Dr Michael Connolly is currently lecturing in Sport Management at the University of Stirling, placed within the Faculty of Health Science and Sport. His research is centred within the Sport division and over the past five academic years he has worked towards producing the world's first biography of Brother Walfrid - most recognised as the prime founder of Celtic Football Club in Glasgow in 1887/88. Michael's thesis is titled "Faith, Community and Football: The Life of Brother Walfrid" and draws on fresh primary source material uncovered through rigorous archival work in Scotland, Ireland, Engl ..read more

This episode is a recording of a Roundtable discussion during the first Cricket Research Network conference, held at the Museum of Welsh Cricket in Cardiff on 23 February 2024. The discussion was Chaired by Professor Dominic Malcolm (Loughborough University) and the participants (in the order in which they appear on the recording) were: Michael Collins, Associate Professor Modern History, UCL and member of the Independent Commission on Equity in Cricket (ICEC) Raf Nicholson, Senior Lecturer, Bournemouth University and Chair of the Cricket Research Network Mark Frost, Development Manager, Crick ..read more

'For those who like the life nothing could be better’: The Games Mistress in Interwar Britain During the Edwardian period the ‘sporting girl’ was increasingly being framed as modern and aspirational. Intensive exercise programmes had been introduced at many British girls’ schools and the physical education colleges were graduating substantial numbers of women gymnastics and games teachers, the demand for whom increased rapidly with an expansion in the playing of team sports. Some headmistresses placed greater importance upon the character of her games mistress than any other member of staff, b ..read more

In the decades surrounding the turn of the twenty-first century, few brands across the globe gained more recognition than that of FC Barcelona. During this period, the club engaged in two mission that were seemingly at odds with one another. The first was to globalize the club’s reach and expand into international markets. The second was to retain its historic nationalist significance. This paper explores how the club negotiated the tensions between these two missions in the 1990s and 2000s, and in doing so, fostered a connection between Catalonia and international publics that had not existed ..read more

Clem Seecharan, the distinguished historian of Guyana and Caribbean cricket, talks to David Woodhouse at a special event to celebrate his being given the Howard Milton Award for cricket scholarship. Clem talks about his youth growing up on Berbice in then British Guyana and the effect on him of reading the CLR James classic, 'Beyond a Boundary'. He also reflects on the great players that Guyana has produced over the years, including the recent match-winner against Australia, Shamar Joseph. You can access a wonderful video of Clem speaking at Moray House here https://youtu.be/ZOm5c0zpBvE?si=1V ..read more

Barbara Buttrick and the History of Women’s Boxing in Britain This paper explores the life and career of Barbara Buttrick but also the way in which her achievements have been remembered (and forgotten). Born near Hull in 1930, Buttrick faced discrimination and disapproval in the UK and was frequently banned and boycotted. Moving to the United States in 1952, she enjoyed greater opportunities and recognition. In 1957, she beat Phyllis Kugler in a bout in San Antonio, Texas, to become the first sanctioned women’s boxing title-holder. In retirement, Buttrick became a key figure in the foundation ..read more

‘I've been with them longer than my wife.’ Searching for emotional clues in published fan culture. The highs and lows of following Lincoln City 1945-2000 Histories of emotions in sports have been mainly noticeable by their absence. This paper aims to begin to fill the gap Ross McKibbin identified when he questioned the failure of historians to seriously investigate the emotional experiences of those who watched or played sports despite often citing the fundamental importance of emotion in sport’s enduring appeal. Likewise, Barbara Keys has recently argued that the academic focus in sports hist ..read more

This episode Geoff talks to cricket historian Jeremy Lonsdale about the MCC tour to India in 1926-27. The tour, led by Arthur Gilligan, was a pivotal moment in Indian cricket history with Indian cricketers proving that they were worthy to play Test matches in the very near future. Jeremy also talks about the political implications of the tour at a time when demands for self-government were becoming ever harder for the British government to ignore. He also describes the way in which class tensions arose between the European community in India and the cricketers from 'back home ..read more

This episode features the keynote presentation at the 2023 BSSH Conference at Manchester Metropolitan University. Dr Heather Dichter gives a wide ranging overview of the relationship between sport and soft power over the past century from the turbulent politics of the 1930s through the Cold War to the Beijing Games. Dr Heather Dichter of De Montfort University is a leading scholar on twentieth century sports history and won the 2022 Lord Aberdare Prize for Sport Literature for her book, 'Bidding for the 1968 Olympic Games: International Sport’s Cold War Battle with NATO' (Amherst: University o ..read more

'The enemy within' football hooliganism and the miners' strike' During the 1980s Margaret Thatcher’s government attempted to reduce the economic power of the industrial working class by legislating against the trade unions and defeating the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike. At the time English football was an important part of male working-class culture, particularly for northern industrial workers and was under attack from the Government and Press over football hooliganism. It has often been argued that Thatcher’s trade union policies were designed to break the economic power of the industrial working ..read more