Heroes & ballyhoo
Subtitle: how the golden age of the 1920s transformed American sports
By: Michael K. Bohn
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Potomac Books
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 319
ISBN-13: 9781597974127
Other titles: Heroes and ballyhoo
Description: "Freed from the agonies of World War I, Americans eagerly bounded into the "era of wonderful nonsense" - the Roaring Twenties. They threw off Victorian traditions and rural ways, and sought everything modern, from bobbed hair, bathtub gin, jazz, Model Ts, movies and radio, to fads of all kinds. Moreover, the war-weary public embraced the drama and excitement of sports and its star athletes, in search of heroes from a field of dreams, not from Flanders fields." "Dubbed the Golden Age of American sports, the 1920s witnessed the transformation of mere games into mass entertainment. The period had an extraordinary impact, fundamentally changing individual sports and spectators alike, and helping bond disparate social and regional sectors of the country. Sports, and its heroes, became a secular religion and a major cornerstone of modern American life." "Heroes and Ballyhood profiles the ten most prominent Golden Age sports heroes and describes their effect on sports and society.^

Babe Ruth saved baseball after the Black Sox Scandal. Boxer Jack Dempsey made the "sweet science" a respectable sport. Red Grange single-handedly set professional football on a path to eventual success. Knute Rockne helped transform college football from a game to a colossal enterprise. Bobby Jones changed golf into a spectator sport, and Walter Hagen sparked the first national interest in professional golf. Bill Tilden put tennis on the front of the sports section. Tennis player Helen Wills joined swimmer Gertrude Ederle in empowering women athletes. Johnny Weissmuller astonished international swimming before becoming Tarzan." "The book also explores the ballyhoo artists - sportswriters, promoters, and press agents - who hyped the stars to a receptive public. These masters of hyperbole joined the public and the heroes to create the model for today's sports entertainment conglomerate, a money machine driven by advertising, wealthy franchises, huge arenas and crowds, and superstars.^

Michael Jordan, Inc., with its agents, sponsors, shoe deals, and hoopla, can trace its lineage back to Red Grange and his agent C.C. Pyle. Tiger arose from Hagen, A-Rod from Ruth, from RCA. Sports as a profit center started with the heroes and publicity artists of the Golden Age."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.