University of North Carolina Press No Game for Boys to Play: The History of Youth Football and the Origins of a Public Health Crisis (Studies in Social Medicine)

From the untimely deaths of young athletes to chronic disease among retired players, roiling debates over tackle football have profound implications for more than one million American boys—some as young as five years old—who play the sport every year. In this book, Kathleen Bachynski offers the first history of youth tackle football and debates over its safety. In the postwar United States, high school football was celebrated as a "moral" sport for young boys, one that promised and celebrated the creation of the honorable male citizen. Even so, Bachynski shows that throughout the twentieth century, coaches, sports equipment manufacturers, and even doctors were more concerned with "saving the game" than young boys' safety—even though injuries ranged from concussions and broken bones to paralysis and death. By exploring sport, masculinity, and citizenship, Bachynski uncovers the cultural priorities other than child health that made a collision sport the most popular high school game for American boys. These deep-rooted beliefs continue to shape the safety debate and the possible future of youth tackle football. Review ...a thought-provoking monograph that should hold out interest to anyone concerned about the health of children and the educational value of adult-directed youth sport programs. - Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth In this important and timely book, Bachynski . . . traces the evolution of social, cultural, and medical attitudes toward football, and how notions of masculinity, national identity, and boyhood historically have shaped debates on player safety. . . . The result is an accessible study . . . with great appeal for those with an interest in public health, sociology of sport, or men's studies.-- CHOICE About the Author Kathleen Bachynski is assistant professor of public health at Muhlenberg College.