Friday Night Fighter: Gaspar "Indio" Ortega and the Golden Age of Television Boxing - Hardcover

Rondinone, Troy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0252037375 ISBN 13: 9780252037375

Verlag: University of Illinois Press, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

Friday Night Fighter relives a lost moment in American postwar history, when boxing ruled as one of the nation's most widely televised sports. During the 1950s and 1960s, viewers tuned in weekly, sometimes even daily, to watch widely recognized fighters engage in primordial battle; the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports Friday Night Fights was the most popular fight show. Troy Rondinone follows the dual narratives of the Friday Night Fights show and the individual story of Gaspar "Indio" Ortega, a boxer who appeared on prime-time network television more than almost any other boxer in history. From humble beginnings growing up poor in Tijuana, Mexico, Ortega personified the phenomenon of postwar boxing at its greatest, appearing before audiences of millions to battle the biggest names of the time, such as Carmen Basilio, Tony DeMarco, Chico Vejar, Benny "Kid" Paret, Emile Griffith, Kid Gavilan, Florentino FernÁndez, and Luis Manuel Rodriguez.

Rondinone explores the factors contributing to the success of televised boxing, including the rise of television entertainment, the role of a "reality" blood sport, Cold War masculinity, changing attitudes toward race in America, and the influence of organized crime. At times evoking the drama and spectacle of the Friday Night Fights themselves, this volume is a lively examination of a time in history when Americans crowded around their sets to watch the main event.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Troy Rondinone is an associate professor of history at Southern Connecticut State University and the author of The Great Industrial War: Framing Class Conflict in the Media, 1865-1950.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: University of Illinois Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0252037375
• ISBN 13: 9780252037375
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 304
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Mare Nostrum Group B.V.; gpsr@mare-nostrum.co.uk; ; Doelen 72; Breda; 4831 GR; Niederlande