Abstract
During the winter of 1905/6, Olympia held a series of spectacular indoor, electrically lit football matches. Organised by the showman Edwin Cleary, the purpose of these matches was to provide entertaining shows to large audiences. Using Pierre Bourdieu's theory of fields, this article argues that such an organisation was a continuation of a longer interaction between sport and the stage that was restricted during the coalescence of the sporting and exercise field in the late nineteenth century. The ultimate failure of the venture, moreover, is attributed to the power of the Football Association in the sub-field of football. The article uses the football games as a case study to demonstrate the usefulness of this theory to the study of sport more broadly.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 391-418 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Journal | Sport in History |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Jul 2015 |
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Sporting Entertainments, Discarded Possibilities and the Case of Football as a Variety Sport, 1905-1906. / Litherland, Benjamin.
In: Sport in History, Vol. 35, No. 3, 03.07.2015, p. 391-418.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Sporting Entertainments, Discarded Possibilities and the Case of Football as a Variety Sport, 1905-1906
AU - Litherland, Benjamin
PY - 2015/7/3
Y1 - 2015/7/3
N2 - During the winter of 1905/6, Olympia held a series of spectacular indoor, electrically lit football matches. Organised by the showman Edwin Cleary, the purpose of these matches was to provide entertaining shows to large audiences. Using Pierre Bourdieu's theory of fields, this article argues that such an organisation was a continuation of a longer interaction between sport and the stage that was restricted during the coalescence of the sporting and exercise field in the late nineteenth century. The ultimate failure of the venture, moreover, is attributed to the power of the Football Association in the sub-field of football. The article uses the football games as a case study to demonstrate the usefulness of this theory to the study of sport more broadly.
AB - During the winter of 1905/6, Olympia held a series of spectacular indoor, electrically lit football matches. Organised by the showman Edwin Cleary, the purpose of these matches was to provide entertaining shows to large audiences. Using Pierre Bourdieu's theory of fields, this article argues that such an organisation was a continuation of a longer interaction between sport and the stage that was restricted during the coalescence of the sporting and exercise field in the late nineteenth century. The ultimate failure of the venture, moreover, is attributed to the power of the Football Association in the sub-field of football. The article uses the football games as a case study to demonstrate the usefulness of this theory to the study of sport more broadly.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84947028283&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/17460263.2015.1084526
DO - 10.1080/17460263.2015.1084526
M3 - Article
VL - 35
SP - 391
EP - 418
JO - Sport in History
JF - Sport in History
SN - 1746-0263
IS - 3
ER -