In her extraordinary swimming career, Shirley Babashoff set thirty-nine national records and eleven world records. Prior to the 1990s, she was the most successful U.S. female Olympian and, in her prime, was widely considered to be the greatest female swimmer in the world.Heading into the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Babashoff was pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and followed closely by the media. Hopes were high that she would become “the female Mark Spitz.”All...
Capturing such quintessentially American pastimes as baseball and road trips in one fascinating work, this updated and expanded guide chronicles more than 500 important events in baseball history with detailed descriptions of the event and information on each location.Packed with historical data, trivia, photographs, and baseball lore, entries include the birthplaces of baseball legends, ballparks, museums and halls of fame, final resting places, and many locations that are no longer standing....
In Hello, It’s Me, pop culture historian Chris Epting celebrates the cultural touchstones of the past 40 years—the music, movies, television, hobbies, and fads that have defined recent generations.Whether it’s shooting hoops with NBA legend Elgin Baylor, drinking whiskey in a Radio City Music Hall broom closet with Ron Wood and Rod Stewart while thousands of fans scream from below, sharing a milkshake with Jerry Lewis, running into Alfred Hitchcock’s...
Anyone who has ever wondered where Dorothy's ruby slippers, George Washington's teeth, or the world's largest olive are located will be thrilled to take this journey to find hundreds of the most important items from America's popular culture. Found in such major institutions as the Smithsonian and the Basketball Hall of Fame as well as in such offbeat collections as the Sing Sing Prison Museum and the Delta Blues Museum, these pop culture treasures include the most...
