Tag: Malcolm MacLean

Malcolm MacLean reports from the conference on Sport, Leisure and Social Justice at the University of Brighton, 19th–20th September 2013, letting us all take part of his own experiences and conclusions from what seems to have been a very useful conference.

Hit By Pitch: Ray Chapman, Carl Mays and the Fatal Fastball (McFarland) by Molly Lawless is a graphic non-fiction book about the only known on-field death during a baseball game. In 1920, Ray Chapman died from landing a fastball from pitcher Carl Mays on his head, and Malcolm MacLean enjoyed reading about this all but forgotten piece of sport history in this format.

In his nuanced and knowledgeable review of Christine Schmid’s The Swimsuit: Fashion from Poolside to Catwalk, Malcolm MacLean suggests that hers is not only the first published scholarly work in this field, but in all likelihood also the last, due to the politics of publication.

The winner of the Aberdare Literary Prize for Sports History for 2009, A Social History of English Rugby Union by Tony Collins, is appreciatively and critically reviewed by Malcolm MacLean.

Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith, with a number of women’s history studies behind them, tells the story of a girls’ basketball team from Fort Shaw in their book Full-Court Quest: The Girls from Fort Shaw Indian School, Basketball Champions of the World. With minimal reservations, Malcolm MacLean approves and applauds.