Dr. Johnny Smith Co-Authors War Fever: Boston, Baseball, and America in the Shadow of the Great War

Dr. Johnny Smith, the J.C. “Bud” Shaw Professor of Sports History, and Dr. Randy Roberts (Purdue University) recently published War Fever: Boston, Baseball, and America in the Shadow of the Great War. This book is an interwoven tale of three lives— Babe Ruth, Boston Symphony Orchestra Conductor Karl Much, and an Army officer named Charles Whittlesey—set against the backdrop of World War I, rising anti-German xenophobia, and the flu pandemic in the fall of 1918.

Read an excerpt of War Fever

Listen to Dr. Smith discuss how baseball, Babe Ruth, and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic can provide perspective on current issues surrounding the coronavirus pandemic on ESPN’s The Sporting Life

Upcoming Event: The Gender Pay Gap in Sports: Myths and Misperceptions

Dr. David Berri

Professor of Economics, Southern Utah University

When: Monday, February 17 at 4 p.m.

Where: Student Success Center Clary Theater

The gender-wage gap persistently seen in study after study is especially pronounced in professional sports. For example, an average NBA player is paid $7.6 million while the maximum salary in the WNBA is less than $120,000. A similar story is told in professional soccer. The simple explanation for these differences is league revenues. But the story is not quite that simple. In this talk we will look at not only why the salaries for men are so much higher in absolute terms, but also why men tend to be paid a greater share of league revenues (as in basketball) and more for each game played (as in soccer). Our story will not only touch on the economics of gender and sports today, but also on the history of women in sports.

This event is free and open to the public and sponsored by the Sports, Society, and Technology Program. For more information contact: Dr. Mary McDonald, Homer C. Rice Chair in Sports and Society: mary.mcdonald@hsoc.gatech.edu

Professor Mary G. McDonald Honored as a 2019 Faces of Inclusive Excellence Recipient

Dr. Mary G. McDonald, the Homer C. Rice Chair of Sports and Society, was recently honored as a recipient of the 2019 Faces of Inclusive Excellence at Georgia Tech's 11th Annual Diversity Symposium. This award was given in further recognition of the service excellence award she recently received from the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport.

Read more about the 2019 Faces of Inclusive Excellence.

Television and WNBA Analyst Amy Audibert Visits HTS 3075 Foundations of Sport Studies

On Thursday, September 12th, Television and WNBA Analyst Amy Audibert visited the HST 3075 Foundations of Sport Studies class to share her experience and expertise related to the sport media and working in the sport industry. Audibert just completed her first season as television analyst for the WNBA's Atlanta Dream. Prior to that, Audibert played basketball at the University of Miami and served as an analyst for the University of Buffalo's men's and women's basketball teams for five seasons.

Amy Audibert, center, visited with HST 3075 Foundations of Sport Studies in September

Professor Johnny Smith Wins "Best Article of 2018" from the Journal of Sport History

The Journal of Sport History recognized Professor Johnny Smith's publication "'The Magnitude of Me': Reggie Jackson, Baseball, and the Seventies," as its Best Article of 2018 at the organization's annual meeting over the Memorial Day weekend.

Professor Johnny Smith awarded the Geoffrey G. Eichholz Faculty Teaching Award

Dr. Johnny Smith

Professor Johnny Smith, the J.C. "Bud" Shaw Professor of Sports, Society, and Technology and Assistant Professor of History recently won the Geoffrey G. Eichholz Faculty Teaching Award. Learn more about this award and Professor Smith's teaching philosophy in the classroom.