Game Faces: Five Early American Champions and the Sports They Changed

Acknowledgments

Each day I am amazed how much my research is facilitated by the ever-expanding universe of today’s Internet. More and more newspapers, journals, books, and photographs are becoming available online, and they are accompanied by constantly improving tools for identifying and isolating the information they can provide. Indeed, this book would be quite different had I been relying on the same methods of research that I was employing only several years back. Nonetheless, the best memories of my research come from my experiences and especially the many generous individuals who helped me along the way. Although my interest in the history of sport originated with the courses I taught in American studies, my commitment to this project was cemented by an early research trip to California funded by a Haynes grant from the Historical Society of Southern California . Although I had at the time only topical interests and vague plans, I was grateful for this initial support, which proved invaluable in narrowing the focus my investigation and reassuring me of the promise of my selections. This trip carried me to the Southern Regional Library at ucla and the Los Angeles Public Library, where I found a wealth of material about tennis. At the la84 Foundation, Mike Salmon Acknowledgments 190 acknowledgments provided superb guidance to its resources on automobile racing . My assessment of these findings was greatly aided by enlightening feedback from Gary Doyle, Tony Thacher, and Gordon Sabine. Susan Painter at the Serra Research Center of the San Diego Public Library, Grace Prentiss at the Pasadena Public Library, and Kit Willis at the Ventura Historical Society later located and mailed me important material from their collections. The gratifying results of my California trip were enriched by ensuing visits to the Harvard Archives, Yale’s Archives and Manuscripts, and the U.S. Tennis Hall of Fame, in Newport, Rhode Island, where Mark Young directed me to more nuggets than I ever expected. The Hagley Museum, in Wilmington, Delaware, and especially the Free Library of Philadelphia proved to be invaluable resources for rare books and obscure journals. The Free Library possesses a vast collection of rare materials that are quickly retrieved for the user. The City of Philadelphia is currently coping with acute budget problems, and I hope it can find a way to sustain this unique resource. The University of Delaware Library was an enormous help with its interlibrary loan, its media services (especially Bryce Spencer), and my research study. Commodore Joseph at the MacRobert Trust, Olive Geddes at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, Ron McQueeny at the Indianapolis Speedway, and Ed Wallen at Wallen Racing Classics, in Glendale, Arizona, were sorely pressed with other demands, but graciously found time for mine. I also want to thank David Slovak, who helped enormously with preparation of my photographs. The writing of this book took longer and proved to be more taxing than I ever anticipated, and I am very grateful 191 acknowledgments for the encouragement and suggestions of several colleagues at the University of Delaware: Jerry Beasley, Kevin Kerrane, Steve Bernhardt, and George Basalla. When individual trees confuse your sense of the forest, it is helpful to have friends willing to help you out. Robert Taylor at the University of Nebraska Press gave me a final boost with his strong interest in this project, his helpful advice, and his conscientious responsiveness to my inquiries. Most of all, I want to thank my patient, understanding wife, who kept reminding me that writing a book should be only a part of life. ...