Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2019 - Science & Technology — Sports & Recreation — African and African American Studies

In the post-WW II era, Gaither (1903-91) coached football at Florida A&M--a historically black institution--and became a force in college football, with one of the winningest records of any collegiate coach. He established the Rattlers as the face of black football, with multiple perfect seasons, and earned coach of the year accolades. He founded the Orange Blossom Classic, a nationally acknowledged bowl game for premier black schools that provided both exposure and revenue. He developed successful coaching clinics attended by white as well as black high school and college coaches. Gaither's reputation, coaching clinics, and personality helped him recruit Florida's best black talent. He matched his Rattlers against so-called predominantly white institutions and won, furthering his record and standing. The civil rights successes of the 1960s, however, resulted in the decline of historically black college and university football dominance, as star players found opportunities at prestigious white institutions previously unavailable to black players. Gaither was caught in the middle. He sought the continuation of black identity and self-assurance but did not openly and avowedly support the assertive Civil Rights agenda, and this led to cries of Uncle Tomism. White (visiting professor of history, Dartmouth) does a masterful job of balancing black football and civil rights.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers.

During the 1968-69 school year, East High School in still de facto segregated Columbus, Ohio, saw its vaunted boys basketball team and underdog baseball teams win state championships. In a deeply racially divided, underfunded urban community still reeling from the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., these young men provided a measure of hope. Haygood, a journalist, captures the national, state, and local contexts within which the Tigers' sports seasons played out; he also focuses closely, studying the players' experiences on a nearly game-by-game basis. It is, of course, debatable how much one high school and two teams truly can heal a community, but there is little doubt that the East High School Tigers were a team of their era, embodying its fears and disappointments and its hopes, dreams, and successes. Haygood interviewed many surviving members of the teams and their classmates, coaches, and fans and dived into primary sources, such as archives and myriad newspapers, including the black press. He weaves the multiple historical strands together in a vibrant book that captures the era of the late-1960s in a northern city and the galvanizing effect of young athletes and their achievements.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.