Journal of Sport History

For Authors

Submit Manuscript

Please verify that all communications come from the editor directly (see “Editorial Board” for contact information) or from Scholastica. There is no cost to submit or publish in the journal unless you have requested open access for your accepted article.

Article types

We invite the submission of scholarly articles, research notes, documents, and commentary; interview articles and book reviews are assigned by the Editor. Potential contributors are urged to consult recent issues of the JSH for examples of the format of these various contributions.

Submission requirements

General guidelines
Authors should follow the Chicago Manual of Style:

  • Manuscripts must be in English. If this is not the first language of the author, contributions should be checked for grammar and syntax, prior to submission, by a person fluent in academic English. It is not the responsibility of the editorial team to redraft articles into an acceptable form and manuscripts which do not meet the required standard will be returned. American conventions in spelling and punctuation should be used throughout.
  • The author’s name should appear on the cover page only as manuscripts are evaluated anonymously.
  • An abstract of no more than 150 words should be included at the beginning of the article.
  • 3 or 4 “keywords” should be included at the beginning of the article following the abstract.
  • The entire article, including block quotations, endnotes, and figure captions should be double-spaced with at least a one-inch margin on all sides. All pages should be numbered consecutively throughout. Manuscripts should not exceed 8,000 words including notes.
  • Authors are responsible for obtaining any copyright permissions.
  • Tables and graphs should be sent as separate files, not as part of the main text, and clear indication given as to their appropriate position within the article.
  • Illustrations are encouraged but not required. At submission stage an indication of suitable material is all that is necessary as precise details will be determined once an article has been accepted for publication.

Articles accepted for the Journal of Sport History should demonstrate international quality of scholarship, rigor and analysis. It would also be an advantage in terms of likely publication if the piece addresses a significant issue, even if only by contextualization, and is likely to be widely cited.
All articles generally go to two referees, at least one (and preferably two) of whom are members of the Editorial Board. The comments of the reviewers are then edited and a collective review is sent to the author.

Style guide

Notes, numbered consecutively, should appear within the text at the end of a sentence, even when referring to a direct quotation, with the full reference located at the end of the article. Notes must not exceed 100 – one way to achieve this is citation by paragraph where appropriate. Endnotes should not be used to provide additional commentary or information.

  • Abbreviations – first mention of organizations should be provided in full, but thereafter should be abbreviated: for example, International Olympic Committee (IOC); National Football League (NFL); American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
    Acronyms, however – for example, NATO, DNA, NASCAR – should not be expanded.
  • Dates in text and references should be in the form July 12, 1958 (Month Day, Year).
  • Numbers from one to one hundred should be spelled out.
  • Citations should follow the Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition Notes citation format, for example:
    Wray Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game (Cambridge University Press, 1988), 91.

Douglas Booth, “Sports Historians: What Do We Do? How Do We Do It?” In Deconstructing Sport History: A Postmodern Analysis, ed. Murray G. Phillips (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006), 39.

Tara Kathleen Kelly, “The Still-Hunter and the Temptation Goats: Reconsidering the Meaning of the Hunt in American Culture, 1880-1914,” Journal of Sport History 35.2 (2008): 285–301.

Patricia Campbell Warner, “Clothing the American Woman for Sport and Physical Education, 1860 to 1940” (Ph.D. diss., University of Minnesota, 1986), 72.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Robert Pear, “Wary Centrists Posing Challenge in Health Care Vote,” New York Times, February 27, 2010, accessed February 28, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/us/politics/28health.html

A website reference need not be given in full but should include the basic information required for access, together with the date accessed, for example: http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/60969 [accessed 28 May 2009]

An archive should be referenced as follows: Minutes of Meeting of Conference Directors, 1 June 1922, folder 5, box 84, Amos Alonzo Stagg Papers, University of Chicago Archives, Chicago, Illinois.

Latin abbreviations, other than Ibid. (for an immediate second reference) should be avoided.

A second citation should normally be in the form: Kelly, “The Still-Hunter,” 289.

Illustrations

It is the responsibility of the author to obtain the appropriate permission for the use of any copyrighted materials. If you do include illustrations, keep in mind that photos need to be scanned in greyscale at a minimum of 300 dpi for a 5x7 or 4x6; line art has to be a minimum of 1200 dpi; otherwise, they may not be able to be used.

Drafts of the illustrations may be submitted with the article during the review process but final versions, including an indication that permission has been obtained, must be submitted with the final version of the article.

RESEARCH NOTE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Research Notes of up to 3,000 words are invited for possible publication. These notes should specifically address methodological issues that are relevant and topical for sport historians. To submit a Research Note please follow the Submission Guidelines for articles.

FILM, MUSEUM AND MEDIA REVIEW SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

You must contact the FMMR editor BEFORE submitting a review. The FMMR Editor is Travis Vogan [travis-vogan@uiowa.edu]. Please contact him about FMMR submissions.

Guidelines
As always when writing, keep your audience in mind: your colleagues in the historical and socio-cultural study of sport.
Please go beyond plot summary and engage with the issues raised by the film(s)/exhibit(s) under consideration and the choices made by their directors and curators. Ideally you will engage with the historical issues raised, but JSH is open to a broader interrogation of socio-cultural issues.

Length
These word lengths are guidelines, but do what you can to adhere to them as closely as possible:
For reviews of single films and museum or online exhibits: 750-1000 words
For reviews of two films or exhibits: 1250-1500 words
For essays on three or more films: 1500-2000 words

Format
If you find it necessary to include citations within your review, please use endnotes in the Chicago style.
Please include a full citation for the media under review at the beginning of your review. Samples are below.

Film review
History of Physical Education in the United States
(2005). Written, produced and directed by James Holzknecht.
Castalia Media.
Distributed by Insight Media. 30 mins.

Media review
National Sport Information Centre in Australia
www.ausport.gov.au/nsic/contacts.asp

Museum review
National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
1431 W. Taylor Street
Chicago, Illinois 60607
Telephone: (312) 226-5566; FAX: (312) 226-5678;
E-mail: rich@niashf.org
Website: <www.niashf.org> [12 May 2007]
Open: Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and Saturday
and Sunday 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Private tours are available.
Handicapped accessible.

Please include your name as you wish it to appear, along with your institutional affiliation.

Deadline and Submission
Submit your review within three months of receiving these guidelines. If you find yourself unable to complete this review, please let the FMMR Editor know as soon as possible.

BOOK REVIEW SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

For Book Publishers
Publishers wishing to have their books considered for review in the Journal of Sport History should email the book review editor, Dain TePoel, at dht1117@commonwealthu.edu.

The Journal of Sport History does NOT accept books mailed directly to the book review editor. Publishers interested in having a book reviewed in the Journal of Sport History should email publicity information and a link to the book online to dht1117@commonwealthu.edu.

General guidelines
Book reviews should be no longer than 1,000 words.

Reviews should contain a thoughtful and critical discussion of the book assessing the author’s thesis/purpose, organization, use of sources, and the contribution of the book to the field of sport history and/or related fields of interest to the readers of the Journal. The Journal of Sport History addresses a wide audience in the history of sport and related topics in social and cultural history, and insightful, informative book reviews are a vital segment of the publication.

All reviews should follow the Chicago Manual of Style regarding formatting and other stylistic points, and should use American spellings. Reviewers should not use second person and should keep use of first person to a minimum.

Interested in Reviewing?
Individuals interested in reviewing books for the Journal of Sport History should complete the Reviewer Information Form.

Deadline
Book reviews are due two months after receipt of the book. If you anticipate difficulty with this deadline, please contact the book review editor at jshbookreviews@gmail.com to discuss the deadline.
For review essays, the appropriate length is at the discretion of the reviewer; usually review essays are more substantive in length than regular book reviews, and include more than one book for discussion.

Format
Bibliography:
Bibliographic information on the reviewed book should appear at the top of the page. Include as much information as possible in this section, including the price of clothbound and paperback editions. The bibliographic information should appear in the following order:

Author’s last name, First name. Title of the book. Place of publication: Publisher, date published. Number of pages in preface + in main text. Listing of features such as notes, index, color plates, illustrations, bibliographic essay, appendices. Price.

Example:
Moore, Lou. I Fight for a Living: Boxing and the Battle for Black Manhood, 1880-1915. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2017. Pp. X + 230. Index and illustrations. $95.00 hb, $27.95 pb, $25.16 eb.

Nauright, John, and Tony Collins, eds. The Rugby World in the Professional Era. New York: Routledge. Pp. 191. Index. $145.00, hb. $54.95, eb.

hb: hardback or cloth bound book
pb: paperback book
eb: e-book

Please list prices in U.S. dollars, unless a publisher only sells the book in another country. (Some publishers have different sites for multiple countries listing prices in local currencies. In these instances, please use the U.S. site.)

Text
After publication information, skip three single lines and begin the text of the review.
Book reviews should be written in 12-point Times New Roman Font, and the review itself should be double-spaced.

References
If you are quoting from the book under review, use page numbers following the quotation.

Example:
Cayleff explains, “Among related reforms that received attention and adoption was physical education” (117).

Ordinarily, book reviews do not include foot or endnotes quoting a work other than the book under review, put these in parentheses after your statement(s).

Example:
Another book on urban culture includes a discussion of the turn-of-the-century (David Nasaw, Children of the City, 27-30).

Reviewer Name and Affiliation
At the end of the review, skip three single lines, note your name with your affiliation below in italics.

Example:
David Welky
University of Central Arkansas

SUBMISSION
Email the final copy of your review to the book review editor at jshbookreviews@gmail.com

View our Publications Ethics and Malpractice Statement Link:
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/ethics_statement.html