The Evolution of English Sport

Until recently sporting history was written by middle-class amateurs, many of whom were Oxbridge graduates. Much of the resulting history of English sport therefore suffers from a narrowness of cultural perspective. The growth of many and varied sporting clubs and the development of sport throughout the country is a vast topic which has largely escaped the attention of those historians who have tended to concentrate on the activities of a metropolitan elite. The Evolution of English Sport uses original material from clubs and sporting organizations to illuminate the evolution of sporting activity nationwide. It relates these documents to themes such as commercialism, professionalism, amateurism, recreationalism and club fortunes. It concludes by discussing the outlook for English sport in the next decade.