2017 Seymour Medal from the Society for American Baseball Research 2016 Pete Delohery Award for Best Sports Book from Shelf Unbound When it opened in 1965, the Houston Astrodome, nicknamed the Eighth Wonder of the World, captured the attention of an entire nation, bringing pride to the city and enhancing its reputation nationwide. It was a Texas-sized vision of the future, an unthinkable feat of engineering with premium luxury suites, theater-style seating, and the first animated scoreboard. Yet there were memorable problems such as outfielders’ inability to see fly balls and failed attempts to grow natural grass—which ultimately led to the development of AstroTurf. The Astrodome nonetheless changed the way people viewed sports, putting casual fans at the forefront of a user-experience approach that soon became the standard in all American sports. The Eighth Wonder of the World tears back the facade and details the Astrodome’s role in transforming Houston as a city while also chronicling the building’s storied fifty years in existence and the ongoing debate about its preservation.
In the summer of 1960, a group of men in Houston, Texas set out to build the largest room in the world. That room would have to be large enough for a baseball game, sunny enough for grass to grow, and with air cool and clear enough for thousands of smokers to puff away in air-conditioned comfort. Led by a brilliant and colorful politician, this collection of architects, engineers, oilmen, scientists, and ballplayers created the Astrodome. What they built forever transformed the way baseball and other sports were played and viewed-for better and for worse. More importantly, theirs was a uniquely American achievement that reflected the place and extraordinary times in which it was constructed. This is the story of the creation and early days of the first domed stadium, highlighting the people who participated and the unprecedented solutions they developed for problems that had not previously existed. It places the building in its historic context among worldwide architectural and engineering accomplishments, as well as its cultural setting in mid-century America. It is the result of more than a year's research using both primary-source archival material and interviews with the participants.
Stadium construction has altered the physical landscape of many major metropolitan areas throughout North America and has had a profound psychological and economic impact on these urban centers. The ways athletic facilities have been constructed, from the ritual-centered beginnings of stadium construction in ancient Greece to the large-scale construction of professional sports facilities in present day global centers, reveal a culture’s values and priorities and how it defines its recreational needs. Drawing on thorough and wide-ranging research, Robert C. Trumpbour examines the political institutions, commercial entities, civic leadership, and media organizations that influenced stadium construction. The author analyzes three significant recent historical periods: the Progressive Era, when modern fireproof stadiums were first built; the late 1960s and early 1970s, when multipurpose stadiums were built in downtown areas to promote urban redevelopment; and the late 1990s, when retro ballparks were designed to accommodate commercial and entertainment space. Charting this evolution, Trumpbour convincingly argues that there has been a dramatic shift in the role of the media, with media access emerging as a vital element in setting the ground rules for the debate on stadium construction. Written in lucid, jargon-free prose, this book combines a detailed history of stadium construction with an analysis of current stadium issues.
America loves sports. This book examines and details the proof of this fascination seen throughout American society—in our literature, film, and music; our clothing and food; and the iconography of the nation. This momentous four-volume work examines and details the cultural aspects of sport and how sport pervasively reflects—and affects—myriad aspects of American society from the early 1900s to the present day. Written in a straightforward, readable manner, the entries cover both historical and contemporary aspects of sport and American culture. Unlike purely historical encyclopedias on sports, the contributions within these volumes cover related subject matter such as poetry, novels, music, films, plays, television shows, art and artists, mythologies, artifacts, and people. While this encyclopedia set is ideal for general readers who need information on the diverse aspects of sport in American culture for research purposes or are merely reading for enjoyment, the detailed nature of the entries will also prove useful as an initial source for scholars of sport and American culture. Each entry provides a number of both print and online resources for further investigation of the topic.
What do Texans' pastimes and recreations say about their characters? Looking at Texas history from a new angle, David McComb starts from the premise that how people spend their leisure time may well reveal more about their true natures and interests than the work they do or their family connections. In this innovative book, McComb traces the history of various types of recreation in Texas, gathering significant insights into the characters of Texans from the pleasures they have pursued. Reflecting the frontier origins of Texas, McComb starts with the recreations that were most popular with men in a crude, still-developing society—drinking, gambling, and whoring. He goes on to show how, as Texas became more civilized, so did its diversions. He describes how Texans have connected with nature in parks and zoos; watched football and baseball in great stadiums such as the Astrodome and Cotton Bowl; discovered the pleasure of reading in public and university libraries; and enjoyed radio, TV, movies, and live theater in places such as Houston's Alley Theatre. This recreational history reveals that Texans are open-minded and generous; that they respect the land; oppose prostitution but indulge in gambling and drinking; support racial and gender rights; love zoos; champion libraries; take pride in theatrical productions; and adore sports.
This book reflects Hofheinz's many faceted interests and his versatility and talents. Son of a poor Texas truck driver, his talents led him from a life to poverty to much wealth.
The national pastime's rich history and vast cache of statistics have provided fans and researchers a gold mine of narrative and data since the late 19th century. Many books have been written about Major League Baseball's most famous games. This one takes a different approach, focusing on MLB's most historically significant games. Some will be familiar to baseball scholars, such as the October afternoon in 1961 when Roger Maris eclipsed Babe Ruth's single-season home run record, or the compelling sixth game of the 1975 World Series. Other fascinating games are less well known: the day at the Polo Grounds in 1921, when a fan named Reuben Berman filed a lawsuit against the New York Giants, winning fans the right to keep balls hit into the stands; the first televised broadcast of an MLB game in 1939; opening night of the Houston Astrodome in 1965, when spectators no longer had to be taken out to the ballgame; or the spectator-less April 2015 Orioles-White Sox game, played in an empty stadium in the wake of the Baltimore riots. Each game is listed in chronological order, with detailed historical background and a box score.
The extremely varied geography of Texas, ranging from lush piney woods to arid, mountainous deserts, has played a major role in the settlement and development of the state. To gain full perspective on the influence of the land on the people of Texas, you really have to take to the air—and the authors of Historic Texas from the Air have done just that. In this beautiful book, dramatic aerial photography provides a complete panorama of seventy-three historic sites from around the state, showing them in extensive geographic context and revealing details unavailable to a ground-based observer. Each site in Historic Texas from the Air appears in a full-page color photograph, accompanied by a concise description of the site's history and importance. Contemporary and historical photographs, vintage postcard images, and maps offer further visual information about the sites. The book opens with images of significant natural landforms, such as the Chisos Mountains and the Big Thicket, then shows the development of Texas history through Indian spiritual sites (including Caddo Mounds and Enchanted Rock), relics from the French and Spanish occupation (such as the wreck of the Belle and the Alamo), Anglo forts and methods of communication (including Fort Davis and Salado's Stagecoach Inn), nineteenth-century settlements and industries (such as Granbury's courthouse square and Kreische Brewery in La Grange), and significant twentieth-century locales, (including Spindletop, the LBJ Ranch, and the Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport). For anyone seeking a visual, vital overview of Texas history, Historic Texas from the Air is the perfect place to begin.
This book is dedicated to and wants to honor the MUSIC of ELVIS PRESLEY. This book contains information relating to Elvis Presley’s concert activity currently known and publicly known, from 1944 to 1977, reporting the shows and rehearsals of the shows, with detailed information on the audio recordings of the same, in particular original CDs and bootlegs. Furthermore, the shows that were canceled during Elvis Presley’s lifetime were also indicated. - 1902 Shows and Rehearsals of which 1867 performed and 35 canceled from 1944 to 1977 (98,16 %) !!! - 818 Shows recorded of 1867 Shows and Rehearsals performed from 1944 to 1977 (43,81 %) !!! I chose to report the shows in chronological order, year by year, from 1944 to 1977, following a progressive numbering also for the tours. I have added: a chapter dedicated to interviews, films and television appearances, that Elvis Presley made from 1956 to 1977, containing detailed information on the audio and video recordings of the same: - 135 Interviews (1954 - 1977) !!! - 31 Films (1956 - 1969) - 2 Films during 1970 and 1972 Shows !!! - 17 TV Shows (1956 - 1977) !!! a chapter dedicated to the complete Elvis Presley U.S.A. Discography - Albums (1956 / 2024): - 268 Extended-Plays / Studio-Albums / Soundtrack-Albums / Live-Albums / Spoken-Word-Albums / Compilation-Albums / Budget-Albums / Box-Set-Albums / Posthumous-Compilation-Albums / Remix-Albums !!! a chapter dedicated to the complete Elvis Presley U.S.A. Discography - Singles (1954 / 1979): - 204 Singles a chapter dedicated to the complete Elvis Presley F.T.D. Discography (2009 / 2024): - 214 titles !!! a chapter dedicated to the complete Elvis Presley Recording Sessions (1953 / 1982) !!! from 1944 to 1977, I started reporting the shows and rehearsals of the shows, with detailed information on the VIDEO recordings of the same, in particular 8 mm and VHS Films, VCDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays. At the end of the book there are: statistical tables relating to all the information reported in it; a Guide to listening to ANALOG/DIGITAL MUSIC, which illustrates the fundamental theoretical concepts for listening to it, the digital formats used (WAVE, FLAC, DSD, DXD) in their most updated forms in order to listen to the music with the highest possible quality; a Guide to viewing DIGITAL VIDEO, which illustrates the theoretical foundations for viewing digital videos, the digital television formats used (HDTV, 4K, 8K), the types of interfaces and cables used (Serial Digital Interface, Firewire, HDMI, Digital Visual Interface, DisplayPort), the coding methods of data on cassettes and optical discs respectively, in their most updated forms in order to view digital videos with the highest possible quality. In the end I want to thank, with my heart and soul, Elvis Presley, for the unique talent he was able to express through his music, which gives me and many other people and will always give pure joy and happiness. Enjoy reading !!! Updated - Edition 1.10 !!!
