California and the Making of Modern Sport

This book examines the importance of California - a socio-cultural, economic and political powerhouse - in the history of modern sport. It argues that California has had a profound influence, for better or worse, on the way that not only America but also the wider world plays sport and spends money to watch others play.

The book traces the history of sport in California from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, and looks at how the state’s historical development, its climate, and its u...