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"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"--
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Previews available in: English
Subjects
Walking, Spectators, History, Sports spectators, HISTORY / United States / 19th Century, SPORTS & RECREATION / WalkingPlaces
United StatesTimes
19th centuryShowing 6 featured editions. View all 6 editions?
Edition | Availability |
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1
Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America's Favorite Spectator Sport
Sep 01, 2017, Chicago Review Press
paperback
161373882X 9781613738825
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2
Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America's Favorite Spectator Sport
2014, Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
in English
1306476860 9781306476867
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zzzz
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WorldCat
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3
Pedestrianism: when watching people walk was America's favorite spectator sport
2014
in English
1613743971 9781613743973
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aaaa
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WorldCat
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4
Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America's Favorite Spectator Sport
2014, Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
in English
1613744005 9781613744000
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zzzz
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WorldCat
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5
Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America's Favorite Spectator Sport
2014, Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
in English
161374398X 9781613743980
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zzzz
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WorldCat
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6
Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America's Favorite Spectator Sport
2014, Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
in English
1613743998 9781613743997
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zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
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Book Details
Table of Contents
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-256) and index.
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