Sportsman - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Alex Riggs, a former undergraduate in History, has won the Sport in History Undergraduate Essay Prize.
Alex completed his undergraduate degree in History with the University of Nottingham (UoN) in 2019, and is now studying for an MA in History here. The British Society of Sports History (BSSH) has announced today that he has won the Sport in History Undergraduate Essay Prize for his undergraduate dissertation, 'Part-time Athlete, Full-time Serious thinker: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Arthur Ashe in the "long 1970s"'. His essay expertly placed the activism and advocacy of two prominent African American sportsmen within the changing contours of black politics during the 1970s and 1980s. Alex was supervised by Dr Joe Merton, Lecturer in Twentieth Century History in the School of Humanities.
This is the first year this particular essay prize has been awarded by the BSSH, who aim to promote the study of the topic and encourage the next generation of researchers in sport history. The winning essay was selected by a panel of judges based on the quality of the research, clarity of argument and expression, and originality. Alex will be awarded a £200 prize for his essay, and invited to publish the paper on the BSSH website.
Alex said, ‘I really enjoyed researching this dissertation because it allowed me to combine my interest in sport with historical research and led me to fascinating insights about the evolution of both activism by African-American athletes after 1968 and the nature of African-American politics in the same period. I'm shocked and delighted to have won the prize, and would like to thank the British Society of Sports History judges, my supervisor Joe Merton for the nomination and his help throughout the year, as well as my friends and family for their support during the process.’
His paper will be available to read online shortly on the BSSH website, where you can find more details of this essay prize and other awards.
Posted on Tuesday 5th November 2019