Bibliography of British Sports History
Volume
Three - Bibliography of Biographical Studies of British
Sportsmen, Sportswomen and Animals
This book is dedicated to Amy and Edward my sporting
heroes.
Preface
This bibliography, which lists in
classified order national histories of sport(s) in Britain is volume one of a
three volumed bibliographical series documenting the literature of British
sports history. It is complemented by Volume One - Nation-wide Studies in
the History of British Sport
(London: Frank Cass, 2001) and Volume Two - Local Studies in the
History of British Sport (including histories of individual clubs, teams,
venues and tournaments (London: Frank Cass, 2001). Collectively, they list the
secondary works on the history of sport in Britain and comprise the second
stage of a three stage project to document the sources for the study of the
history of sport in Britain.
The first phase was to identify the
different types of sources for researching the development of sport(s) and
sport-related topics in Britain, discuss their merits, problems associated with
their use, and guidance on
how to identify and locate the existence of individual items of
potential interest. This was published as History of Sport: A Guide to the
Literature and Sources of Information (Frodsham: Sports History Publishing,
1994). A second, updated edition is planned for publication in 2002 (Frank
Cass).
The third phase is to document
selected primary sources for the study of sport in Britain. The first part, A Selective Bibliography
of Printed Primary Sources on British Sport is due for publication in 2002.
This lists in classified order the principal contemporary monographs and
periodical publications. More specialist indexes include a listing of archive
collections Sporting Archives in the
U.K. (London: The Sports Council, 1983), manuscripts Index to Sporting Manuscripts in the U.K.
(Frodsham: Sports History Publishing 1985) and indexes to prominent 19th and
early 20th century journals (already underway but not due for publication until
sometime into the future).
The final step will
be to establish and
maintain an up‑to‑date on‑line bibliography of both
primary and secondary sources which may be searched in a number of fields
using key words selected from a controlled vocabulary and accessed remotely
via the Internet.
In the 10 years which have elapsed
since publication of the first edition of this bibliography, sports history has
taken giant strides forwards in scholarship and the output of publications has
more than doubled. The recognition it now enjoys as an important aspect of our
cultural heritage is reflected in the prestigious publishing houses which now
have special series and serials on sports history and the fact that most authors no longer feel obliged to justify the subject
in the manner they once did.
The growth in literature is
reflected in the size of the annual bibliography of sports history publications
which I have compiled since 1984. The first one, published in the British
Journal of Sports History (later to become the International Journal of
the History of Sport) totalled around 150 entries, the one for 1999 is
almost 1000. The sheer volume necessitated it being withdrawn from the journal
in 1995 and is now published as a separate volume in its own right (Frank Cass,
2001).
The rapid increase in publications
in recent years can be explained in part to the fact that during the late 1980s
and early 90s, many clubs, leagues and governing bodies have celebrated their
centenaries and produced histories to commemorate their achievements. It is
also the result of the growing popularity and realisation of the importance and
significance of sports history research within academe. Although the number of
sports history courses taught within Sports Studies/Physical Education
departments has declined, it has mushroomed in departments of history, at
undergraduate and post-graduate level, facilitated in part, by the introduction
of modular degrees in just about every institution of higher education in
Britain. Also, the number of students in higher education in Britain is also
nearly double what it was a decade ago and this must have had some impact, and
undoubtedly explains the other phenomena, growing numbers of higher degree
students pursuing sports history research. A number of recent publications also
illustrate the growing interest in sports history within Workers' Educational
Associations, local history societies, oral history groups, local authority
history units, etc. The public at large are also now demanding to know more
about sport in all its facets. Continuous exposure to sport by the media and
the growing interventions of the state have engaged more and more of the
population in following - or better still - participating in sport. These
individuals now want to know more about the activities they enjoy, the teams
they support and the stars they worship. The growth of IT literacy, the ready
access to desk-top publishing software and on-demand printing has helped ensure
that the record keeping of amateur enthusiasts, club administrators, etc finds
its way into print. The once hand written manuscript deposited within the club
archive is today more likely to be word-processed, printed off and distributed
to anyone who wants a copy, including the local library.
The result of this increased
popularity in sports history is that the 2nd edition of this bibliography is
double the size of the first.
Contents
Foreword
by
Preface
Contents
Acknowledgements.....................................................................................
Introduction.........................................................................................
Compilation
of the
Bibliography......................................................................
Additional
Notes to the Compilation of the 2nd edition...............................................
Organisation
of the
Bibliography.....................................................................
Using
the
Bibliography...............................................................................
Postscript:
A Short Note on Bibliographical
Scholarship...............................................
A Few
Notes on Sources for Biographical
Studies......................................................
Section A Collective Biographies
Aerobatics.................................................................
Angling....................................................................
Archery....................................................................
Association
Football.......................................................
Athletics..................................................................
Badminton..................................................................
Ballooning.................................................................
Bear
Baiting...............................................................
Billiards..................................................................
Bowling....................................................................
Boxing.....................................................................
Canoeing...................................................................
Caving.....................................................................
Cock‑Fighting..............................................................
Coursing...................................................................
Cricket....................................................................
Croquet....................................................................
Curling....................................................................
Cycling....................................................................
Darts......................................................................
Deer
Stalking..............................................................
Dog
Racing.................................................................
Driving....................................................................
Eventing...................................................................
Fencing....................................................................
Field
Hockey................................................................................................................
Fox‑Hunting................................................................
Gaelic
Football............................................................
Game
Shooting..............................................................
Gliding....................................................................
Golf.......................................................................
Gymnastics.................................................................
Handball...................................................................
Homing.....................................................................
Horse‑Racing...............................................................
Hurling....................................................................
Ice‑Hockey.................................................................
Ice‑Skating................................................................
Judo.......................................................................
Knurr and
Spell............................................................
Lacrosse...................................................................
Lawn
Tennis................................................................
Motor‑Car
Racing...........................................................
Motor‑Cycle
Racing.........................................................
Mountaineering.............................................................
Parachuting................................................................
Polo.......................................................................
Power Boat
Racing..........................................................
Punting....................................................................
Rackets....................................................................
Real
Tennis................................................................
Rock
Climbing..............................................................
Rowing.....................................................................
Rugby
League...............................................................
Rugby
Union................................................................
Sailing....................................................................
Shinty.....................................................................
Shooting...................................................................
Show
Jumping...............................................................
Skiing.....................................................................
Snooker....................................................................
Speedway...................................................................
Squash.....................................................................
Swimming and
Diving........................................................
Table
Tennis...............................................................
Water
Polo.................................................................
Weight‑Lifting.............................................................
Wrestling..................................................................
Individual Biographies
A..........................................................................
B..........................................................................
C..........................................................................
D..........................................................................
E..........................................................................
F..........................................................................
G..........................................................................
H..........................................................................
I..........................................................................
J..........................................................................
K..........................................................................
L..........................................................................
M..........................................................................
N..........................................................................
O..........................................................................
P..........................................................................
Q..........................................................................
R..........................................................................
S..........................................................................
T..........................................................................
U..........................................................................
V..........................................................................
X..........................................................................
Y..........................................................................
Z..........................................................................
Author
Index........................................................................................
Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to reiterate
my thanks to the many friends, colleagues and family whose help and support I
acknowledged in the first edition.
With specific reference to this
second edition, I would like to single out the ongoing support of John Jenkins
who for the last 10 years has been a constant source of information,
voluntarily plying me with new references and patiently reading through what I
have listed to iron out the inevitable mistakes. Andrew Huxtable of the
National Union of Track and Field Statisticians, Andy Mitchell of the Scottish
Football Association and Jack Williams also deserve a special mention for
making this publication and the other in the series much better publications
than they would have otherwise been. Professors John Bale, Jeff Hill, Grant
Jarvie, John McIlwaine, Gertrud Pfister, Mike Salter, Wray Vamplew and Gareth
Williams, all fellow members of the
British Society of Sports History, have also provided inspiration and support
in different ways at different times. The support of Sport UK in enabling me to
attend a number of international conferences where I have benefited from
exposure to new ideas and information is also much appreciated.
Introduction
This bibliography has been compiled
to meet the increasing demand by social historians, physical educationists,
librarians, journalists, book collectors and all those otherwise interested in
publications on the history of sport in Britain for information. Every week I
receive many enquiries, to which, unfortunately, I simply do not have the time
to respond to. Hopefully, this publication will provide a useful source for
many of those enquiries.
The background and history to the
project as a whole were outlined in detail in the Preface to the 1st edition
and a forthcoming article ('Tales of a Bibliophile...' see below) but basically
several bibliographies containing references on the history of sport in Britain
already existed, but these were restricted to particular categories ‑
forms of publications (monographs, periodical articles, conference papers,
etc.); periods in history (Medieval, Victorian, etc.); individual or groups of
individual activities (ball games, water sports, cricket, etc.), geographical
areas (East Anglia, London, etc.); religion, race or gender; country, period,
language of publication; publishers, library collections; levels of scholarship
or some combination of the above. [1] Historical bibliographies, on the other hand,
at least until recently had largely ignored details of sporting literature. [2]
Since existing bibliographies are highly selective and/or limited in scope, and
because as a whole, they fail to provide comprehensive coverage of the total
literature on the history of sport in Britain there was an obvious need for a
new compilation of this kind. This is what led to the publication of the first
edition in 1991 and now the demand for an updated version.
This bibliography attempts to
document all that which has been written in the English language on the history
of sport(s) and physical education in Britain nation-wide (including historical
reference works). As mentioned in the Preface, it is one volume of a 3 volumed
series which collectively in turn comprise the second part of a three‑part
project. Its intention is to list all secondary source material (monographs,
periodical articles, conference papers, chapters in books, Festschriften,
theses, and typescripts), including reference works, in a classified order to
meet the needs of the sports historian and all those otherwise interested in
the development of sport in Britain and its literature. Summaries and abstracts
published in conference reports have also been included in the hope that where
little alternative literature exists they provide a useful lead via the author
to other information.
Before outlining in more detail what
exactly is and is not included in the bibliography it is important to clarify a
few of the terms used. For the purposes of this bibliography, I have
interpreted the term sport in a very broad sense to include all forms of
competitive human‑instigated activity involving physical skill, often
bound by a set of rules and engaged in for the pursuit of pleasure or other
reward. With this definition in mind, it is clear that some activities can be
classified as a sport under some conditions but not under others. For example,
sailing is a form of human‑instigated activity involving physical skill,
engaged in for the pursuit of pleasure, but only counts as sport when carried
out under competitive conditions. Although this working definition would
include field sports because they are competitive, human‑instigated
involving physical skills, bound by a set of rules (however rudimentary), in
the pursuit of pleasure, it would not include such activities as chess, bridge
or poker. Although they are competitive, human‑instigated activities
bound by a set of rules, engaged in for the pursuit of pleasure, they are not
primarily physical in nature. Histories of physical education and training have
been included because of the manner in which the expressions have sometimes
been used to subsume the term sport and because in the correct sense of the
term, the physical education/training curriculum has often employed sporting
activities to achieve its goals.
A secondary source is regarded as a
work passing comment or making judgement on events passed. It is distinguished
from a primary source which simply documents or describes decisions, events and
states of affairs. By and large, primary sources are written and compiled
nearer to the time of the event and therefore cannot offer hindsight with
respect to the passing of time. These works which would include such titles as Soccer
Skills for Teenagers, Fishing the Test, The Rules of Hockey,
etc. are included in the select bibliography of primary sources (see below).
Reference works may be regarded as secondary sources listing and or summarising
information. Most of these working
definitions will become more apparent following examination of the limitations
outlined in the next few pages.
Included in this bibliography are:
Collective and individual
autobiographies, biographies and
memoirs of British nationals and
British‑born physical educationists, sportsmen and women including sports artists, broadcasters, coaches,
journalists, managers,
photographers, punters, referees,
trainers and umpires, etc. This includes studies of or by individuals
known primarily for their lives as administrators, clergymen, journalists,
politicians, etc. but who devoted
considerable time to sport and sports
related activities and
this aspect of
their life was represented in
the work cited.
Biographical studies of famous
'British' dogs, horses, cars, etc. in respect of their sporting careers.
Biographical studies of expatriates
who made their name as
sportsmen and women whilst
still British nationals
living in Britain are included (eg. Athlete Mary Rand ‑ Olympic gold
medallist for Britain, but
now an American citizen),
but not those
who moved overseas
before establishing their reputations (eg. Cricketer Archibald Jackson ‑ Scottish
born but played only for
Australia). Similarly, individuals
who came to Britain from overseas, established their
reputations as sportsmen or sportswomen in Britain and became British citizens
are included (eg. Olympic Weight lifter
Precious McKenzie ‑ Jamaican born but raised in and
competed for Britain before finally settling in New Zealand) but not those who came to Britain established their
career with a British club or team but remained foreign nationals (eg. Johnny Giles ‑ who it might be said
developed his skills with
Manchester United, found
fame with Leeds United but played for
Ireland and retained his Irish citizenship), including
those who represented Britain
in international competition
(eg.Footballer Gary Bailey
‑ South African born played football for Manchester
United and England but retained
his South Africa
citizenship). British citizens who through employment or for purposes of
special training were based overseas (eg. the ice skater John Curry ‑
born in Britain, developed his skills
in
the United States but represented Britain in major competition) or
through parentage qualified and
opted to represent an overseas country in sport (eg.Footballer ‑
John Aldridge ‑ born and
raised in Liverpool,
established his playing career
with British Clubs
but opted to
represent Ireland in International Competition) are also
included. The nationality of most of
the horses included in Part III were not known to the compiler
but included if it was on British racecourses where they established their
reputations.
Excluded from the bibliography are:
Histories of sport(s) in Britain.
National histories are included in volume one of the series Nation-wide
Studies in the History of Sport in Britain and volume two - Local
Studies in the History of Sport in Britain.
Who's Who of individual clubs and
teams, including, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These are
included in Volumes One and Two under the individual country and sport or club,
respectively.
Publications in the English language
published after 31 December, 1999, the cut-off date for the bibliography.
Autobiographies, biographies and memoirs of foreign sportsmen
and women, cars, dogs and horses, including those who spent a considerable part
of their playing career in Britain.
This includes studies of famous
racing motorcycles and motor
cars made famous by British sportsmen/women but designed and manufactured
overseas.
Autobiographies, biographies and memoirs of once‑famous
sportsmen and women in respect of
their other (non‑sporting related) careers
as administrators, clergy, politicians, members of the Royal
Family etc. For example, biographical studies of Jim Laker as a cricketer and cricket commentator are included and so is a study
of David Sheppard as a
cricketer. Biographical studies
of David Sheppard purely as a Bishop,
on the other hand, are not included.
Autobiographies, biographies
and memoirs paying
little or no attention to sport,
despite the sporting achievements or otherwise of the individual.
Studies analysing the technique
of individual performers
purely from a technical point of view as in a book
or article, etc.
on biomechanics or kinesiology, etc. Obituaries, testimonial
brochures and individual
entries from biographical dictionaries. For obituaries from The Times
see F. Roberts (ed.) Obituaries From The Times, 1951‑60 (and Supplements, 1961‑70, 1971‑75),
(London: Newspaper Archive Developments Ltd.). For a
selection of obituaries
of cricketers appearing in the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack see: B. Green
(ed.) The Wisden Book of
Obituaries (London: MacDonald, 1985) and "Deaths Omitted From
Wisden' series in The Cricket
Statistician (1973 0nwards).
Testimonial brochures of cricketers published before 1979 are listed in
Padwick (946). For details of
individual entries in the Dictionary of National Biography see D. Banks
(ed.), A Chronological and
Occupational Index to
the Dictionary of National
Biography (London: Oxford
University Press, forthcoming) (this index, which has sportsmen as a separate
category, is also available on‑line via Mr. D. Banks
at the Department of English
Literature, University of
Glasgow); and also note that many of
the encyclopedias of
sport and of individual sports (especially the Hale
Series) listed in Part I and the various Who's Who series in Parts
II and III contain short biographical details of prominent sports men and
women. A list of First Class Cricketers
appearing in
Who's
Who (1897‑1970) compiled by C. J. Bartlett appeared
in The Journal of the Cricket Society 9, 3 (Autumn 1979), 42‑45
and 9, 4 (Spring 1980), 72‑75.
Coaching/instruction manuals
except where a substantial portion of the text is of a biographical
nature.
Published primary sources such
as directories of officers, names and addresses etc.; match reports,
etc. unless they were special editions
(eg. centenary yearbook) including some form of historical account. These are too vast in number to
include. A select list of printed
primary sources is to be published by the compiler in due course. Some may by
traced by referring to R. W. Cox's compilation of 19th Century British sporting
literature in The New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature
(Cambridge University Press, 1998) and the
guides and bibliographies noted on p. ix and the reference works,
special collections, etc. listed at the foot of each section.
Manuscript sources such as
diaries. For details of
sporting manuscripts in
public and selected
private collections in the UK,
see R. W. Cox (comp.), Sport: A Guide to Historical Archives in
the U.K. (London: The Sports
Council, 1983). This is updated annually in The British
Society of Sports History Bulletin.
An updated and on‑line bibliography is planned for the future.
Films, videos, oral recordings and
other non‑printed materials. See The British
National Film and
Video Catalogue, it is published annually and available at most
large reference libraries or the library of
the British Film Institute, 21 Stepehn Street, London W1P 2LN.
Fiction.
Finally, it is important for the
user to appreciate that no quality control has been imposed on the
entries included or excluded
outside the confines just described.
Whilst some works
will be of
considerable value to
the social historian others will offer little help. The policy has been to include everything
known to exist, irrespective of
availability, size or scholarship. It
is the compiler's contention that accurate and reliable studies, regardless of their scholarship, in terms of historical analysis, are often
a valuable starting point
for the academic historian, if only to identify significant events and
personalities. This is especially the
case in relatively new
and uncharted areas of historical investigation where a wealth of
literature does not already exist.
More important in
the context of
this bibliography, however, is
the fact that it is also intended to provide a valuable reference source for librarians, journalists, collectors and all
other such groups interested in the history of sport in Britain.
In due course, especially when a
wealth of scholarly literature has amassed, as one suspects it will on the
basis of recent trends, there may
be a
case for coding entries
in terms of scholarship in order to assist the more discerning academic
historian differentiate what is likely to be more pertinent to his/her
particular interests.
Compilation
of the Bibliography
This bibliography has been compiled
from an examination of the holdings of many public and private collections in
particular:
I.
Public Collections
A.
National Libraries
The
British Library (Reference Division)
The
National Library of Scotland (Edinburgh)
The
National Library of Wales (Aberystwyth)
B.
Local Libraries
Aberdeen,
Aberystwyth, Arbroath, Accrington, Alloa, Altrincham, Ashford, Ashington,
Ashton‑under‑Lyne, Aylesbury, Ayr, Balivanich, Ballymena,
Ballynalinch, Barking, Barnsley, Barry, Basingstoke, Bath, Batley, Bearsden,
Bedford, Belfast, Berwick‑upon‑Tweed, Bexley, Birkenhead,
Birmingham, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bingley, Bodmin, Bolton, Bootle, Bournemouth,
Bradford, Brent, Bridgend, Brierley Hill, Brighton, Bristol, Bromley, Burnley,
Burton‑on‑Trent, Bury, Bury St Edmunds, Caernarfon, Cambridge,
Camden, Cannock, Canterbury, Cardiff, Carlisle, Carmarthen, Chelsea, Chester,
Chesterfield, Chippenham, Chorley, Cinderford, Cirencester, Clydebank,
Colchester, Coventry, Crewe, Croydon, Cumnock, Cwmbran, Dagenham, Darlington,
Derby, Doncaster, Dorchester, Dudley, Dumbarton, Dumfries, Dundee, Dunfermline,
Dunoon, Durham, Ealing, Edinburgh, Elgin, Elmbridge, Enfield, Epsom, Evesham,
Exeter, Falkirk, Farnborough, Farnworth, Fermanagh, Folkestone, Forfar, Fulham,
Gateshead, Giffnock, Gillingham, Glasgow (Mitchell Library), Gloucester,
Gravesend, Greenock, Grimsby, Guildford, Hackney, Haddington, Halifax,
Hamilton, Hammersmith, Harrogate, Hartlepool, Haverfordwest, Havering, Hemel
Hempstead, Hendon, Hereford, Hertford, High Wycombe, Hillingdon, Hinckley,
Hounslow, Hove, Huddersfield, Hull, Huntingdon, Huyton, Ilkeston, Ilkley,
Inverness, Ipswich, Islington, Keighley, Kendal, Knutsford, Lambeth, Lanark,
Leamington Spa, Leeds, Leek, Leicester, Leigh, Lewes, Lewisham, Leyland,
Lincoln, Liverpool (Picton Library), Llandrindod Wells, Llandudno, Llangefni,
London (The Guildhall Library), Londonderry, Loughborough, Lowestoft,
Lymington, Lytham St Annes, Macclesfield, Maidstone, Manchester, Mansfield,
Margate, Matlock, Melton Mowbray, Merthyr Tydfil, Merton, Middlesbrough,
Middleton, Mitcham, Mold, Morpeth, Motherwell, Musselburgh, Nelson, Newark‑upon‑Trent,
Newcastle‑upon‑Tyne, Newport (Isle of Wight), Newport
(Monmouthshire), Northallerton, Northampton, North Shields, Norwich,
Nottingham, Nuneaton, Oakham, Omagh, Oxford, Peebles, Perth, Peterborough,
Plumstead, Plymouth, Portadown, Portsmouth, Preston, Rawtenstall, Reading,
Redcar, Renfrew, Richmond‑upon‑Thames, Rochdale, Rotherham, Rugby,
Runcorn, St Helens, Sale, Salford, Salisbury, Scarborough, Selkirk, Sevenoaks,
Sheffield, Shrewsbury, Sittingbourne, Sleaford, Slough, Smethwick, Solihull,
Southampton, South Shields, Southwark, Stafford, Stirling, Stockport, Stockton‑upon‑Tees,
Stoke‑on‑Trent, Stourbridge, Stratford‑upon‑Avon,
Stroud, Sunderland, Sutton‑in-Ashfield, Swansea, Swindon, Taunton,
Tipton, Tonbridge, Torquay, Tower Hamlets, Trafford, Trearch, Trowbridge,
Truro, Tunbridge Wells, Upper Norwood, Urmston, Uxbridge, Wakefield, Wallsend,
Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Warrington, Warwick, Watford, Wednesbury, Welwyn
Garden City, Wembley, West Bromwich, Westhoughton, Westminster, Weston‑super‑Mare,
Weybridge, Whitehaven, Widnes, Wigan, Winchester, Wolverhampton, Worcester,
Worksop, Worthing, Wrexham, Yate, Yeovil, York.
The
A.P. Awdry Collection of Cricket Literature (Chippenham Public Library)
The
Reid Memorial Angling Collection (The Mitchell Library, Glasgow)
II.
Private Collections
The
Centre for Sports Science and History (University of Birmingham)
The
Sport England Information Unit (London)
The
Higginson Collection of Books and Periodicals on Hunting and Field Sports (The
London Library)
The
Horse and Hound Library (The National Equestrian Centre, Stoneleigh,
Kenilworth)
The
Kenneth Ritchie Memorial Library (Wimbledon)
The
Library of The Alpine Club (London)
The
Library of The British Olympic Association (London)
The
Library of The Cruising Association (London)
The
Library of The Fell and Rock Climbing Club (University of Lancaster)
The
Library of The Football Association (London)
The
Library of The Football League (Lytham St Annes)
The
Library of The Hurlingham Polo Association (Hurlingham)
The
Library of The MCC (London)
The
Library of The Physical Education Association (London)
The
Library of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club (St Andrews)
The
Library of The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (Edinburgh)
The
Library of The Rugby League (Leeds)
The
Library of The Squash Racquets Association
The
Library of The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (Wrexham)
The
Library of The Women Golfers' Museum (Edinburgh)
The
libraries and holdings of a number of collectors and dealers too numerous to
mention.
An
examination of a large number of Current Awareness Publications Indexes and
Bibliographical Serials including the following:
Cumulative
Book Index (1898 onwards)
Poole's
Index to Periodical Literature (1802‑1907)
Subject
Index to Periodicals (1915‑1962)
The
Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals
Aslib
Index to Theses Accepted for Higher Degrees by Universities of Great Britain
and Ireland and the Council for National Academic Awards
(1951 onwards)
Annual
Bibliography of British and Irish History
(1975 onwards)
'Articles
Relating to the History of Wales', published annually in Welsh Historical
Review (1960 onwards)
Bibliographical
Index on Physical Education, Sport and Allied Subjects
(1967 onwards)
Bibliography
of Historical Works Issued in the United Kingdom (covering
the period 1946‑1975)
'Bibliography
of Southern History' (published annually in Southern History)
Bibliography
Index (1946 onwards)
Biography
Index (1946 onwards)
'Book
Notes and Journal Surveys' (both published periodically in The Journal of Sport
History (1974 onwards)
Books
in Print (1987)
British
Books in Print (1987)
British
Education Index (1954 onwards)
British
Humanities Index (1962 onwards) (formerly Subject Index to
Periodicals)
British
National Bibliography (1951 onwards)
Combined
Retrospective Index to Journals in History,1838‑1974
Completed
Research in Health, Physical Education, Recreation
and
Dance (1959 onwards)
Cumulative
Book Index (1898 onwards)
'Current
Bibliography of Urban History' (published annually in Urban History Yearbook
since 1972)
Current
Contents (Humanities and Social Sciences)
ERIC
RIE Resources in Education (1966 onwards)
CIJE Current
Index to Journals in Education (1969 onwards)
Essay
and General Literature Index (1934 onwards)
Historical
Abstracts a) Modern History Abstracts, 1450‑1914 b)
20th Century Abstracts (1950 onwards)
Humanities
Index (1974 onwards)
International
Bibliography of Historical Sciences
(1930)
International
Mediaeval Bibliography (1967 onwards)
'List
of Publications on the Economic and Social History of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland' (published annually in Economic History Review (1927
onwards)
Monthly
Selection of Recent Publications on Sport, Physical Education and Recreation
(1971‑77)
Leisure,
Recreation and Tourism Abstracts (1975 onwards)
Master's
Abstracts (1861‑1972, 1987)
Physical
Education Index (1978 onwards)
Physical
Education/Sports Index (1978 onwards)
Poole's
Index to Periodical Literature (1802‑1907)
'Recent
Publications in Local History' (published annually in Local Historian)
(1952 onwards)
'Review
of Periodical Literature and Occasional Publications' (published annually in Northern
History) (1964 onwards)
Social
Science Index (1974 onwards)
Sociology
and Leisure Abstracts (1980 onwards)
Sports
Documentation Monthly Bulletin (formerly Sports
Information Bulletin) (1971 onwards)
Sports
Dokumentation (1974 onwards)
Sports
Search (1984 onwards)
Subject
Index to Periodicals (1915‑1962)
'Victorian
Bibliography' (published annually in Victorian Studies) (1957 onwards)
The
Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals
Writings
on British History (the volumes covering 1901‑1974)
Several of these services were also
interrogated on‑line to search retrospectively or to update. Printouts
were purchased from SIRLS (an information retrieval system for the Sociology of
Sport and Leisure) Files 38 (Social History of Sport and Leisure, Renaissance
to Modern Times) and 39 (Social History of Sport and Leisure in Ancient and
Medieval Times).
Finally, the contents of a large
number of periodicals (including directories and yearbooks) not indexed in any
of the above (e.g. Athletics Weekly, Canoeist, Rowers'
Almanack, Rugby World, The Swimming Times, etc.) were
examined, some of which did and others which did not contain items of interest
to the sports historian. Although a start was made to indexing historical items
contained within the pages of popular cricket journals and serials (e.g. Cricket
World and its predecessors), The Cricketer, The Cricket
Statistician, The Journal of the Cricket Society, Wisden
Cricketer's Almanack, Wisden's Cricket Monthly, etc.), it was
eventually decided that comprehensive indexing in this sense was beyond the
scope of this particular bibliography and perhaps worthy of a separate volume
of its own to complement Padwick's work (op cit). Items included from popular
cricket magazines comprise a select list of mainly recent articles to
illustrate the range of articles from those appearing in volumes to which the
compiler had ready access.
The proceedings of the following
professional organisations:
American
Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD)
Australian
Society for Sports History (ASSH)
British
Society for Sports History (BSSH)
Canadian
Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation History of Sport and
Physical Activity Committee
History
of Education Society (including the History of Physical Education Study Group)
International
Council for Comparative Sport and Physical Education
International
Association for the History of Sport (HISPA), since 1990 The International
Society for the History of Physical
Education and Sport (ISHPES)
National
College Physical Education Association (NCPEA)
North
American Society of Sports Historians (NASSH)
Society
for the Study of Labour History
and
numerous conferences.
An examination of the following
guides and select bibliographies:
Altholz,
J. L., Victorian England, 1837‑1901
(Bibliographical Handbook Series) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1970).
Beavan,
N. F., Big Game Hunting, Deer Stalking, Game Shooting, Wildfowling,
Gamekeeping and Associated Natural History: A Chronological Bibliography
Covering the Years, 1413 to 1939 (Chester: published privately, 1982).
Besterman,
T., A World Bibliography of Bibliographies (4th edition) (Lausanne:
Societas Bibliographica, 1966).
Bilboul,
R. R., Retrospective Index to Theses in Great Britain and Northern Ireland:
1716‑1950 (London: Aslib, 1976).
Biographical
Books, 1950‑1980 (New York: R. R. Bowker,
1980).
Brown,
L. M. and Christie, I. R., Bibliography of British History, 1789‑1851
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977).
Chiasson,
C., et al., Sports Bibliography (Ottawa: Canadian Coaching Association,
1980) (8 volumes) (and supplements).
Comprehensive
Dissertation Index, 1861‑1972 (and
supplements, 1973‑82, 1983‑88).
Cox,
R. W., Theses and Dissertations on the History of Sport, Physical Education
and Recreation Accepted for Higher Degrees and Advanced Diplomas in British
Universities 1900‑1981 (Liverpool: Bibliographical Centre for the
History of Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, 1982).
Cox,
R. W., American Theses on the History of British Sport, Physical Education
and Recreation (Liverpool: Bibliographical Centre for the History of Sport,
Physical Education and Recreation, 1982).
Craven,
R. R., Billiards, Bowling, Table Tennis, Pinball and Video Games: A
Bibliographical Guide (Westport CT: Greenwood Press, 1983).
Davies,
G., Bibliography of British History, 1603‑1714 (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1970).
Dickinson,
J. S., 'An Annotated Bibliography of Historical Writings Related to Physical
Education in National Professional Physical Education Journals and Proceedings
in North America During the Last Decade', M.S. thesis, University of Oregon,
1973.
Dowling,
A., Grant, E. G., Scotland (World Bibliographical Series Vol. 35)
(Oxford: Clio Press, 1982).
Gratch,
B., Chan, B. and Lingenfelter, J., Sport and Physical Education: A Guide to
Reference Resources (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1983).
Graves,
E. B., Bibliography of British History to 1485 (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1975).
Grimshaw,
A., The Horse: A Bibliography of British Books, 1851‑1976 (London:
The Library Association, 1982).
Hanham,
H. J., Bibliography of British History, 1851‑1914 (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1976).
Hannock,
P. D., A Bibliography of Works Relating to Scotland (Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press, 1960).
Havinghurst,
A., Modern England, 1901‑1970 (Bibliographical Handbook Series)
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976).
Higgs,
R. J., Sport: A Guide to Reference Sources (Westport, CT: Greenwood
Press, 1983).
Jacobs,
P. M., History Theses, 1901‑70 (London: University of London
Institute of Historical Research, 1976).
Jones,
E. G., A Bibliography of the Dog: Books Published in the English Language,
1570‑1965 (London: The Library Association, 1971).
Keighley,
J. S., PERDAS 1950‑1980: A List of Theses, Dissertations and Projects
on Physical Education, Recreation, Dance, Athletics and Sport Presented to U.K.
Universities (London: Librarians of Institutes and Schools of Education,
1981).
Kennington,
D., The Source Book of Golf (London: Library Association, 1981).
Krawczyk,
C., Mountaineering: A Bibliography of Books in English to 1974 (Metuchen,
NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1976).
Kuehl,
W. F., Dissertations in History (United States and Canadian Universities)
(Vol. 1 1873‑1960, Vol. 2 1961‑ 1970, (Lexington, KS: University of
Kentucky Press) (Vol. 3 1971‑1980) (Santa Barbara, CA: Clio Press, 1985)
Lake,
F. and Wright, H., A Bibliography of Archery (Manchester: Simon Archery
Foundation, 1974).
Loder,
E. P., Bibliography of the History and Organisation of Horse Racing and
Thoroughbred Breeding in Great Britain and Northern Ireland (London: J. A.
Allen, 1981).
Lovesey,
P. and McNab, T., Guide to British Track and Field Literature, 1275‑1968
(London: Athletics Arena, 1969).
Mullins,
E. L. G., A Guide to Historical and Archaeological Publications of Societies
in England and Wales, 1901‑1933 (London: Athlone Press, 1968).
Murdock,
J. S. F., The Library of Golf, 1743‑1966 ‑ A Bibliography of
Golf Books (Detroit, MI: Gale Research Co., 1968).
Mutimer,
B. T. P., Canadian Graduating Essays, Theses and Dissertations Relating to
the History and Philosophy of Sport, Physical Education and Recreation
(Trois Riviérés: CAHPER ‑ History of Sport and Physical Activities
Committee, 1975).
Neate,
W. R., Mountaineering and its Literature: A Descriptive Bibliography of
Selected Works in the English Language, 1744‑1976 (Milnthorpe:
Cicerone Press, 1978).
Padwick,
E. W., A Bibliography of Cricket (2nd edition) (London: The Library
Association in association with J. W. McKenzie on behalf of the Cricket
Society, 1984).
Pardoel,
H. W., A Bibliography of the Art and Sport of Fencing (Kingston, OT: The
Author, 1995).
Pargellis,
S. M. and Medley, D. J., A Bibliography of British History, 1714‑1789
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1951).
Read,
B. J., 'Mountaineering: The Literature in the English Language: A Classified
Bibliography', F.L.A. Thesis, 1978.
Read,
C., Bibliography of British History, 1485‑1603 (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1959).
Redmond,
G., 'Studies of the History of Physical Education and Sport', Bulletin of
Physical Education, X, 2 (April 1974), 51‑53.
Seddon,
P. J., A Football Compendium: A Comprehensive Guide to the Literature of
Association Football (2nd edition) (Wetherby: The British Library National
Bibliographic Service, 1999).
Shoebridge,
M., Women in Sport: A Select Bibliography (London: Mansell, 1987).
Skilling,
B. C., 'British Canoeing Literature January 1866‑ January 1966: A
Bibliography and Subject Guide', F.L.A. Thesis, 1967.
Taylor,
P. J., F.L.A. Theses: Abstracts of all Theses Accepted for Fellowships of
the Library Association from 1964) (London: Library Association, 1979).
Thimm,
C. A., A Complete Bibliography of Fencing and Duelling as Practised by all
European Nations from the Middle Ages to the Present Day (London: Lane,
1896).
Toomey,
A. F., A World Bibliography of Bibliographies, 1964‑1974 (London:
Rowman and Littlefield, 1977).
and
an even larger number of bibliographies published as part of scholarly texts.
Whilst every attempt has
been made to make this bibliography as complete as possible, it cannot claim to be comprehensive. Time did not permit a visit to every appropriate
library in the UK and there was a small number unwilling or unable to co‑operate
in the project. Fortunately, the librarians of many of the collections I could
not visit obliged by supplying details of their holdings in the form of
microform catalogues or photocopied record cards, etc. covering the appropriate
sections containing references to sport.
Where visits were made, time
did not always
allow physical examination of every book in each of the collections
consulted (especially where the major part of
the collection was held in a remote or inaccessible stack)
and there will be histories, especially histories of individual schools, colleges, and other
large institutions/organisations,
the titles of which do not contain the word sport, but which
devote considerable attention to the subject and its leading
lights in the course of the text.
Similarly, there may be a number
of publications which never found their way into indexes, bibliographies or library collections. Full bibliographical details do not exist
(in the sense of including details of
an author or date of publication, etc.) or were not
provided in several
of the catalogues, bibliographies and indexes consulted. Although I
managed to trace the missing details
of some of
the published works using such reference sources as The British
Library Catalogue of Printed Books to
1975 and its
supplements, several
references, especially minor club histories with limited print
runs, remain incomplete. The policy has
been to include these in the hope that the researcher may still manage to locate any such publications which appear to
be of interest.
Additional
Note to the second edition
In the 10 years which have elapsed
since the publication of the first edition of this bibliography in 1991, many
new publications have come to light as a result of more extensive research and
the publication of other bibliographies.
In the summer of 1995 I carried out
a further survey of all public library local studies collections. I sent
libraries a copy of the relevant section from the updated first edition and
asked them to make any corrections and/or additions. To my pleasant surprise I
received about 200 replies. Given the increasing demands on librarians' time I
am most grateful to those who responded - some in considerable detail and most
very promptly. I also had the opportunity to personally visit some additional
library collections and search their holdings.
During the last few years, several
bibliographies of note have been published and I make no secret of the fact
that I have drawn upon them heavily. Steven Ely and Peter Griffith's Padwick
II maintained the very high
standards set by Tim Padwick in the documentation of cricket literature and
revealed much information about 1980s publications that I had not discovered as
a result of my own research. Peter
Seddon's Football Compendium (especially the second edition) added many
references on soccer that would have escaped my attention and so did Stewart
Davidson and Andy Mitchell's various bibliographies of Scottish football
histories. These include many short histories written by enthusiasts and
published privately that often never find their way into public library
collections or current awareness publications. John Jenkins' A Rugby
Compendium provided a highly
comprehensive guide to the book and thesis literature of rugby football in all
its many forms. Also of note is the bibliography of cycling champions compiled
and published by Willy Scoevaets. There
are a number of other sports bibliographical projects still being researched as
I write and I have had the good fortune to be assisted by the compilers. This
includes Andrew Huxtable who has collaborated with Peter Lovesey and Tom McNab
on an Athletics Compendium and Dr Trevor James has compiled a
bibliography of athletic club histories. Both compilers have been immensely
helpful over a number of years. A sport on which I had little information in
the first edition - Speedway, has been improved considerably, especially in
volume 2 by the help of Graham Fraser.
Finally, I have also had the
opportunity to index a few additional journals during the intervening years.
Although the returns on most general
periodicals is very low (ie one may search 50 years of a journal to find
nothing pertinent) it has hopefully brought a number of more obscure but
valuable publications to light which otherwise would have gone unnoticed. Some
more specific sports periodicals were indexed over recent years and the details
of historical articles included. The major drawback of this approach in terms
of comprehensive coverage is that it has not been possible to always index
these retrospectively back to the very first issue. This is the case with such
publications as The Journal of the Cricket Society. If I am allowed to
excuse myself, it is perhaps worth pointing out this project has had to
continue essentially as a one-man effort without any financial support. A number of bids were made for financial
support but I am afraid that sport and even more so, sports history, let alone
sports history bibliography, comes very low down on the list of priorities for
most funding bodies. Funding for sports specific research is almost exclusively
reserved for research directed to preparing elite performers for international
competition or products with commercial potential in the market place.
As with the first edition, I do not
pretend that this bibliography can claim to be truly comprehensive, nor do I
expect (although naturally I would prefer) it to be without mistakes. I ask
again, therefore, for your assistance is drawing my attention to any omissions
and/or errors.
Various dilemmas remain and others
have arisen since compilation of the first edition. Most of the decisions of
what and what not to include have been determined by referring to my primary
aim - to bring to the attention of sports historians a comprehensive listing of
secondary sources on the history of sport in Britain. However, there are
certain anomalies. Where little literature exists (eg minority sports) the
tendency has been to comprehensively include all the historical references
regardless of their originality or level of scholarship. The view adopted is
that despite what academics might say about the relative merits of antiquarian
sport histories and chronologies, they often consult them for background
factual information, if for nothing else. On the other hand, where considerable
literature does exist and this has been well documented (eg. Cricket by Padwick
(1612)) only books published after the years covered by this bibliography and
any sources left out (such as periodical articles in the case of all three
examples cited above) have been comprehensively included. This will result in
considerable overlap if those bibliographies are ever updated (as is the case
with S. Ely's Padwick's Bibliography of Cricket II (1608), Jenkins' A
Rugby Compendium and Seddon's A Football Compendium (2884)). With
cricket, association football and rugby a decision was also taken not to
retrospectively index all the popular magazines on those sports such as
articles appearing in Wisden Cricket Monthly, The Cricketer, Cricket
International, Rugby World, etc. This is a decision made on the
grounds of achieving the best overall coverage of sport in the limited time and
resources at my disposal. To have done so would have been expensive and
resulted in the bibliography being too costly to publish at an affordable
price. Although I believe that most of the significant articles have been
picked up and referred to in the major biographies and histories of the more
popular sports, an unfortunate consequence is that occasionally (and I am
convinced very rarely), a valuable article containing original research
material appearing in a popular magazine has not been included whilst
reminiscences on something like, 'bygone fox hunting in Shropshire', which
appeared in Country Life has.
Time was also not available to check
through all general histories such as histories of England to see if anything
on sport was included. Where known, those containing sections on sport have
been included. This includes the growing number of photographic histories but
obviously there will be many references to sport that did not come to my
notice, especially those contained in library collections on which I had to
rely for remote feedback supplied by libraries in the form of
photocopied/microfiched catalogue cards, etc (see above). If that was all the detail on the catalogue
card it was not always feasible to get all the items brought up from the stack
(usually in the basement and occasionally at a remote repository). If they had
been supplied as photocopied lists, it felt too much of a liberty to return
them requesting additional information to be added. In more recent times this
would have been possible but very expensive, given the high search charges
which increasingly apply.
I have maintained my stance to
include items not seen but said to exist by responsible individuals on the
grounds that it is better to know of something and leave the interested
researcher to follow it up for themselves if appropriate to their work than
make no mention of it or spend an inordinate amount of time tracking it down.
The most effective way to do this is usually by consulting one of the special
collections and bibliographies listed in the Introduction or the foot of
individual sections, or consulting some of the library OPACs now readily
accessible via the Internet.
Many publications appearing in
published bibliographies have also been taken at their face value. There was no
reason to doubt the integrity of most other bibliographers, especially the
likes of Tim Padwick and his successors in compiling the bibliography of
cricket who always note with a special bullet 'items included but not seen'. If
it is known by anyone that there are any entries for works were never
published, published under another title, etc then I would be grateful to be
informed in order to correct future versions of the bibliography. This is a
practice I have already established in the annual bibliography of publications
on the history of sport in Britain which lists corrigenda as well as addenda.
Finally, further inconsistencies
arise from the fact that this project has been going on for so long. When I
started out on this venture in 1975, I was in my early twenties. At that stage
I did not have quite the same vision for the future of the project nor the same
eye for detail. In those early days, my primary purpose was to note down the
details of publications for my own future reference, not anyone else's. Hence,
I would usually indicate the source of reference, class reference if it was in
the local library on the record card to facilitate rapid access but not details
of the publisher, number of pages etc. This became a problem later when the
purpose changed. Without resourcing to do otherwise, I now had to settle on
what was the lowest common denominator for the bibliographic information
included in order to achieve a reasonable level consistency. Unfortunately,
even now, not all references are consistent. There is detail missing from some
of these entries either because of how I collected information (eg from a
microfiche catalogue containing minimal bibliographical information) or the
stage I was at in the project when the details were obtained. Time and money,
as well as the draining effect on my energy for the project, prevented me from
retracing some of my steps for what I thought little non-vital information.
Admittedly a shortcoming, but to have done so would have reduced the scope and
completeness of the overall bibliography in other areas. That said, it is also
important to appreciate that many publications, especially small club centenary
brochures, etc were tracked down, sometimes at considerable expense or time,
only to find that they did not include any details about author, publisher or
even date of publication in some cases.
Organisation
of the Bibliography
This bibliography is divided into
two main parts. Part I is concerned
with
collective
biographies, Part II covers
individual autobiographies,
biographies, and memoirs of
British sportsmen and women including famous coaches, players, trainers,
etc.
In Part I collective biographies
are arranged alphabetically by
the sporting activity
concerned: Angling, Association Football,
etc. Part II lists studies of
individual sportsmen/women, arranged alphabetically by surname. Where
known to the compiler,
the sporting activities with which these individuals were associated has
been indicated. However, it must be appreciated that several individuals may have been involved
in more than one sport and even in several different capacities at
one or different times. Biographical studies of famous
greyhounds, horses, etc.
are listed alphabetically under the first letter of their name eg. Red
Rum under R etc.
Within this structure are a number
of anomalies and ambiguities.
Publications referring to four or
fewer personalities have multiple
entries. Thus a study of the Charlton
Brothers is listed under both Bobby and Jack Charlton, rather than in Part I.
Finally, a very small number of
entries, approximately 15, have been found to have been allocated the same
number by the computer when sorting the records; likewise an almost equal
number of references have been removed due to duplications not previously
coming to light. Together have introduced a few anomolies in the sequential
numbering. Where these have occurred is
usually between the end and start of a section.
Using
the Bibliography
The purpose of this bibliography has
been to identify completed studies on the history of sport in Britain. The
researcher wishing to undertake original investigation is advised to consult
other volumes in the series (se p. ???), the reference sources and special collections listed at the foot of
each section and on pp. 7‑8 in order to identify additional sources of
information such as handbooks, directories,
coaching manuals, reports, minutes and accounts. It should be borne in
mind, however, that the special collections identified are not necessarily the
largest single collections of source material on those particular sports, only
those specialising in collecting material on Angling, Mountaineering, etc. The
national libraries and the municipal libraries of large counties and towns may
well contain a greater number of publications on a given sport than some of
those listed as specialist collections. Plumstead Library, for example, (see p.
) probably has a larger collection of books on Association Football than the
libraries of the Football Association and the Football League combined.
Unfortunately, most libraries do not
maintain records of the number of volumes they contain on a particular sport
and therefore it has not been possible to provide details for the user of this
bibliography. Equally, the bibliographies listed at the foot of each section are
not necessarily the biggest or most comprehensive. Some histories, such as
Smith and Williams' Fields of Praise (3667 in volume 1), for example,
contain significant bibliographies of secondary and primary works. Those entries listed as bibliographies are 'stand‑alone'
only bibliographies.
It should be noted that researchers
are also advised to consult each of the three volumes of the bibliography.
Literature relating to a particular individual may be included in each one. As
an example, important references to Sir Alf Ramsey are to be found in certain
general post WWII histories of sport, histories of association football (both
volume 1), histories of certain clubs (eg. Ipswich and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. volume 2) and collective and individual
biographical studies (volume 3).
Not all collective biographies have
been indexed for details of information on specific individuals but where
known, a chapter or section devoted to a certain individual has been included.
Again, I aspire to all such omissions to be brought to my attention by readers
so that they may be included in future editions.
It was noted in the first edition
that the bibliography would be updated with annual bibliographies of
publications on the history of British sport, published in The British
Society of Sports History Bulletin (since renamed The Sports Historian).
This has been the case and will continue, but in a separate publication as
noted in the Preface.
Finally, a note about the emergence
of the Internet as a valuable source of reference in recent years. In 1995, I
published The Internet as A Resource for the Sports Historian (Frodsham:
Sports History Publishing, 1975) as a means of drawing attention to this new
and important resource. There is a growing volume of sports history information
accessible and this is accessible via the British Society Sports History World
Wide Web Gateway (http://www.zen20110.zen.co.uk/SportHistWeb/bssh.html). Sometimes leads can
be found to valuable publications on British sport, produced in a language
other than english, details of which would not appear in this bibliography.
Postscript:
A Short Comment on Bibliographical Scholarship
Reflecting on the project as a
whole, I have to admit that it has been something of a love-hate relationship.
Limited satisfaction is derived from the end product because in reality it is
an infinite task with diminishing returns on effort. Whilst it was relatively
easy to trace the first 80% of references included, the next 10% take twice as
long, the next 5% ten times as long as the first 80% and so on and so forth.
This is why it often frustrates me to see individuals put together a
bibliography for publication in a matter of months and think that they have
fulfilled the objectives of what scholarly bibliography is all about [5]. For
me, to be scholarly, a bibliography must fit snugly into the existing
bibliographical framework. I am not supportive of bibliographies that are
totally stand alone bibliographies put together piecemeal or based on what is
readily accessible in much the same way that a teacher might do for students on
his course using the school library without juxtapositioning their work in
relation to what already exists. I am very critical of works which end up
causing the serious researcher to spend more time searching for literature than
they would have done without the highly selective unexplained bibliography. For
me, a listing no matter how big, which does not indicate how selective they have
been, indicate where they have searched, or achieved a high degree of
comprehensive coverage within their terms of reference, is not an example
of scholarly bibliography. A scholarly
bibliography is one that digs virgin territory and unearths formerly hidden
sources. Whilst a listing of what books are available in the local library on a
given subject might be all right for guiding undergraduate students about to
write a term paper it is of little use to the 'coal-face' researcher who I aim
to support as well as the undergraduate student and sports enthusiast. The
problem with a new bibliography that does not fit rationally into the existing
framework or is incomplete is that the researcher still needs to consult much
wider and may ultimately have been quicker to ignore it. This is because
scholars like to leave no stone unturned in assessing the background to a
problem or event they are exploring. If they come to learn that a certain
bibliography is highly selective (in terms of topics covered, sources included,
dates embraced, geographical territory included) without good reason, other
than perhaps to promote a particular library collection or put it together
rapidly, they will want to turn to the more fundamental sources of information
in order to identify and assess material that was left out.
Elsewhere [6] I illustrated these
problems by likening them to the dangers of having a large series of maps of
differing scales when attempting to traverse a mountain range. It may be that
for much of the territory you can analyse the terrain, in order to plan your
route, down to very fine detail. However, collectively these maps are of
limited value if there is a small but seriously dangerous ridge along the route
not indicated on any of the maps because that land had not been properly
charted. The traveller may end up having been better starting from scratch and
doing the exploratory research themselves. In terms of the process of
collecting the information from all the overlapping sources, I likened it to
trawling the sea for tuna fish with a drift net. It, too, is of limited value
if, in order to guarantee catching the rare prized fish, you have to kill
thousands of dolphins and wipe out other unwanted species in the process. It is
undertaking all this basic groundwork to save the ultimate user time that is so
time consuming for the good bibliographer and why the likes of Stephen Ely in
compiling Padwick II spent years searching through obscure sources to
find very little that was additional to the earlier editions.
Also one is constantly, torn between
depth and width as the main priority. Knowing that naïve users still appear to
be impressed most by sheer volume/size and judge a bibliographical work on any
omissions they can find, rather than on the true measures of bibliographical
scholarship, one is frequently tempted to go for width.
My personal experiences, views on
the state of existing bibliographical control of sporting literature, and
recommendations for the future are developed further in a forthcoming article
entitled 'Tales of a Sporting Bibliophile: Reflections on 24 years Documenting
the Literature of British Sport' (to be published in the Sports Historian).
A Few
Notes on Sources for Biographical Studies
Biographical studies of famous athletes, trainers, coaches, officials,
administrators, punters, journalists,
famous dogs and horses in
respect of their sporting careers have proved popular topics of research during
recent years. Thurmond's study of North American sports history, found it to be the most popular area of
research. Unfortunately, few
biographical works have explored the lives of famous sportsmen and women in
relation to their times. Guttmann has
described most sports biographies as 'exercises in hagiography or public
relations rather than scholarly assessments'.
Similarly, Park has described studies of physical educationalists as
largely 'self‑congratulatory paeans to early leaders'. The fact is that most biographical studies,
like most histories, are written for the popular and commercial market. Commenting on the American scene, Guttmann
believes that several of the best sports biographies have been written by
alienated players angry about the treatment they received. The same is true of works published in
Britain. Certainly, Jim Guthrie Soccer Rebel (1705) and Jimmy Hill Striking
for Soccer (1820) provide more insight into professional soccer than, say,
David Beckham's David Beckham: My Story (893) or Bobby Charlton's Forward
for England (1151). The same could be said of David Lloyd's recent
autobiography (Anything But Murder Collins Willow, 2000) and Phil
Tufnell What Now (2884)in respect of cricket, Will Carling's Captain's
Diary (1120) in respect of Rugby Union. Increasingly, players are beginning
to get more caught up in the pressures of celebrity status and several works
describe ff as much on the field events (sse for eample Tony Adams' Addicted
(727) and Paul Merson's Hero and Villain (2262) Perhaps it is important
to appreciate that at the time many famous sportsmen and women choose, or are
encouraged to write their biographies (usually when approaching or shortly
after reaching their peak), they are still very young, some in their early
twenties, with limited experience of life in general and without the enquiring,
analytical mind that is usually associated with age and experience.
In order to
identify useful sources
of biographical information the
following publications are
particularly helpful: R. B. Slocum
Biographical Dictionaries and Related
Works: An International Bibliography
of Collective Biographies, Bio Bibliographies,
Collections of Epitaphs, Selected
Genealogical Works,
Biographical Indexes and Selected
Portrait Catalogues (2nd edition)
(Detroit, MI: Gale Research,
1986) and D. J. Cimbala Biographical Sources: A
Guide to Dictionaries and Reference Works (Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press,
1988). Brief details of many famous individuals can be traced in biographical dictionaries and in
encyclopedias. Literally thousands exist worldwide. Dictionaries of national
biography are a useful quick reference source of information, although it must
be stressed that few sportsmen
and women find their way into these reference works. D. Banks of the
University of Glasgow several years ago compiled an occupational index
to the Dictionary of National
Biography which included sport as a separate category. The new volumes shortly to be published by
Oxford University Press (2002) have this time around commissioned entries for a
large number of sportsmen and women, written by sports historians. Similarly,
there are a large number of Who's
Who and Who
Was Who series.
These include the Who's Who in History series with
separate volumes covering the periods: 55BC‑1485, 1485‑1603, 1603‑1714,
1714‑1789, 1789‑1837, (Oxford:
Blackwells) and the Who Was Who series with volumes for: 1897‑1916, 1916‑1928, 1929‑1940,
1941‑1950, 1951‑1960, 1961‑1970, 1971‑1980. These are usefully indexed in Who Was
Who: A Cumulated Index 1897‑1980 (1981). It is perhaps worth noting that not all who appear in Who's
Who found their way into Who Was Who after their death. (80) Once again there are few individuals included
because of their sporting prowess, but several who state
sport as one of their chief
interests. Other general
biographical dictionaries
including details of
sporting personalities include:
H. Oxbury Great Britons
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985) and A. Crawford Biographical Dictionary of
British Women (London: Europa Publications, 1983).
It may be that the
researcher requires to
check whether an
individual belonged to a particular category or group of people in which
case there are also more specialist biographical dictionaries relating to
wealth, religion, political leanings.
(81)
In addition to the international and national
biographical dictionaries
are many local
directories and dictionaries based on regions or individual institutions which provide brief biographical details. Examples of local biographical dictionaries
include: Yorkshire Leaders, Yorkshire Men of Mark, etc.
The British Biographical Archive Series (London:
Bowker Saur) provides on microfiche details of 150,000 biographies compiled
from hundreds of sources published between 1601 and 1978. The great majority of these lives fall
within the period 1870 to 1960. The
British Biography Index (London: Bowker Saur, 1991) compiled by L. Baille
provides a quick reference source to archives.
Similar series have been compiled for many other countries and are also
published by Bowler‑Saur.
More specialist
reference works based on particular sports,
roles within those sports, nationality, place of birth, club, team or
other features, or a combination
of more than
one of these characteristics also exist, although these contain varying
amounts of detail. (83) The Association
of Cricket Statisticians and Historians have published a series of county
cricketers (e.g. M. G. Lorimer Lancashire
Cricketers, 1865‑1988) and documenting famous cricketer's records,
e.g. Innings by Innings (e.g. A. Hignell J. C. Clay: His Record Innings by
Innings, ????).
Obituaries are another
source of select
biographical information.
Obituaries from The Times may be identified in F. Roberts (ed.)
Obituaries From The
Times, 1951‑60 (London: Newspaper Archive Developments Ltd)
and its supplements (1961‑1970,
1971‑1975). The first two volumes
feature about one thousand, five hundred obituaries in each and the last
approximately one thousand. Some 60% of
these are of eminent British subjects including some sportsmen and women.
A selection of obituaries of cricketers appearing in
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack are
reprinted in B. Green (ed.) The Wisden Book of
Cricketers' Lives (London: Queen Anne, 1988). Deaths omitted from the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack are
listed in a series by that title in The Cricket Statistician.
The scope and reliability of obituaries
as well as entries in dictionaries of national biography varies immensely and
should be carefully appraised in most instances.
Select
bibliographies of secondary
works which include biographical studies of sportsmen
and women are: Biographical Books, 1950‑1980 (London: R. R.
Bowker, 1980) (which includes name,
author, title and vocation
indexes); the British Library Bibliography of Biography 1970‑1984
(London: British Library, 1985 and annual supplements) (a computer
generated bibliography of biographical works appearing in the British
National Bibliography since its inception in 1951) (This product
is available on-line and CD‑ROM via Chadwyck‑Healey); J. Burnett, Useful
Toil: Autobiographies of Working People from the 1820s to the 1920s, London
(1974); J. Burnett, et al, The Autobiography of the Working Class:
An Annotated Critical Bibliography three vols (1750‑1900, 1900‑1945,
Suppl. 1750‑1945) (1984, 1987, 1989); M. Hackett, Nineteenth Century
British Working Class Autobiographies: An Annotated Bibliography (New York:
AMS Studio in Social History, 1985); W. Matthews British Autobiographies:
An Annotated Bibliography of British
Autobiographies Published or Written
Before 1951 (Berkeley, CA:
University of California
Press, 1955). Details
of biographical studies
of famous sports women
are also included in M.
Remley Women in Sport (Detroit, MI: Gale Research Co., 1980) and M.
Shoebridge Women and Sport:
A Select Bibliography (London: Mansell,
1987). Very famous sportsmen and women
have occasionally had bibliographies
compiled of their works or works
about them. A fine example is L. G.
Davis Joe Louis: A Bibliography of Articles, Books,
Pamphlets, Records and Archival
Materials (Westport, CT: Greenwood
Press, 1983). The only bibliography specific to a British
national known to the author is J.
H. St. J. McIlwaine serial
'Bibliography of Neville Cardus',
published in The Cricket Quarterly (1964/65).
All known substantial
biographical studies (including biographical dictionaries
and collective studies
but not obituaries and
individual entries from biographical
dictionaries), memoirs, published diaries, etc. of British born
sportsmen and women appearing in print before 31/12/1999 are listed in the pages
which follow and will be updated annually.
This does not, however, include
short articles appearing in popular
association football and cricket magazines. Researchers interested in
identifying articles appearing in the biographical series listed on pp. ???
are advised to consult the indexes to these magazines
mentioned on the same page.
For updating existing bibliographies and
identifying recently
published material, Biography Index (published quarterly with annual cumulative
volumes by H. W. Wilson since 1946) is an invaluable
reference source. This
bibliographical service indexes over two thousand, six hundred periodicals
and newspapers. It includes collective and individual biographies, diaries and letters and is
international in scope,
although undeniably has
a rather strong
North American bias. This product
is also now available on CD‑ROM (via Silver Platter).
A. Guttmann in
his study of Avery Brundage (The Games Must Go On: Avery Brundage and the
Olympic Movement New
York: Columbia University Press,
1984) makes extensive use of the private papers deposited by the
former President of
the International Olympic Committee,
in the library of the University
of Illinois at Champaign - see M. Brichford Avery Brundage
Collection (1977). Unfortunately, few British sportsmen
or sportswomen, after their death,
have left behind extensive archive material.
For specifically identifying primary sources, the following guides exist although it must
be stressed that few, if any,
contain material specific
to individual sportsmen and/or
women. They are included here because
some biographers are also interested
in the sporting lives of individuals who were not renowned primarily for
their sporting prowess but who
commented on the
subject or for
whom it played an important part in their lives. Examples include: P. Hepworth Select Biographical Sources (London:
Library Association, 1971) (This
publication lists the whereabouts of the private papers of
many well known leaders in British Society), W. Matthews British Diaries: An
Annotated Bibliography of British
Diaries Written Between
1442 and 1942 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1950)
and J. S. Batts British
Manuscript Diaries of
the 19th Century (1976). The National
Register of Archives maintains a
computerized personal names index relating to the location
of personal papers and
the papers of several prominent statesmen
have been microfilmed by Harvester Press.
Oral history techniques are increasingly beginning to be
used in biographical research of living
individuals. Pictorial evidence of famous individuals including sportsmen and
women exists at the National Portrait Gallery in London as well as in
some local record offices and archives of
governing bodies of sport. The catalogue of a popular exhibition at the
National Portrait Gallery in the mid 1990s entitled The Book of British
Sporting Heroes compiled by James Huntington-Whiteley was published by the
Gallery in 1995. Similarly, oral recordings and cine film or video
recordings may sometimes
be found in the archives of the
British Institute of Recorded Sound,
The British Film Institute, local record offices and the governing bodies of sport.
Endnotes
1
See, for example, J. Dickinson, 'An Annotated Bibliography of Historical
Writings Related to Physical Education in National Professional Physical
Education Journals and Proceedings in North America in the Last Decade',
M.S.thesis, University of Oregon, 1973; G. Bridge (ed.) Rock Climbing in the
British Isles 1894‑1970: A Bibliography of Guide Books (London:
1971); P. Lovesey and T. McNab (eds.) A Guide to Track and Field Literature,
1275‑1968 (London: Athletics Arena, 1969); R. W. Cox 'Publications on
the History of Sport in the North West (Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire)', Proceedings
of One Day Workshop on the History of Sport in the North West, ed. by M.
Speak, University of Lancaster, July, 1987; R. W. Cox (comp.) 'Annual
Bibliography of Publications on the History of Sport 1985/6', British
Journal of Sports History, 4, 3 (December 1987), 351‑359; M.
Shoebridge (comp.) Women in Sport: A Select Bibliography (London:
Mansell, 1987); R. W. Cox (comp.) Theses and Dissertations on the History of
Sport, Physical Education and Recreation Accepted for Higher Degrees and
Advanced Diplomas in British Universities, 1900‑1981 (Liverpool:
Bibliographical Centre for the History of Sport and Physical Education, 1982); Catalogue
of the Alpine Club (London: The Alpine Club, 1982); 'Recent Publications by
Members' (published periodically in the HISPA Bulletin).
2 See
footnote 1, page vii.
3
Unfortunately, it proved impossible to differentiate 'England only' material
from Great Britain and the U.K. histories in general. Some publications had
England in the title but within the contents also included references to
Scotland and Wales (this was especially true of American works) whilst others
used the term Britain but made no reference to developments outside of England
and perhaps Wales. This was especially the case in some of the individual sport
histories.
4 The
problem of missing bibliographic detail was particularly difficult in remote libraries and libraries with
inaccessible stacks and where catalogues of their collections contained only
brief bibliographical details such as author and/or title. In the case of
Jersey, for example, the compiler had access only to photocopied sections of
the card catalogue forwarded by the librarian. Although it was possible to
visit Plumstead Library (see p. ?), the microfiche catalogue contained details
of only the author and title of works in the sports collection. I could not
expect, nor afford the time, for many of the 50,000 titles to be requested
individually and brought from the
publicly inaccessible stack. In many similar instances librarians kindly
provided the additional information on request, others had neither the time nor
inclination to do so. Eventually, it was decided that where locations were
known to the compiler, no further time could be justified in attempting to
track down the remaining details, especially if the bibliography was going to
meet its publication deadline.
5
What many 'amateur bibliographers' fail to realize, is that bibliography, as
both an art and a science, has its own criteria of scholarship. It has to have
a place within the existing bibliographical framework; it has to show that it
has a purpose and how it fits into the network; it therefore needs to set out
its objectives clearly and describe how it has been researched and compiled; it
has to be complete within its terms of reference and it has to divide the
subject into useful discrete parts, etc, Without the background information how
is one to know how to use it and how reliable it is in the information
gathering process etc?. Whilst I have recently declared my view that sports
specific bibliographies and indexes to large collections like the British
Library are the way forward, I have also illustrated the way in which
bibliographies which fall between too many stools actually exacerbates the
problem of bibliographical control, ultimately causing the academic researcher
to have to search even further afield than he would have had to do otherwise.
This is because of all the cross checking required with overlapping sources. If
one is not already familiar with the literature of bibliographical scholarship
but wishes to learn more I recommend one reads D. W. Kümmel Bibliographies:
Their Aims and Methods, A. M. L.
Robinson Systematic Bibliography or R. Stokes The Function of
Bibliography. There are also a number of useful articles in the journal Bibliography
Review. My own views on the state of sports bibliography are reflected in
'Sports History Documentation ‑ the origins, objectives, methods and
findings of the British Sports History Bibliography Project and a blueprint for
the future', International Journal of the History of Sport, 9, 2 (August
1992), 252‑279, 'Subject Bibliographies: Help or Hindrance to
Comprehensive Literature searching?', British Journal of Academic
Librarianship, 7, 1 (September 1992), 17‑29, 'Ramblings of a
Bibliophile: Reflections on 21 years Documenting the Literature of British
Sports History'(forthcoming).
For examples of good practice in bibliography I
suggest you read my reviews of the some of the following: E. W. Padwick A
Bibliography of Cricket, British Journal of Sports History, 2, 2
(September, 1985); E. Loder A Bibliography of the History and Organisation
of Horse Racing and Thoroughbred Breeding in Great Britain
and Ireland, British Journal of Sports History, 2, 2 (September,
1985); F. Lake A Bibliography of Archery, British Journal of Sports
History, 2, 2 (September 1985), 331‑34; A. Grimshaw The Horse: A
Bibliography of publications, British Journal of Sports History, 2,
2 (September 1985).
6
'Bibliographical Control of Sports Literature: Some Concerns of the Academic
End User', Proceedings of the IX World
Scientific Congress on Sports Information, Rome, June 1993.