Essays and Research Papers on Professional Athletes

A 4 page biography/report on the life and accomplishments of Jackie Robinson-- the American baseball player known for 'breaking the color barrier' and becoming the first Black player to gain widespread acceptance playing for a Major League team. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 12 page paper that considers the portrayal of Joe DiMaggio in the biographies developed by Maury Allen (Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio) and Jack Moore (Joe DiMaggio) and demonstrates the elements that underscored DiMaggio's developments as a legendary figure.

An 11 page paper on baseball's first enduring black player. Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 amid a raft of controversy, but managed to pull 'Dem Bums,' perpetual losers into the 1947 World Series by doing things that won him the title of 1947 Rookie of the Year. Always outspoken on racial issues, he ...

5 pages in which the author discusses this particular book and how the great baseball player Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier between Black and Whites on the playing field and in society.

An 8 page paper discussing the social effect felt by Jackie Robinson's addition to the Dodgers. He suffered incredible verbal abuse and even threats of death, yet continued with his mission. He summarized the source of his drive in his last book: 'I cannot, as an individual, rejoice in the good things I have been ...

In this 5 page paper, the writer is concerned with the historical accuracy of film & written accounts of the Jackie Robinson legend. The movie ['Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars'] is compared with the book 'Baseball's Great Experiment: --Jackie Robinson and His Legacy.'

A 7 page discussion of how, in the context of his career, accomplishments, etc;-- basketball player Michael Jordan serves as a persuasive communicator and role model to the African-American community. Many insightful examples are offered. Bibliography lists 8 sources.

A 5 page synopsis of the 1992 biography of Michael Jordan by Sam Smith. The writer demonstrates that while Smith's biography shows a negative side to Jordan's character not seen by his adoring public, debunking the Jordan mystique was not Smith's intention. Smith succeeds in presenting Jordan, not as a godlike superstar, but rather it ...

The story of baseball great Cal Ripken, Jr. is discussed in this 5 page paper. The focus of the paper is on Ripken's relationship with his father, who also coached the Orioles. Insights into the man's upbringing are given as well as data about Ripken's astounding record as a major league player. Bibliography ...

This 5 page review of a 1994 U.S. News & World Report article on Babe Ruth looks at the information given on the baseball great but also discusses how many neglect some of the Babe's long-term contributions to the game.

This 3 page report discusses the multibillion dollar business of golf. Over the past two decades, golf has grown in popularity, accessibility, and an excepted means of doing business. As the popularity of golf is grown, naturally the profits and economic impact of the golf industry have also grown. Bibliography lists 5 sources. ...

This 6 page paper applies three different paradigms to the life of athlete and self-prescribed “anti-hero” Brian Bosworth by evaluating the perspectives presented in his autobiography. This paper considers the trait approach to personality, a psychodynamic approach and a analytical approach to examining the life and perspectives of Bosworth as presented in the book “The ...

A 5 page analysis of the seventeenth century classic that mixes philosophical musings on nature with advice on how to catch fish. In the mid-seventeenth century, author Izaak Walton witnessed the English civil war with a rising sense of horror. A firm Royalist, Walton reported that the 'malice and madness' was 'scarce credible, but I ...

A 5 page paper which discusses the life and personality of Dennis Rodman, in combination with the personality theories of Alfred Adler, a renowned psychologist of years back. Rodman is a prime example of Adler’s theories of inferiority as he was a child who lived through ridicule, beatings, abandonment, crime, and lack of self esteem. Rodman is discussed in ...

The Legal Case(s) and Repeated Appeals of Mike Tyson : This 5 page report discusses the numerous legal cases that have followed fighter Mike Tyson for most of the1990s. The law allowed him a second round of appeals and Indiana Court of Appeals did decide to grant Tyson his hearing basing the decision on a ...

This 5 page paper examines the different risk involved for athletes who chose to take anabolic steroids. The physical and psychological side effects of women, men and children who take these drugs are all discussed. The bibliography cites 9 academic sources.

This 10 page paper considers the influence of the family system on the development of basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. This paper considers the assessment of his family structure and life through the use of Peter Knobbler's biography Giant Steps. Bibliography lists 5 source.

This 5 page report discusses the fact that professional basketball ticket prices have skyrocketed in the past few years. The average fan cannot afford a ticket, much less a ticket for a good seat. One has to wonder what sort of impact the lack of affordability and the elitism that has evolved around basketball will ultimately have in terms of ...

This 5 page paper looks at the influence of chemistry and design on the game of golf from the shaft of a club to the tees and balls that the club will hit. The paper also considers 'illegal' golf equipment. The bibliography cites 4 sources.

This 7 page report discusses the issues associated with the fact that baseball is big business. The acrimonious strike by major-league baseball players in 1994 and 1995 dealt the game a terrible blow. But the strike only confirmed what baseball fans already knew. Each new season sees the game’s best players competing for the title of highest-paid athlete. But in ...

A 10 page biographical paper of the legendary football coach. Vince Lombardi is commonly assumed to have been a rigid autocrat determined that everyone associated with him conform to his way of thinking, but in reality Lombardi sought to encourage the view of order, rules and discipline as providing the true path to real freedom. He demanded ...

A 5 page classification essay categorizing good, average and bad teams in the NFL. Team records are dynamic and change annually, but the general attitude and tone of the larger organization generally does not. Taking responsibility for the outcome of each game and giving opponents credit for being competent are used as the primary criteria for ...

A six page paper which considers the way in which professional athletes have become perceived by society as role models, and the extent to which this has a detrimental effect on the attitudes and behaviour of young people. The paper looks at how far athletes themselves accept or reject their adulation by children, and whether ...

A 7 page paper which discuses the differences between football in history and football today. Subjects covered include attitudes, lifestyles, and pay. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 14 page report discusses boxer Mike Tyson. In the late 1980s, reporters called him the “new young tiger,” “an orphaned street robber found handcuffed to a reform-school radiator,” a “square, two -fisted hulk with a short man’s proclivity for uppercuts,” and the “undefeated young barbarian.” In 1992, he was sentenced to six years in prison after a jury found him ...