Antisemitism in American Athletics

"Antisemitism in American Athletics" traces the reception of Jews from the Civil War to the present in all sports in venues from amateur to professional played in or organized by collegiate groups, country clubs, athletic clubs, and professional associations. The main conclusions are: Jews were discriminated against less, as in other recreational sectors, than African-Americans. They also faced less prejudice than in other aspects of life, e.g., academic, residential, commercial, and professional. Hostility against Jews in sports varied with the social prestige of the sport and the venue. Thus, greater exclusion existed in yachting and horse racing than in basketball, baseball, and boxing, and greater exclusion took place in country and athletic clubs than in professional sports arenas. Finally, the trajectory of bigotry in athletics paralleled that of general anti-Jewish sentiment--rising after the Civil War, peaking in the 1930s, and declining after World War II to its current low point.