A Load of Old Balls. James Harkin & Anna Ptaszynski.

 

A Load of Old Balls.   The QI History of Sport.   James Harkin and Anna Ptaszynski.

A holiday gift from my spouse, this book took me a while to start but finishing was not a problem and largely worth the effort.    It is a humorous title, A Load of Old Balls, but appropriate for the topic pertaining to many of the three hundred and forty-six pages. 

We like the fact that this book addressed many off-beat sports and activities that may or may not have required the use of a ball.    The authors clearly researched plenty of history as noted in many of their findings.    It is also worth noting that the authors are British and come across as quite worldly.   

As a PE instructor, several examples of the books content fell right into my personal wheelhouse.    That was namely facts and interesting trivia, which is part of what the book comprises anyway.   An example that stood out was how tennis balls were originally white.    With the court lines being the same color that made it difficult for officials to determine if the ball landed within required boundaries.     Thus, the color of balls was eventually changed to yellow or colors that were easily discerned from white end and sidelines.  

Another example pertains to the author’s take and findings on Lacrosse.    They asserted the men’s game changed and evolved over time to what recognize about it now.    However, women’s games stayed in their original form for centuries and only changed in the last few decades to a more modern event.     Yes, the original game was played with few boundaries and often lasted for days.  

The authors brought forward one important concept throughout the chapters.    When humans engage in competition the willingness to “pushing the rules” is enhanced.   Not only may it be surprising how far back sports can be found in history but also the examples of noted cheating in several events.   In fact, the authors provide examples of rule bending in noted activities such as baseball, horse racing and golf but also less obvious competitions found in tug of war, pankration and even ski waxing.

We noted one eyebrow raising error, though, towards the middle of the book and it may have been influenced by the British background of both authors.   The St. Louis major league baseball team was erroneously identified as the Blues rather than the Cardinals. Even with that slight pho pa that hardly took away from the many interesting facts and tidbits included throughout all of fourteen paperback chapters.     One other slight variation for American readers to note is that in England the playing field is often referred to as the pitch.    This was evident in topics including cricket, golf, soccer and even American football.  

To be fair, the authors included many American sport examples in the book including the attempt to blow up disco records in Chicago during a White Sox game one particular night in the late 1970’s.   One of the more intriguing American examples and tails revealed the adventures of female cyclist Annie Londonderry.  The intrigue was how she started riding her bike in her native Boston and made her way around the world, of course, with many leisurely stops and escorts along the way back in the 90’s…that is 1890’s. 

The book, while somewhat lengthy, is mostly light and filled with entertaining and intriguing trivia and facts connecting humans to the world of sports and beyond (including a section about pillow fights being televised in certain parts of the world).  The reader is very likely to discover at least one “sporting event” that was previously unknown to them. One does not have to be a sports fan or an athlete to enjoy this book about sport since this address’s history and culture as much as competition.   This book actually is a good idea for a gift, and the recipient need not be a teacher either. 

A few discussion questions:

1. Which of the topics interested you the most and which topic or example was most surprising?   Explain why.  
2. What examples were noted that show or demonstrate how sports have changed over time?
3. Explain why the authors think cheating is natural for human competitors while engaged in sports.  

• ·       You might like to read this book if you are interested in the origin of a wide variety of popular and lesser-known sports and physical activities.
• ·       You might like to read this book if the topic of culture and sports is intriguing. 
• ·       You might like to read this book if you seek topics pertaining to sports, culture and history.