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The Rise of American High School Sports and the Search for Control, 1880–1930RobertPruter. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2013.

2015; Wiley; Volume: 38; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/jacc.12403

1542-734X

Andrew McGregor,

Sport and Mega-Event Impacts

When one considers the pervasive role that high school sports play in our society, it is surprising that there has been no study of their early history. Now there is. Robert Pruter's The Rise of American High School Sports and the Search for Control, 1880–1930 fills an important historiographical gap in the study of American sports. Pruter begins the unenviable task of outlining the rise of high school sports by confirming what many scholars have already assumed: high school athletics followed a similar pattern of development as college athletics. Both began as student activities organized and managed by students, often with the help of alumni, that competed against similar teams and clubs aligned with other schools and organizations, such as the YMCA or church. Indeed, many of the early high schools that Pruter mentions were elite boarding schools in Northeastern cities. As college athletic competitions expanded, so too did those in high schools. By the late-1890s and early-1900s, major cities such as New York, Boston, and Chicago began creating formalized leagues for high school sports. These developments coincided with a movement to legitimize physical education as academic discipline and pursuit which was valuable for all students. Following the arguments of the leading Progressive reformers and Muscular Christians, coaches and instructors began taking an active role in the athletics and physical education opportunities of students as a means to instill discipline and good character. What followed was an era of reform and a takeover of high school sports by the educational establishment, which Pruter describes as the “search for control.” Students resisted and pushed back against administrative efforts to curb team travel, limit lost class time, and standardize eligibility. By the 1910s, institutional control of high school sports was largely accomplished. Fueled by sports such as basketball and track and field, cities and states began creating leagues to better facilitate the scheduling of large tournaments and meets. By 1915, most of states had formed their own high school athletics association. High school sporting opportunities expanded during the 1920s. New sports, like cross country, golf, hockey, soccer, and lacrosse, joined the traditional high school sports of football, basketball, tennis, and track and field. This expansion faced little opposition and likely helped administrators justify their control. At the same time, after the end of the First World War, military activities also joined the expanding sports roster. ROTC, which was established in 1916 with a secondary school component, promoted military drill, band, and rifle as competitive activities. Pruter counts ROTC as one of the ways in which high school sports became nationalized between 1920 and 1930. He cites a 1918 report by the National Education Association as an important endorsement of high school sport nationwide. As such, this ten-year period saw an increased number of intersectional competitions and national meets. Females also participated in a variety of high school sports during this period, including the military activities, but not without controversy. Interscholastic competitions were watched closely and ultimately discouraged by administrators and the leading collegiate faculties. They were concerned with the “roughness” of competitions and sought to preserve the “lady-like decorum” of female students. Illinois banned girl's basketball in 1907 and later tried to prevent female involvement in ROTC-type programs. By 1920, female sports were primarily limited to intramurals and “play days.” While Pruter's discussion of female sports is important, he contributes little to the ongoing discussion of gender in sports. Race is another area in which Pruter tries to broaden his account but ultimately offers a limited perspective. He describes African Americans sports as having taken a slower time to develop, largely because they faced limited educational opportunities. Northern and Border States offered some opportunities in segregated leagues by the 1920s, but racism remained a major obstacle. He does not discuss American Indian sports teams, even though many of the leading boarding and day schools competed against nearby high schools. Writing the history of high school sports in America is a difficult task, and this author has done an admirable job. Many readers will undoubtedly like to see more background on the history of high schools in general, better tying sports to the larger history of education. Likewise, Pruter's examples are too often limited to Chicago and Illinois. While he offers a justification for this, a discussion of more national trends and an exploration of rural areas would have greatly enhanced the book. Even with these limitations, Pruter offers a good foundation for other scholars to build in exploring athletics in American high schools.