How do sports reflect culture?
Sports competitions are part of cultures from around the world. Native nations of what would be the United States engaged in games for thousands of years. Many American Indian men played ball games similar to today’s lacrosse for generations prior to contact with Europeans. The ancient Olympics began in what is today Greece more than 2,500 years ago. The first recorded Olympics were held in 776 B.C.E., but competitions likely preceded that date. The first competition was a foot race but later included wrestling, field events, and even chariot races. By the 1750s, organized cricket matches were played in the British colonies that became the United States. Whether in the past or today, sports are shaped by social and cultural factors that have determined what sports were popular and who played.
Beginnings of Team Sports
Before the American Civil War in 1861, men organized clubs to play baseball and cricket. These clubs had constitutions and bylaws with a set of rules to reinforce ideals of the American Republic, religious mores and “healthful exercise.” The rules for modern baseball and softball date to the 1840s. Baseball had spread west of the Mississippi to California, Iowa and Texas among other states before the Civil War, but the game became increasingly popular after the war. Women and Black men organized clubs before 1870, and the National League was organized as a professional league in 1876. The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs was formed in 1901. The Negro Baseball League and National Football League were founded in 1920, the National Basketball Association in 1946, and the Women’s National Basketball Association in 1996. The first modern International Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896 and featured men from 13 nations in 43 events including track-and-field, swimming, gymnastics, cycling, wrestling, weightlifting, fencing, shooting, and tennis. Women participated in the Olympics in 1900 in activities of tennis, sailing, croquet, horseback-riding and golf. The first Winter Olympics were held in France in 1924 with competition in bobsledding, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, ice hockey, military patrol, Nordic combined skiing, Ski jumping, and speed skating. Women were only allowed to compete in ice skating as individuals or in pairs with a man. Early noted medalists included Jim Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, who won two Olympic gold medals in 1912. Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Summer Olympics. In 1948, Alice Coachman earned a gold medal in the high jump, the first Black woman to achieve that level of distinction.
Sports for American Youth
Youth and high school age sports became increasingly popular in the late 1800s. A state track meet was held by the late 1890s in Iowa. The invention of basketball by James Naismith in 1891 led to the creation of many community and college teams. Girls and boys from across the country played on high school teams by 1910. Boys’ high school football became popular at the same time. A boy’s basketball tournament was held at Iowa State in Ames in 1919. A girls’ state basketball tournament was hosted by Drake in 1920. Iowa, a state known for its wrestling tradition, held a high school state championship in Ames in 1921.
Sports and Equality
Sports proved a place for equality for Blacks before other sectors of society. High schools and colleges in states where schools were desegregated had Black athletes through the late 1800s. The boxer Jack Johnson dominated the ring and became the first Black heavyweight champion in 1908. The NFL had Black athletes since 1920, but baseball was more popular at the time in the National or American Leagues. Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers made national news in 1947 when he became the first Black in Major League Baseball since the 1890s. Title IX (nine) of the Education Amendments of 1972 opened greater equality for women in community school and collegiate sports. The act prohibited sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Many colleges and universities did not offer the same number of women’s programs as men’s at this time. Title IX created an environment to help guarantee equal opportunity, if not always equal facilities, for women. Sports are a thriving part of American culture. Recent surveys show more than 70 percent of U.S. youth between the ages of 6-12 play a team or individual sports. Millions of Americans follow professional, college, high school, and yourth sports due to television contracts for college and professional teams and leagues. Nearly everyone in the U.S. is touched by sports in their lifetime.
How do sports connect us to our past?
- Ball-Play, 1844 (Image)
- Colosseum, Rome, Italy, c. 1890 (Image)
- Athletics at Fair, 1904 (Document)
- Times haven't changed much, after all., 1919 (Political Cartoon)
- U of Md. & Lehigh, Lacrosse, 1925 (Image)
- Nationals Park, baseball stadium, Washington, D.C., 2008 (Image)
How do sports unify communities of people?
- Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus: During the Reigns of the Emperors Constantius, Julian, c. 360 (Document)
- Take Me Out to the Ball Game, 1908 (Audio)
- Buxton Wonders, c. 1900 National Sports, 1911 (Document)
- Olympiad is Opened at the Coast, 1932 (Document)
- Concurrent Resolution Honoring the Lifetime Achievement of Jackie Robinson (Document)
- Report on the State of the Union Delivered to a Joint Session of Congress, 2014 (Document)
- 'We're all Iowans': Iowa State football fans help elderly Iowa fan into Jack Trice Stadium, 2017 (Image)
How have sports contributed to the cultural identity of Iowa?
- Champion of Iowa, 1915 (Document)
- Drake Relays, 2008, Lolo Jones (Image)
- Iowa Girls 6-on-6 Basketball Players Tell Their Stories, 2008 (Video)
- Finishing RAGBRAI, 2008 Proclamation, 2012 (Image)
Sports and Culture Teaching Guide
Printable Image and Document Guide
Ball-play, 1844
Description
Artist Geoge Catlin painted many scenes of American Indian life. This painting depicts a game similar to modern lacrosse. The event is played in a large, open field with many players.
Colosseum, Rome, Italy, c. 1890
Description
The Flavian Amphitheater, more commonly known as the Roman Colosseum was an engineering marvel when it was built. Since AD 79, the Colosseum has been the role model for sports stadiums that could be used for multiple types of events and seat thousands of…
Athletics at Fair, 1904
Description
This newspaper article from 1904 describes the upcoming Olympic games. The events of the games are detailed in the article. The Olympics were part of the culture of ancient Greece and were revived in the late 1800s. This article helps link the ancient…
Times haven't changed much, after all., 1919
Description
Ding Darling was a political cartoonist from Iowa. His cartoons appeared in newspapers throughout the country through most of the twentieth century. This cartoon compares football to medieval jousts. The cartoon appeared during a time when football safety…
U of Md. & Lehigh, Lacrosse, 1925
Description
The modern game of lacrosse is depicted in this photo from the University of Maryland in 1925. Players in this game are carrying sticks and running in an open field.
Nationals Park, baseball stadium, Washington, D.C., 2008
Description
The Washington Nationals baseball team plays at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. The stadium shares similarities with many other sports venues throughout the world.
The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus: During the Reigns of the Emperors Constantius, Julian, c. 360
Description
Ammianus Marcellinus was a historian in Ancient Rome. He wrote about how obsessed spectators of chariot races were. Chariot races were some of the most important sporting events in the Roman world. This source speaks to the importance of the sport in the society.…
Take Me Out to the Ball Game, 1908
Description
“Take Me out to the Ball Game” is a standard song heralding the belief in the greatness of American baseball. Traditionally, the chorus is sung during the 7th Inning stretch at games. The song has been sung at baseball games since it was written.…
The Buxton Wonders, c. 1900
Description
The Buxton Wonders were an all-black baseball team, from Buxton, Iowa, that was famous for barnstorming in the early 1900s when professional sports were segregated. The team traveled around the country to play. When Jackie Robinson integrated Major…
Olympiad is Opened at the Coast, 1932
Description
Part of the modern Olympic games is a parade of nations. In these parades, athletes from every participating nation march behind their national flags in celebration of the Games. This article from The Coolidge Examiner in 1932 describes the opening…
Concurrent Resolution Honoring the Lifetime Achievement of Jackie Robinson
Description
Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to integrate the sport of professional baseball. His heroism in doing so has been admired by people for generations. This resolution in Congress was introduced in 1997 to honor Robinson’s achievements in…
Report on the State of the Union Delivered to a Joint Session of Congress on January 28, 2014
Description
President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union Address on 28th January 2014 to a Joint Session of Congress. The Constitution requires presidents to give Congress their perspective on the condition of the country and to recommend laws they think…
'We're all Iowans': Iowa State football fans help elderly Iowa fan into Jack Trice Stadium, 2017
Description
This photo shows Iowa State fans helping out an elderly Iowa Hawkeye fan in a wheelchair at the annual rivalry game. This annual game is called the Cy-Hawk game. It is a showdown between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Iowa Hawkeyes. This photo went viral shortly after…
Champion of Iowa, 1915
Description
The football game between Iowa State University and the University of Iowa is often called the Superbowl of Iowa. The winning team has bragging rights for the year and gets to take the CyHawk Trophy. The game has been played between the two schools since…
Drake Relays, 2008, Lolo Jones
Description
The Drake Relays have been a part of Iowa’s history since 1922. Athletes from around the world head to Des Moines to compete on the famed blue oval track and high school students from across the state strive to qualify to run at the Relays. Olympic…
Iowa Girls 6-on-6 Basketball Players Tell Their Stories, 2008
Description
Organized girls basketball in Iowa started sooner than it did in other states. It also was played with different rules than the game today. Each team consisted of six players: three guards and three forwards. Each team had three players on each half of the court and no one…
Finishing RAGBRAI, 2008
Description
Every year at the end of July, thousands of bicycle riders from around the world travel to Iowa to participate in the Register’s Annual Bike Ride Across Iowa, RAGBRAI. Riders begin the ride somewhere on the western border of Iowa on the Missouri River and…
Additional Resources
- McComb, David G. Sports in World History. Routledge: New York, 2004.
This book provides an overview of the history of modern sports. It takes a look at multiple different sports and diversifies between western and non-western sports. - Hall, Stephanie. “Traditional Sports for Unity.” 27 July 2020.
This blog examines how sports have brought diverse groups of people together worldwide. - McGuiggan, Amy Whorf. “ ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ - Edward Meeker (1908): The Story of the Sensational Baseball Song.“ Library of Congress Guest Post.
This article depicts the significance of the famous tune “Take me Out to the Ball Game.” It helps to paint the picture of the song's impact in American culture. - Bryant, Nick. “The Shared Language of Sport and Politics.” BBC News. 27 Sept 012.
This magazine article from the BBC discusses the influence sports have had in the realm of politics. - Dash, Mike. “Blue versus Green: Rocking the Byzantine Empire. “ Smithsonianmag.com. 2 March 2012.
This article from Smithsonian Magazine traces organized sports back to the early days of the Byzantine Empire. It examines the role sports played in early cultures and the influence it had on the development of these empires. - “Caray Leads ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ “ Major League Baseball. 22 Apr 2014.
9/21/97: Cubs announcer Harry Caray leads the crowd in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the Cubs' final home game of the season - Obama, Barack. “2014 State of the Union Address.” 28 Jan 2014. C-SPAN.
In his annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama outlined his priorities for legislative action and for the American people.
Iowa Core Social Studies Standards (6th Grade)
Listed below are the Iowa Core Social Studies content anchor standards that are best reflected in this source set. The content standards applied to this set are middle school-age level and encompass the key disciplines that make up social studies for eighth grade students.
| No. | Standard Description |
| SS.6.13 | Identify what makes up a culture and examine how people acquire their cultural beliefs and value systems. |
| SS.6.14 | Explain how groups form in our society, and how groups, as well as the individuals within those groups, can influence each other. |
| SS.6.20 | Analyze connections among historical events and developments in various geographic and cultural contexts. |