A comprehensive reference work on the development of athletics in the United States; this encyclopedia examines the sporting experience of Native Americans, African Americans and the immigrant groups of the United States from Colonial times to the present. It includes entries on racial and ethnic groups, ethnic sports, mainstream sports, ethnic and racial institutions and famous sports figures.

The category of ethnic sports includes games and pastimes that Native American Indians and immigrants have played to help preserve their ancestral traditions and cultural identity in the United States. The articles on mainstream sports chronicle and analyze the participation and contribution of racial and immigrant groups in the most popular pastimes that evolved from early English folk games or contests (such as baseball, football, and boxing), to American inventions (basketball). The book also includes entries on racial and ethnic sporting clubs, leagues, and institutions, as well as prominent athletes, sportswriters, officials, and managers. References follow each entry and there is also a selected bibliography at the end of the book that lists the most useful secondary sources in the fields of race and ethnicity in American sports. This book will not only be a valuable resource for both academic and public libraries, but also for collections in sports associations and ethnic groups.