1. History of physical activity
Chapter 5
History of physical activity
Richard A. Swanson

2. Chapter Objectives Explain what a physical activity historian does.
Describe the goals of history of physical activity.
Describe the development of the subdiscipline of history of physical activity.
Explain how research is conducted in history of physical activity.
Explain what research tells us about physical activity in U.S. society from the Industrial Revolution to the present.

3. Goals of History of Physical Activity
To identify and describe patterns of change and stability in physical activity in particular societies or cultures during specific periods
To analyze such patterns

4. Why Use History of Physical Activity?
The history of physical activity teaches us about changes as well as stability in the past, which helps us understand the past as well as the present and make reasonable decisions for the future.

5. Comparing Sport: Then and Now
Read the sidebar “Comparing Sport: Then and Now.” What movies have you seen that show a sport being played from a different time period?
What is your reaction when you see the changes in familiar sports through the years?
What role could a sport historian play in ensuring the artistic and historical integrity of the production?

6. What Do Historians of Physical Activity Do?
College or university faculty members
Teach
Research
Service
Others
Librarians
Journalists
Consultants to publishing companies
Library archivists
Museum curators

7. History of Kinesiology and Physical Activity
Early beginnings: late 19th century to 1960s
Edward Hartwell’s report On Physical Training (1899) was one of the few efforts until 1960s.
Paxson: Close of frontier meant sport provided “safety valve” function (1917).
Staley: Courses in history of PE should include sport (1937).
Dulles: America Learns to Play: History of Popular Recreation (1940) showed sport’s importance for pleasure and democracy.
After World War II, Betts vs. Boyle. Did sport bind people together in an active way (Betts) or did it merely reflect society (Boyle)?
(continued)

8. History of Kinesiology and Physical Activity (continued)
Identifying the subdiscipline: 1960s to 1970s
Eyler, Staley, and Zeigler in 1962 developed sport history section in the College Physical Education Association (renamed National College Physical Education Association for Men) (NCPEAM).
The only formal organization for sport historians, NCPEAM Proceedings became important published record.
1971 AHA meeting included an entire section on sport history.
Expanding the subdiscipline: 1970s to present
North American Society for Sport History (NASSH) in 1972
Greater focus on gender, regional histories outside North America, and sport historians outside physical education

9. Research Methods in History of Physical Activity
New analytical frameworks developed in 1970s-80s
Modernization Theory
Rise of modern sport during Industrial Revolution as U.S. society shifted away from agricultural economies to city-based industries rooted in science and technology
Guttmann: From Ritual to Record: The Nature of Modern Sports (1978)
Human agency
People actively involved in developing or constructing their sports
Expanded to include gender issue
(continued)

10. Research Methods in History of Physical Activity (continued)
Other: exercise health history; links with other disciplines
Finding sources of evidence
Primary sources
Secondary sources
Critiquing the sources
Authenticity
Credibility
Rule of context
Rule of perspective
Rule of omission or free editing
Examining, analyzing, and synthesizing the evidence

11. Overview of Knowledge in History of Physical Activity
We know much of European and rich sport histories in other parts of the world; this chapter is on North America.
Critical time periods
: industrialization and westward expansion
: consumerism, immigration, and democratization
1950-present: electronic communication and globalization
Focus for each period
Participation in physical activity
Physical activity professions
Scholarly knowledge about physical activity

12. 1840-1900: Industrialization and Westward Expansion
Integration of body, mind, and soul
Recommendations for vigorous exercise for boys and men
Recommendations for moderate exercise for girls and women
European gymnastics systems—German and Swedish
YMCA and YWCA
Immigrants and sports—clubs focused on their traditions
(continued)

13. 1840-1900: Industrialization and Westward Expansion (continued)
School and college physical activity—Hitchcock, Sargent, Hannah
Intercollegiate sport—student control to university control
Women’s sports (physical educators included women’s activities)
Professional and amateur sports (modern Olympics, baseball)

14. Physical Activity Professions
Early practitioners before the 1880s
Physicians, successful athletes, journalists, educators, ministers, health reform advocates, business entrepreneurs, and a handful of European gymnastics specialists who immigrated to United States
Beginning of physical education, late 19th century
American Association for the Advancement of Physical Education formed in After several name changes, today it is known as SHAPE America, the Society of Health and Physical Educators
Teacher training programs

15. Scholarly Knowledge About Physical Activity
Science-based investigations and curriculums
19th-century scientific discoveries in anatomy and physiology, oxygen transport, energy transformation, and the nervous system
Professional programs very common
Focused on teaching physical activities and instilling positive social values in students through participation in play and sport
(continued)

16. Scholarly Knowledge About Physical Activity (continued)
Though scholarly knowledge about physical activity became important in a few teaching training curriculums in the late 19th century, it often took a backseat to learning physical activities and practical knowledge about teaching them.
Professional programs that focused on learning physical activities and how to teach them outnumbered scientific programs.

17. 1900–1950: Consumerism, Immigration, Democratization
Competitive sport for males
Competitive sport for females
Sport at center of school and college physical education curriculums
Military and World War I
1920s: Golden Age of Sport
(continued)

18. 1900–1950: Consumerism, Immigration, Democratization (continued)
The Great Depression
Military and World War II (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League)
Racial and ethnic relations (Jackie Robinson)

19. Physical Activity Professions
Degree programs in physical education expand
1920s saw the first doctoral degree programs
Coaches
Athletic trainers
National Athletic Trainers’ Association in 1950
Cramer Company
(continued)

20. Physical Activity Professions (continued)
Physical therapists
WWI reconstruction aides
American Women’s Physical Therapeutic Association (presently American Physical Therapy Association) in 1921

21. Scholarly Knowledge About Physical Activity
Growth of research in the late 1920s and 1930s
Harvard Fatigue Laboratory
Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
Sport was Americans’ favorite activity in the first half of the 20th century. They paid less attention to exercise though interest picked up during WWI and WWII in order to improve physical fitness.

22. 1950-Present: Electronic Communication and Globalization
Enthusiasm of Americans—both as direct participants and as spectators—mushroomed in second half of the 20th century for a widening array of sport and exercise.
Electronic media expanded rapidly: television, computers, satellites, and Internet.

23. Participation in Physical Activity
Increase in health-related exercise through 2000, followed by a decline in Americans meeting recommended activity levels
Increase in outdoor recreation
Decline in youth sport participation since 2010

24. Physical Activity Professions
Discipline of kinesiology led to an expansion in the number and variety of professions.
The variety of professionally oriented college and university curriculums grew.
Number of professional associations and certifications grew.
In the middle of the 20th century, most physical education majors entered the same profession. By end of the century, they could choose from a wide array of physical activity careers.

25. Title IX: Educational Amendment of 1972
Section Sex (a) Prohibition against discrimination: exceptions. No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, except that . .

26. Scholarly Knowledge About Physical Activity
Influences on the growth of scholarly subdisciplines beginning in the 1960s—specialization
Research journals
“Physical Education: An Academic Discipline”—Franklin Henry, JOPERD, 1964, 35(7), 32-33, 69
Broader scope of study moves beyond sport to exercise other aspects of physical activity