Front Matter
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Ingrassia_Gridiron 11/6/15 12:22 PM Page vii © University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. Contents List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi INTRODUCTION The Cultural Cornerstone of the Ivory Tower 1 CHAPTER ONE Physical Culture, Discipline, and Higher Education in 1800s America 14 CHAPTER TWO Progressive Era Universities and Football Reform 40 CHAPTER THREE Psychologists: Body, Mind, and the Creation of Discipline 71 CHAPTER FOUR Social Scientists: Making Sport Safe for a Rational Public 93 CHAPTER FIVE Coaches: In the Disciplinary Arena 115 CHAPTER SIX Stadiums: Between Campus and Culture 139 CHAPTER SEVEN Academic Backlash in the Post–World War I Era 171 EPILOGUE A Circus or a Sideshow? 200 Ingrassia_Gridiron 11/6/15 12:22 PM Page viii © University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. viii Contents Notes 207 Bibliography 269 Index 305 Ingrassia_Gridiron 11/6/15 12:22 PM Page ix © University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. Illustrations 1. Opening ceremony, Leland Stanford Junior University, October 1891 2 2. Walter Camp, captain of the Yale football team, circa 1880 35 3. Grant Field at Georgia Tech, 1920 41 4. Stagg Field at the University of Chicago 43 5. William Rainey Harper built the University of Chicago’s academic reputation and also initiated big-time athletics at the institution 55 6. Army-Navy game at the Polo Grounds in New York, 1916 68 7. G. T. W. Patrick in 1878, before earning his doctorate in philosophy under G. Stanley Hall at Johns Hopkins University 78 8. University of Michigan physiology laboratory, circa 1893 82 9. Edward Alsworth Ross, around the time he came to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1906 94 10. Amos Alonzo Stagg of the University of Chicago, circa 1912 118 11. Fielding H. Yost with his famed “point-a-minute” 1902 Michigan Wolverines squad 126 12. John Heisman with the 1906 Georgia Tech team 129 13. Fielding Yost buys a Liberty Bond, Ferry Field, Ann Arbor, 1917 147 14. Construction of Stanford Stadium, 1921 150 15. Preparing plaster models of the 60,000-plus–seat Ohio Stadium, 1920 152 16. Construction of the reinforced-concrete grandstands of Ohio Stadium, circa 1922 153 17. Ohio Stadium fundraising, as characterized by a local newspaper cartoonist 154 18. Artist’s rendering of the façade and entryway to Ohio State’s new stadium 156 19. Ohio Stadium dedication game, OSU versus Michigan, October 21, 1922 157 Ingrassia_Gridiron 11/6/15 12:22 PM Page x © University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. x Illustrations 20. “Lest we forget those Illini who died in the war” 158 21. Modest Illinois Field juxtaposed against grand, aerial views of the Yale Bowl and Harvard Stadium 160 22. A diagram of Illinois’s post–World War I system of good roads, which would make Illinois Memorial Stadium in Champaign accessible to millions of Illinoisans via automobile in the 1920s 161 23. The proposed commemorative columns at Illinois Memorial Stadium 163 24. G. T. W. Patrick in the early 1930s 172 25. Alexander Meiklejohn in the early 1900s 179 26. Robert Maynard Hutchins, president of the University of Chicago, in the early 1950s 191 27. Regenstein Library, University of Chicago, constructed on the former site of Stagg Field and the secret Manhattan Project laboratory that initiated the first controlled nuclear reaction in 1942 194 28. A student portraying “Chief Illiniwek” at Illinois Memorial Stadium, circa 1950 204 Ingrassia_Gridiron 11/6/15 12:22 PM Page xi © University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. Acknowledgments The research and writing of this book have taken me from New En- gland to California, as well as from Illinois to Georgia to Tennessee, over the course of the last decade. A number of individuals and insti- tutions have guided or assisted me along the way, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank some of them here. This project began at the University of Illinois, where Kathryn Oberdeck was an excellent mentor. Kathy’s copious intellect and chal- lenging questions helped make this a much more interesting book. Adrian Burgos, Bruce Levine, and Mark Micale read an early draft of the manuscript and gave crucial feedback. I particularly thank Chip Burk hardt for introducing me to the fascinating character of David Starr Jordan. Jim Barrett, Clare Crowston, Kristin Hoganson, Craig Koslofsky, Leslie Reagan, and Carol Symes also read portions of the project and offered comments, as did Will Cooley, Rebecca McNulty, Mike Rosenow, Jason Kozlowski, Greg Goodale, and Amanda Brian. My colleagues at Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta—a school with its own intriguing football story—provided a congenial and stimulating environment in which to finish the book. My fellow lecturers, including Robin Conner, Larry Grubbs, Scott Matthews, Mike O’Connor, Karen Phoenix, Mary Rolinson, and Walter Ward, helped make GSU a good place to work. Larry Youngs was kind enough to go above and beyond the call of duty by taking time out of his busy schedule to read the entire manuscript and provide helpful comments and encouragement. I also benefitted from feedback and ad- vice from GSU colleagues Rob Baker, Isa Blumi, Michelle Brattain, De- nis Gainty, Cliff Kuhn, Joe Perry, David Sehat, and Kate Wilson. Most recently, the history department at Middle Tennessee State University has provided office space as well as a warm welcome to Murfreesboro. The Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan funded this project through a Mark C. Stevens Travel Grant, which al- lowed me to spend an extended period of time combing the Bentley’s well-managed collections in Ann Arbor. Throughout the early stages of the project, the University of Illinois history department provided Ingrassia_Gridiron 11/6/15 12:22 PM Page xii © University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. xii Acknowledgments substantial funding for travel, research, and writing. I particularly thank Fred Hoxie and Vernon Burton for their assistance in helping me secure productive time for reflection at key points in the process. A number of scholars have contributed their insights over the years. In particular, Murray Sperber and an anonymous reviewer care- fully read and critiqued the entire manuscript before it went to press. Alan Lessoff, editor of The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, provided thoughtful and incisive critiques on a related piece. At conferences and in correspondence, Victoria Bissell Brown, Steve Bul- lock, Court Carney, Daniel J. Clark, Elliott Gorn, Tim Lacy, Thomas Laqueur, Adam R. Nelson, Michael Oriard, Jeanne Petit, and David K. Robinson provided insights, critiques, and encouragement. While I may not have not been able to take all of their advice into account—or to resolve all of their questions—I believe that the book is a better project for their input. Staffers at a number of university libraries aided this project by making their collections accessible. I especially thank Karen Jania and the rest of the staff at the Bentley Historical Library in Ann Arbor, Polly Armstrong and Margaret Kimball at Stanford, and Michelle Ga- chette and Barbara Maloney at Harvard. David McCartney (Iowa), Brad Cook (Indiana), and Mary Stuart and Chris Prom (Illinois) were also very helpful. A host of other librarians and archivists, too numer- ous to name here, were instrumental in helping me gather the re- search, images, and permissions. The production team at the Univer- sity Press of Kansas has been stellar, and I particularly thank editor Ranjit Arab for all of his efforts, as well as his consummate profession- alism and his enthusiasm for the project. On my journeys to archives and conferences, several friends gra- ciously shared their homes. I especially thank Linsey Griffith and Ken Doughman in Columbus, Ohio; Josh Carter in Alexandria, Virginia; Jared and Edit Hansen in San Francisco; Zina Lewis in Iowa City; Mar- shal Cooley in Omaha; and Paul Ruth and Debbie Hughes in Lafayette, Indiana. Paul, who is not a historian but is a sports fan with a keenly analytical mind, helped me to rethink the motivations of stadium builders. I also thank Vivian Schatz of Mountain View, California; Neile Rissmiller of Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Kirk Buggy of Somerville, Massachusetts. All three allowed me to lodge with them for extended Ingrassia_Gridiron 11/6/15 12:22 PM Page xiii © University Press of Kansas. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution prohibited without permission of the Press. Acknowledgments xiii research trips and listened to my musings; Vivian was kind enough to show me around the Bay Area and share her own recollections of the region’s fascinating history. My cousin and fellow bibliophile, Donald Barclay, hosted me for a weekend at UC-Merced and enthusiastically discussed the project. While at Illinois, I was fortunate to spend time with a fun and smart bunch of people who made my time in Cham- paign-Urbana memorable. They include Jason Hansen; Cris Scarboro and Jill Baer; Mike and Kate Pedrotty; Paul Ruth and Debbie Hughes; Steve Hageman and Kerry Wynn; Dave Hageman and Beth Savage; Jamie Warren and Melissa Salrin; Will Cooley and Melissa Kath; Greg and Miha Wood; Andrew Cannon and Rosanna Yeh. From Illinois to points as distant as Nacogdoches and Macon. Jason Tebbe (along with Lori Perez) and Matt Jennings (and Susan and the boys) have proven to be wonderful friends and interlocutors; for their camaraderie I am especially thankful.