Blog Posts by Subject: Recreation and Sports

Ajani and friends play football in South Africa... after he has finished his homework and gotten water from the well.

The baseball season is underway, and this year marks the 100th anniversary of the folding of the Federal League.

As players shed the rust that built up over the winter, let's keep in mind that the umpires will be doing the same as well.

Here are some tunes to thrash around to, some books to read up on and some movies to feel inspired by.

1968 was a year of misfortune. Unless you were on the mound.

During preparations for a book display, I learned a great deal about these players, their stats, and the origins of their nicknames.

Did you know that Toni Stone was the first of three women to play professional baseball in the Negro Leagues?

The artifacts component consists of a Presidential Medal of Freedom, Head Competition Racquet, lapel pins, buttons, jewelry, medals, badges, trophy, awards, flags, and other miscellaneous items that illustrate the life and career of Arthur Ashe from the 1960s through the early 1990s.

The Babe had a flair for the dramatic. Especially when it came to World Series play.

Some fantastic baseball records of yesteryear.

Toys are a multi-billion dollar business. Toy guns are a small portion of that, but there are also laws restricting their sale.

Zany haircuts, facial hair, and afros ran rampant during 1970s baseball, as did iconic moments and historic changes to the game that still stand today.

Just as the music CD Jock Jams inspired a generation to "Move It, Move It," many books and movies that focus on sports can be motivational, even if the reader or viewer is not interested in that particular activity.

Football is the lifeblood of this small Jersey town, and the administration does not react kindly to negative publicity about its prized sport.

To honor Derek Jeter's tenure in the Bronx, I thought it would be nice to pull quotes from journalists who have covered Jeter's career, from Jeter's teammates, and from Jeter himself.

At the turn of the 20th century, children’s lifestyles were not quite what they are today. Child labor laws were not declared constitutional until 1938 and children largely socialized with their adult co-workers in dance halls, gambling dens, and gin mills. It was this children-as-adults culture that sparked the play movement, removing children from the “physical and moral dangers of the street” to playgrounds, under the direction of trained play leaders.

Are you following the World Cup? Has that intense international feeling inspired you to look for some reading from around the globe? We’ve been inspired by the Los Angeles Public Library’s brilliant virtual #Literary World Cup to create our own Literary World Cup book display featuring authors from these competing countries. We hope you'll discover some new writers to enjoy!

I recently learned that July has been designated "Park and Recreation Month." I do not begrudge those hearty souls who simply adore inhaling the scent of the soil while lying awake in a perfectly pitched tent, listening to the nocturnal sounds of life in the woods, of starting a campfire to cook breakfast with a glorious sunrise serving as backdrop to the sound of bacon frying and who regard possible contact with a patch of poison ivy as a minor nuisance. However, I may not be properly numbered amongst those hearty outdoor types.

Fifteen-year-old ninth-grade identical twins Maggie and Bella Anderson did not know what was in store for them when they met Coach Kasinski. Coach K, as she did not appreciate being called, liked her players to play the Kasinski way, whatever that meant. Maggie eats junk food while Bella watches her diet. Maggie twirls the racket while Bella perfects her game. Bella is obsessed with the game, while Maggie reluctantly participates. Is a Classic title on their horizon?