Pedestrianism
when watching people walk was America's favorite spectator sport
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Word Count
65,500 words, Guess
Page Count
262 pages
Identifiers
- Internet Archivepedestrianismwhe0000alge
- ISBN-101613743971
- ISBN-139781613743973
- Library of Congress Control Number2013045115
- OCLC Control Number864709622
and 2 more
- Better World Books9781613743973
- Open LibraryOL27158205M
Classifications
- DDC796.510973
- LCCGV199.4 .A43 2014
- LCCGV199.4.A43 2014
Description
"Strange as it sounds, during the 1870s and 1880s, America's most popular spectator sport wasn't baseball, football, or horse racing--it was competitive walking. Inside sold-out arenas, competitors walked around dirt tracks almost nonstop for six straight days (never on Sunday), risking their health and sanity to see who could walk the farthest--500 miles, then 520 miles, then 565 miles! These walking matches were as talked about as the weather, the details reported in newspapers and telegraphed to fans from coast to coast. This long-forgotten sport, known as pedestrianism, spawned America's first celebrity athletes, the forerunners--forewalkers, actually--of LeBron James and Tiger Woods. The top pedestrians earned a fortune in prize money and endorsement deals. The sport also opened doors for immigrants, African Americans, and women. But along with the excitement came the inevitable scandals, charges of doping--coca leaves!--and insider gambling. PEDESTRIANISM chronicles competitive walking's peculiar appeal and popularity, its rapid demise, and its enduring influence"--
Subjects
Other Editions
- Pedestrianism: when watching people walk was America's favorite spectator sport
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