Fame to Infamy

Essays that reveal the public slide into disrepute of oncecherished male sports iconsEssays by Lisa Doris Alexander Gregory J. Kaliss Jeffrey Lane Thabiti Lewis Robert F. Lewis II Shelley Lucas Roberta J. Newman C. Oren Renick and Joel Nathan Rosen and Sherrie L. WilsonFame to Infamy: Race Sport and the Fall from Grace follows the paths of sports figures who were embraced by the general populace but who through a variety of circumstances real or imagined found themselves falling out of favor. The contributors focus on the roles played by athletes the media and fans in describing how once-esteemed popular figures find themselves scorned by the same public that at one time viewed them as heroic laudable or otherwise respectable.The book examines a wide range of sports and eras and includes essays on Barry Bonds Kirby Puckett Mike Tyson Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa Branch Rickey Joe Louis and Max Schmeling Michael Jordan Wilt Chamberlain and Jim Brown as well as an afterword by noted scholar Jack Lule and an introduction by the editors. Fame to Infamy is an interdisciplinary volume encompassing numerous approaches in tracing the evolution of each subject's reputation and shifting public image.David C. Ogden Pacific Junction Iowa is associate professor of communication at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Joel Nathan Rosen Bethlehem Pennsylvania is assistant professor of sociology at Moravian College. He is the author of The Erosion of the American Sporting Ethos: Shifting Attitudes toward Competition.