City of Champions
A History of Triumph and Defeat in Detroit
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The changing fortunes of Detroit, told through the lens of the city's major sporting events, by the bestselling author of Soccernomics, and a prizewinning cultural critic
From Ty Cobb and Hank Greenberg to the Bad Boys, from Joe Louis and Gordie Howe to the Malice at the Palace, City of Champions explores the history of Detroit through the stories of its most gifted athletes and most celebrated teams, linking iconic events in the history of Motown sports to the city's shifting fortunes.
In an era when many teams have left rustbelt cities to relocate elsewhere, Detroit has held on to its franchises, and there is currently great hope in the revival of the city focused on its downtown sports complexes—but to whose benefit? Szymanski and Weineck show how the fate of the teams in Detroit's stadiums, gyms, and fields is echoed in the rise and fall of the car industry, political upheavals ushered in by the depression, World War II, the 1967 uprising, and its recent bankruptcy and renewal.
Driven by the conviction that sports not only mirror society but also have a special power to create both community and enduring narratives that help define a city's sense of self, City of Champions is a unique history of the most American of cities.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Racial antagonism and economic decline take the field against the Motor City's sports teams in this sweeping social history of Detroit. University of Michigan professors Szymanski (Money and Soccer) and Weineck (The Abyss Above) survey a reverse chronology of sports episodes and their social contexts, including the recent construction of new arenas as a redevelopment strategy for blighted downtown Detroit (and pretext for corporate land-grabs); the 1982 Grand Prix race held amid the collapse of Detroit's auto industry; the Tigers' 1968 World Series win, a rare moment of celebration after the 1967 riots intensified racial conflict and white flight; and the first recorded baseball game in 1859 (the Detroit Base Ball Club beat the Early Risers 59 21) in a bare-knuckled town known for crime and brothels. There's expert play-by-play of storied Tigers, Lions, Red Wings, and Pistons games and vivid profiles of greats such as Isiah Thomas, Joe Louis, and Ty Cobb, but the authors also focus on the dynamics of racism, economics, and sweeping demographic shifts as the city swelled with factory workers and then hollowed out. The result is a sophisticated yet entertaining history that captures both Detroit's colorful peculiarities and the deep tectonic forces shaping them.
