Fields of Play: Sport, Race, and Memory in the Steel City

Sports are deeply ingrained in American culture, but a white nostalgic perspective often excludes the voices of those who labored in the mines and mills and played on local fields. Robert T. Hayashi's book "Fields of Play" explores overlooked tales of the regions less famous athletes, such as Chinese baseball players, Black women hunters, Jewish summer campers, and coal miner soccer stars, who created separate spaces of play while demanding equal access to opportunities. Through personal narrative and archival research, Hayashi depicts how recreation was used to promote interests and shape public memory in coal towns, settlement houses, municipal swimming pools, state game lands, stadia, and the city's landmark rivers.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 28 January 2024
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press

Sports hold a special place in the hearts of Americans, ranging from neighborhood pickup basketball to the National Football League. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, stands out as a city that exemplifies the profound connection between athletics and community. However, the common association of the city's professional sports teams with its blue-collar industrial past often excludes the voices of those who worked in the mines and mills and played on local fields. In his captivating and lyrical history, Robert T. Hayashi seeks to bridge this gap by uncovering and sharing the untold stories of the region's lesser-known athletes. These individuals, including Chinese baseball players, Black women hunters, Jewish summer campers, and coal miner soccer stars, carved out separate spaces for play while tirelessly advocating for equal access to opportunities both on and off the field.

Fields of Play, a meticulously researched work, weaves together personal narrative with accounts from media, popular culture, legal cases, and archival sources. Through this rich tapestry, Hayashi vividly portrays how coal towns, settlement houses, municipal swimming pools, state game lands, stadia, and the city's iconic rivers became sites of intense struggle over inclusion and the meaning of play in the Steel City.

Combining rigorous archival research with a poet's voice, Hayashi paints a vivid picture of how these various recreational spaces became battlegrounds for defining the boundaries of play and the role of athletes in shaping public memory. His book offers a fresh perspective on the intersection of sports, community, and identity, challenging the traditional narratives that have often marginalized the contributions of diverse groups in the history of American sports.

In conclusion, Fields of Play is a groundbreaking work that sheds light on the overlooked stories of athletes and communities in the Steel City. By uncovering and sharing these untold tales, Hayashi provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of the role of sports in shaping American society. His book is a must-read for anyone interested in sports, history, and the power of storytelling to bring diverse voices to the forefront.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780822947844