SPORTS SHE WROTE
A Time-Capsule of Primary Documents Written by Women in the 19th Century
31 Volumes – 10,000 Pages – 2,500 Articles – 1,500 Images – 500 Authors
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WOMEN’S SPORTS
Did not begin with Title IX.
They began in Century XIX.
Sports She Wrote is a 31-volume book series featuring primary documents written by more than 400 women in the 19th century, published in newspapers, books and magazines.
Most of the articles in the Sports She Wrote books describe women’s participation in athletics, while others report on men competing in major league baseball, football, boxing, cycling, boating, golf and other sports.
Women’s sports were born and briefly flourished at the end of the 19th century. The stifling social constraints of the Victorian Era were challenged by active and energetic “New Women” who longed for the freedom to run, jump, swim, ride bicycles and play ball like their brothers. Their efforts led to enlightened attitudes about physical fitness, competitive sports, and revolutionized women’s fashions.
These trailblazing women knew they were opening doors for future generations of female athletes. Most assumed the trend of women’s participation in athletics would continue to expand. They didn’t anticipate the backlash against them and the restrictions that curtailed their progress at the turn of the 20th century.
They couldn’t imagine that several decades would pass before women’s athletics returned to the mainstream public sphere. And they certainly wouldn’t believe that their extraordinary accomplishments would be overlooked by the passage of time.
This series intends to rectify that omission by resurrecting the primary documents from the historical record and recognizing the contributions of these forgotten pioneers of women’s sports.
The Sports She Wrote books are categorized by subjects: Ball Sports, Physical Fitness, Cycling, Water & Ice, Outdoor Adventure, Equestrianism, Columnists, and Sports Fashion. The 31 volumes total more than 10,000 pages, 2,500 articles and 1,500 images. More information about the books can be found under the Books tab and at SportsSheWrote.com.
For many more sports articles and images from the 19th century please check out the Substack newsletter Lost Century of Sports, which includes a lot of football, some baseball, women’s sports (not written by women), and other sports.
The slider below shows the book covers for the 31 volumes.
Home – About – Authors – Ball Sports – Columnists – Cycling – Equestrianism – Fashion – Outdoor Sports – Physical Fitness – Water & Ice – Contact