Description

Book Synopsis

For more than a century the American farm, factory and frontier provided opportunities for physical workers to display their skill, win a bet, brag or perhaps just have some fun. Competitions that emphasized useful skills, like plowing, corn-husking, rock drilling, typesetting, and tree cutting, were common in the antebellum and post-Civil War periods, often drawing large crowds and the attention of sporting journals.

For many years conventional American sports occurred in the workplace. This may help explain why the nicknames of so many prominent collegiate or professional sporting teams--Cornhuskers, Lumberjacks, Miners, Cowboys, Packers and Boilermakers--are also the occupations of 19th century worker-athletes.

By examining the American experience with competitions among workers, this book provides a new understanding of the interrelated nature of occupation and leisure.

American WorkSports

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    A Paperback by Frank Zarnowski

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      Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 10/1/2013 12:00:00 AM
      ISBN13: 9780786467846, 978-0786467846
      ISBN10: 0786467843

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      For more than a century the American farm, factory and frontier provided opportunities for physical workers to display their skill, win a bet, brag or perhaps just have some fun. Competitions that emphasized useful skills, like plowing, corn-husking, rock drilling, typesetting, and tree cutting, were common in the antebellum and post-Civil War periods, often drawing large crowds and the attention of sporting journals.

      For many years conventional American sports occurred in the workplace. This may help explain why the nicknames of so many prominent collegiate or professional sporting teams--Cornhuskers, Lumberjacks, Miners, Cowboys, Packers and Boilermakers--are also the occupations of 19th century worker-athletes.

      By examining the American experience with competitions among workers, this book provides a new understanding of the interrelated nature of occupation and leisure.

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