Sports

Our Sports American history book series highlights the most important moments, players, teams, personalities, triumphs, and losses that define the history of sports. Go duck hunting in Chesapeake Bay, skiing in Sun Valley, or hit a hole-in-one on South Carolina’s beautiful golf courses. Relive the highs and lows of Clemson’s football team, then trace the legacy of Mike Lum, the first Japanese American baseball player of the Major League. From the Charlotte Motor Speedway to surfing on Newport Beach, these American sports books thrill from the first page to the last. [View all Sports books]
11 products
Racing in Daytona Beach
Racing in Daytona Beach
$21.99
100 Years of Baseball on St. Petersburg's Waterfront
100 Years of Baseball on St. Petersburg's Waterfront
$23.99
Fishing Florida by Paddle
Fishing Florida by Paddle
$24.99
A History of Fishing in the Florida Keys
A History of Fishing in the Florida Keys
$21.99
Spring Training in Sarasota 1924-1960:
Spring Training in Sarasota 1924-1960:
$21.99
Spring Training in Clearwater:
Spring Training in Clearwater:
$21.99
Cover image for Tampa Spring Training Tales, isbn: 9781467156363
Tampa Spring Training Tales
$24.99
Baseball in Pensacola:
Baseball in Pensacola:
$24.99
Central Florida Thoroughbreds:
Central Florida Thoroughbreds:
$21.99
Sport Lauderdale:
Sport Lauderdale:
$21.99
Florida's First Big League Baseball Players
Florida's First Big League Baseball Players
$21.99

Racing in Daytona Beach

9781467142779

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Long before the Speedway was even a glimmer in Bill France Sr.'s eye, racers in Daytona Beach were careening along at the fastest possible clip. Cars were still a novelty in 1903 when Daytona Beach drivers were pushing for land speed records on a track near today's Granada Avenue beach entrance. A reputation was born here early, drawing racing pioneers like Sara Christian, who famously raced her husband on the combination dirt and paved track in 1949. From the brave forerunners who tore up the hard-packed sand to the modern vehicles blasting away at nearly two hundred miles per hour on Daytona Beach International Speedway, Robert Redd explores the driving tradition that has made Daytona Beach a racing mecca.
Racing in Daytona Beach

100 Years of Baseball on St. Petersburg's Waterfront

9781467152860

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Step onto the field and bear witness to baseball’s outsized impact on Florida’s Sunshine City.

100 Years of Baseball on St. Petersburg's Waterfront

Fishing Florida by Paddle

9781467140638

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From Pensacola to Jacksonville to the Everglades, fishing by paddle craft in the Sunshine State offers seemingly endless journeys.


Whether in the cypress dugouts of the Calusa, Dimock's wood-and-canvas tarpon fishing canoe or modern fiberglass and plastic, humans have been paddle fishing in Florida for thousands of years. Sprinkling colorful history throughout, author John Kumiski highlights the state's best paddle fishing destinations, both freshwater and saltwater, including the bass of Farm 13, the redfish and trout along the Big Bend Paddling Trail and the snook and tarpon of the Everglades. Learn the locales and what to do when you get there, including launch points, shuttles, rentals, tackle, techniques and more.

Fishing Florida by Paddle

A History of Fishing in the Florida Keys

9781609499983

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Since the arrival of Ponce de Leon in the 1500s, the Florida Keys have evolved from a dense, nearly impenetrable jungle full of bears, pumas, snakes, alligators and crocodiles into America's Caribbean islands. And the fish in the region have made the Keys one of the nation's favorite playgrounds for anglers. The Keys are home to more saltwater fishing records than any other angling destination in the world and offer sportsmen an array of amazing fish, from tarpon and Spanish mackerel to mahi-mahi and bonefish. U.S. presidents, celebrities and the world's greatest fishermen and women have cruised the waters of South Florida. Join author Bob T. Epstein on a journey through the storied history of fishing in the Florida Keys.
A History of Fishing in the Florida Keys

Spring Training in Sarasota 1924-1960:

9781596290723

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The warm weather and easy-going lifestyle found in Sarasota, Florida has attracted visitors since the early twentieth century. It is not surprising that several professional baseball teams have also been lured to this beautiful destination to participate in their seasonal spring training. Spring Training in Sarasota, 1924 ? 1960, by longtime resident and author Jeff LaHurd, chronicles the coming of professional baseball to Sarasota beginning with the arrival of the New York Giants and eventually, after the Giants's departure, the coming of the Boston Red Sox. LaHurd revisits the joys and challenges the city faced while playing host to these teams and the larger-than-life personalities that filled the teams? rosters. Enjoyable and informative, this book returns the reader to a golden period in not only Sarasota's history, but baseball's as well. Features tales about greats like Giants fiery manager John J. McGraw and Boston's legendary slugger Ted Williams.
Spring Training in Sarasota 1924-1960:

Spring Training in Clearwater:

9781596292147

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This chronicle of baseball superstars and hardcore statistics careens Philadelphia Phillies and Clearwater Threshers fans from the early days of professional baseball to today's Grapefruit League. Accompanied by over seventy-five action-packed pictures, de Quesada describes the countless Phillies and Threshers stories that show the remarkable bond between Clearwater and the Phillies organization. Included are the tales of of the All-Girls Professional Baseball League, the first appearance of the Phillie Phanatic and the Tiki Bar at Bright House Networks field as well as the detailed exploits of Tug McGraw, Mike Schmidt and Paul "Pope" Owens.
Spring Training in Clearwater:

Tampa Spring Training Tales

9781467156363

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Since 1913, Tampa has provided the background for some of the Major League Baseball's most iconic spring moments led, of course, by the longest home run of Babe Ruth's career. Tampa was the scene of the Grapefruit League's first no-hitter and the only spring time All-star Game. It was the first gathering place of the Big Red Machine and the Core Four. Well over 125 Hall of Famers honed their craft among the city's three major league ballparks: Plant Field, Al Lopez Field and Steinbrenner Field. All of it resulted from a diverse city's love of the game that began with baseball-crazed cigar factory workers before the turn of the 20th century .

Cover image for Tampa Spring Training Tales, isbn: 9781467156363

Baseball in Pensacola:

9781609497828

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The Western Gate to the Sunshine State boasts an epic history of hardball, dating back nearly to the beginning of the sport. Sunshine, loyal fans and pristine beaches have attracted baseball's best athletes to Pensacola--from stars like Babe Ruth and Ted Williams to the Blue Wahoos, modern-day affiliate for the Cincinnati Reds. The city is home to major-league teams during spring training, minor-league teams during the season and baseball fanatics year-round. Whether it's following big-league icons or cheering high school future stars, Pensacola's love affair with baseball runs deep. Team up with local author Scott Brown as he details the area's greatest moments in America's oldest pastime.
Baseball in Pensacola:

Central Florida Thoroughbreds:

9781626190757

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Back in the 1940s, when Florida was the Wild West of the East, a few hearty souls dared to think they might compete with the finest, blue-blooded racehorses and their breeders with their own stock raised among palm trees, sand and alligators. Florida was the cracker cowboy state, and cowponies were expected. But the scoffers failed to realize what the wealth of limestone, the power of warm sunshine year round and the cold, crystalline freshwater springs that are the gems of central Florida would mean to the raising of healthy, competitive animals. When the first Thoroughbreds produced in Florida, admittedly small and scrappy, began to outrun their pedigrees," the nation of Thoroughbred breeders had to take notice. Join author Charlene R. Johnson as she details the fascinating equine history of central Florida."
Central Florida Thoroughbreds:

Sport Lauderdale:

9781596291454

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Broward County, Florida's location, its climate and the facilities it offers athletes make it a natural training ground for winners in a variety of sports.

Broward County is a hotbed for athletic activity. From serious sluggers to hard-charging halfbacks, Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding area have produced superstars in a wide variety of sports--even ice skating and hockey. Featuring over thirty photographs of phenomenal area athletes, this fun, accessible history details the story of nearly every sport to touch the field, court, and ice of Broward County, covering youth and high school teams, NCAA and NJCAA, as well as professional teams. Golf pros, tennis aces, super swimmers and even the stars of soapbox derby all share some time in the sun in Sport Lauderdale.
Sport Lauderdale:

Florida's First Big League Baseball Players

9781596291164

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In recent years, Florida's playgrounds have produced an abundance of exceptional professional baseball players: Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Luis Gonzales and Tino Martinez, to name only a few. Before 1950, however, only twenty-six Florida boys made it to the pros got their shot in the big leagues.

Players like Tampa's Al Lopez, a Hall of Fame member and baseball's first Hispanic manager, and Pensacola native Russ Scarritt, who set the Boston Red Sox record for most triples in a season his rookie year, blazed a trail that has opened the door for many of today's baseball superstars. Florida's First Big League Baseball Players, by baseball historian and enthusiast Wes Singletary, is a narrative journey into the early days of baseball in Florida before 1950.

When this project was undertaken only eight of the original twenty-six players were still living. Written from hours of interviews and presented in a narrative form that is engaging and informative, this collection allows the reader to journey back to a time when the game was more innocent and the heart of the men playing, a little bigger.
Florida's First Big League Baseball Players