by Mario Filho, out April 2021 from UNC Press. At turns lyrical, ironic, and sympathetic, Mario Filho’s chronicle of “the beautiful game” is a classic of Brazilian sports writing. Filho (1908–1966)—a famous Brazilian journalist after whom Rio’s Maracanã stadium is officially… Continue Reading Jack A. Draper III: Pibes and Moleques on the Soccer Field: The Parallel Stories of Maradona and Pelé, Argentina and Brazil

Categories Author blog entry/Guest Bloggers/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Sports/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
March 17, 2020

Author Interview: Jennifer L. Etnier on Coaching for the Love of the Game

In this Q&A, professor of kinesiology Jennifer L. Etnier discusses her new book Coaching for the Love of the Game: A Practical Guide for Working with Young Athletes, available now from UNC Press. More than 45 million children play youth sports in the United States each year, and most are coached by parent volunteers with good intentions but little training.… Continue Reading Author Interview: Jennifer L. Etnier on Coaching for the Love of the Game

Categories Author blog entry/Guest Bloggers/Sports/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
September 6, 2018

Pamela Grundy: In Search of Ora Washington

Today we welcome a guest post from historian Pamela Grundy, whose work helped lead to the nomination, and upcoming enshrinement, of Ora Washington, who was credited as the greatest female athlete of her time and was a part of 11 straight Women’s Colored Basketball Championship teams, into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later this week. ### Pamela Grundy:… Continue Reading Pamela Grundy: In Search of Ora Washington

Categories African American History/African American Studies/Author blog entry/Sports/UNC Press News/Women's Studies
March 12, 2018

Excerpt: Print News and Raise Hell: The Unknown Early Origins of Basketball at Carolina

Yesterday was Selection Sunday, which officially kicks off March Madness.  Today, we feature an excerpt from Kenneth Joel Zogry’s Print News and Raise Hell:  The Daily Tar Heel and the Evolution of a Modern University, on the early origins of basketball at UNC. For over 125 years, the Daily Tar Heel has chronicled life at the University of North Carolina… Continue Reading Excerpt: Print News and Raise Hell: The Unknown Early Origins of Basketball at Carolina

Categories Excerpts/Sports
February 9, 2018

Interview with Lane Demas, author of USGA award winner, Game of Privilege

Today, as we continue to celebrate African American History month, we’re sharing an interview with Lane Demas, whose book, Game of Privilege:  An African American History of Golf, won the 2017 Herbert Warren Wind Book Award from the United States Golf Association (USGA).   This award is part of the USGA’s annual Service Awards, celebrating the the leadership, dedication and exemplary… Continue Reading Interview with Lane Demas, author of USGA award winner, Game of Privilege

Categories African American Studies/Interviews/Sports/UNC Press News
October 15, 2017

Excerpt: Redemption: Carolina Basketball’s 2016–2017 Journey from Heartbreak to History

Today marks the official publication of Redemption:  Carolina Basketball’s 2016–2017 Journey from Heartbreak to History by Adam Lucas, Steve Kirschner, and Matt Bowers.  We’re celebrating the Tar Heels’ national championship with the official companion book. Redemption is a behind-the-scenes look at the Tar Heels’ ride to the 2017 national title. Featuring some never before published, exclusive photographs that will take… Continue Reading Excerpt: Redemption: Carolina Basketball’s 2016–2017 Journey from Heartbreak to History

Categories Excerpts/Sports/UNC Press News
September 19, 2017

Lane Demas: Tiger Woods and his career are officially history

Today we welcome a guest blog post from Lane Demas, author of Game of Privilege:  An African American History of Golf, on Tiger Woods and his legacy for African American golfers. Game of Privilege is a groundbreaking history of African Americans and golf, exploring the role of race, class, and public space in golf course development, the stories of individual… Continue Reading Lane Demas: Tiger Woods and his career are officially history

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American Studies/Civil Rights/Current Events/Sports/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News