Randy W. Roberts
Purdue University
May 2012
Home Address: 807 Highland
Lafayette, Indiana 47905
Home Phone: (765) 423-7711
(765) 412-1117 (cell)
Department of History
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
Phone: (765) 494-4122 or 0040
EDUCATION:
Louisiana State University, Ph.D., 1978
University of Nebraska, M.A., 1973
Mansfield University--Magna Cum Laude, B.A., 1972
POSITIONS HELD:
Distinguished Professor of History
Professor, Purdue University,
Associate Professor, Purdue University
Visiting Associate Professor,
University of Houston
Assistant Professor,
Sam Houston State University
Lecturer, University of Maryland,
University College
2006
1992-2006
1988-92
1987-88
1980-88
1979-80
TEACHING AWARDS:
Teacher of the Year in the School of Liberal Arts, 2011.
Society of Honors Distinguished Educator Award, Mansfield University, 2009.
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Indiana Professor of the Year, 2006.
Lilly Endowment Retention Initiative Grant, 2001.
Teacher of the Year in the School of Liberal Arts, 1997.
Liberal Arts Educational Excellence Award, 1996.
Society for Professional Journalists, Teacher of the Year, 1993.
Charles B. Murphy Award, Purdue University, Outstanding Teaching Award, 1991.
ACADEMIC AWARDS AND HONORS:
Consultant for the History Channel Series Consultant for the Ken Burns PBS documentary
“Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.” The documentary won an
Emmy for Directing for Non-Fiction Programming (2006).
Consultant for the HBO documentary “Joe Louis: American Hero… Betrayed (2008). The
documentary was nominated for an Emmy.
Organization on American Historians Distinguished Lecturer (awarded in 2005)
Fellowship, Center for Humanistic Studies, Purdue University, 1992, 1997, 2007.
Hibernian Address, Notre Dame, 1991.
Hibernian Research Award, Cushwa Center, Notre Dame, 1990.
Steward Staley Address, North American Society for Sports Historians, 1988.
NEH Grants, 1981, 1984.
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Warwick Fellowship, Louisiana State University, 1977.
Jack Dempsey: The Manassa Mauler
Nominated for the National Historical Society Book Prize in American History, 1980
Nominated for the Bancroft Prize in American History, 1980
Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in biography, 1979
Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes
Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in biography, 1983
John Wayne American
Pat and Ray Browne National Book Award, 1995
Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography, 1995
A Line in the Sand: The Alamo in Blood and Memory, 2000.
History Book Club Selection
Texas Historical Foundation's Deolece Parmalee Award, 2001
Joe Louis: Hard Times Man
Kirkus 2010 Best Books Nonfiction
Kirkus 2010 Best Books Biography
Los Angeles Book Festival 2010 Runner-Up for Biography/Autobiography
Rodwan Writes Best Books of 2010
Choice Outstanding Academic Books of 2011
Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography, 2010
Nominated for the National Book Award, 2010
PUBLICATIONS:
Books:
John Wayne Treasures. (With David Welky) Metro Books, 2012.
A Team for America: The Army-Navy Game That Rallied a Nation. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,
2011.
Joe Louis: Hard Times Man. Yale University Press, 2010.
The Rock, the Curse, and the Hub: A Random History of Boston Sports, ed. Harvard University
Press, 2005.
A Line in the Sand: The Alamo in Blood and Memory. (With James S. Olson) Free Press, 2000.
Pittsburgh Sports: Stories from the Steel City, ed. Pittsburgh University Press, 2000, paperback
2002.
"But They Can’t Beat Us": Oscar Robertson and the Crispus Attucks Tigers. Indiana State
Historical Society, 1999.
John Wayne American. (With James S. Olson) Free Press, 1995.
Heavy Justice: The State of Indiana V. Michael G. Tyson. (With J. Gregory Garrison) AddisonWesley, 1994; paperback, University of Arkansas Press, 1999.
Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam, 1945-1990. (With James Olson) St. Martin's
Press, 1990; 2nd edition, 1996; 3rd edition, 1999; 4 th edition, 2004; 5th edition 2006. WileyBlackwell edition, 2008.
Winning is the Only Thing: Sports in America since 1945. (With James Olson) Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1989; paperback 1991.
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Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes. Free Press, 1983; British edition, Robson
House, 1986.
Jack Dempsey: The Manassa Mauler. Louisiana State University Press, 1979; paperback, Grove
Press, 1980; expanded edition, Louisiana State University Press, 1984; British Edition, Robson
House, 1987.
Edited Books:
Before the Curse: The Chicago Cubs’ Glory Years, 1870-1945. (With Carson Cunningham.)
University of Illinois Press (2012).
Charles A. Lindbergh: The Power and Peril of Celebrity 1927-1941. (With David Welky).
Brandywine Press, 2003.
The Steelers Reader. (With David Welky). University of Pittsburgh Press, 2001; paperback 2002.
Revised edition One for the Thumb: The New Steelers Reader, 2006.
My Lai: A Brief History with Documents. (With James S. Olson) Bedford Books, 1998.
Hollywood’s America: United States History Through Its Films. (with Steven Mintz) Brandywine
Press, 1994; 2nd edition, 1997; 3rd edition, 2001. Wiley-Blackwell edition, 2010.
Texts:
United States History (With Emma J. Lapsansky-Werner, Peter B. Levy, and Alan Taylor) Prentice
Hall, 2006; revised edition 2010.
America: Past and Present. (With Robert A. Divine, T. H. Breen, George M. Fredrickson, and R.
Hal Williams) HarperCollins, brief edition, 1985; 2nd edition, 1990; 3rd edition, 1994; 4th edition,
1998; 5th edition 2002; 6th edition 2005; 7th edition 2007; 8th edition 2010; Portuguese edition
1992.
America and Its People. (With James K. Martin, James Jones, Linda O. McMurray, and Steven
Mintz) HarperCollins, 1988; 2nd edition, 1992; 3rd edition, 1997; 4th edition, 2000; 5 th edition,
2004.
A Concise History of America and Its People. (With James Kirby Martin, Steven Mintz, Linda O.
McMurry, James H. Jones, and Sam W. Haynes) HarperCollins, 1995.
Understanding American Government. (With Fred Harris and Margaret S. Elliston) Scott,
Foresman, and Co., 1988.
Readers:
Constructing the American Past, Vol. I, 1607-1877. (Edited with Elliott J. Gorn and Terry D.
Bilhartz) HarperCollins, 1991; 2nd edition 1995; 3rd edition, 1999; 4th edition 2002; 5 th edition
2005, 6th edition 2008; 7th edition 2010.
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Constructing the American Past, Vol. II, 1877-Present. (Edited with Elliott J. Gorn and Terry D.
Bilhartz) HarperCollins, 1991; 2nd edition 1995; 3rd edition, 1999; 4th edition 2002; 5 th edition
2005, 6th edition 2008; 7th edition 2010.
American Experiences, Vol. I, 1607-1877. (Edited with James S. Olson) HarperCollins, 1985; 2nd
edition, 1990; 3rd edition 1994; 4th edition, 1998; 5th edition, 2002; 6 th edition 2005.
American Experiences, Vol. II, from 1877. (Edited with James S. Olson) HarperCollins, 1985; 2nd
edition, 1990; 3rd edition 1994; 4th edition, 1998; 5th edition, 2002; 6 th edition 2005.
Reflections on World Civilization, Vol. I, Beginnings to Renaissance. (Edited with James S. Olson
and Ronald H. Fritze) HarperCollins, 1993.
Reflections on World Civilization, Vol. II, Renaissance to Present. (Edited with James S. Olson
and Ronald H. Fritze) HarperCollins, 1993.
Reflections on Western Civilization, Vol. I, Prehistory to 1600. (Edited with Ronald H. Fritze and
James S. Olson) HarperCollins, 1991.
Reflections on Western Civilization, Vol. II, 1600 to the Present. (Edited with Ronald H. Fritze and
James S. Olson) HarperCollins, 1991.
Book Chapters:
"Emperors of Masculinity: John L. Sullivan, Jack Johnson, and Changing Ideas of Manhood and
Race in America," in Daryl Adir, ed., Sport, 'Race,' and Ethnicity: Narrative of Difference and
Diversity. Fitness Information Technology, University of West Virginia Press, 2011, pp. 41-75.
“The Battle of the Beards: Russell-Chamberlain,” in The Rock, the Curse, and the Hub: A Random
History of Boston Sports. Harvard University Press, 2005: 293-315.
“Number 4 Is Number 1: The Emergence of Bobby Orr,” in The Rock, the Curse, and the Hub: A
Random History of Boston Sports. Harvard University Press, 2005: 273-292.
“The Clinton Show: Notes on a Post-Modern President,” in The Clinton Riddle: Perspectives on
the Forty-second President. University of Arkansas Press, 2004: 209-227.
“Between the Whale and Death,” in Pittsburgh Sports: Stories from the Steel City. University of
Pittsburgh Press, 2000: 1-24.
“A Sacred Mission: Oliver Stone and Vietnam,” (With David Welky) in Oliver Stone’s USA: Film,
History, and Controversy. University Press of Kansas, 2000: 66-90.
"The Wide World of Muhammad Ali: The Politics and Economics of Televised Boxing," in
Muhammad Ali: The People's Champ. University of Illinois Press, 1995: 24-53.
"Foreword" to Go Big Red: The Story of a Nebraska Football Player by George Mills. University
of Illinois Press, 1991: xi-xv.
"The Presidency of Grover Cleveland," in The American Presidency. Salem Press, 1986: 410-425.
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"Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of Great White Hopes," in Taking Sides: Changing Views
on Controversial Issues in American History. Free Press, 1985: 41-56.
"Film in the Classroom," in Instructor's Resource Manual for America: Past and Present. Scott,
Foresman and Company, 1984: 1-11.
"Boxing and Reform," in Sports in Modern America. River City Press, 1982: 27-38.
Articles:
"The Shot." Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, (Summer 1997): 4-13.
"It Happens Every Spring Like and Indian Head Penny," in The Series: Baseball and the Meaning
of America. Brandt and Lawson, 1994: 4-7.
"Roone Arledge and the Rise of Televised Sports." U.S.A. Today: The Magazine of the American
Scene 120 (January 1992): 89-92.
"On the Field of Struggle: The Irish American Sporting Experience." American Catholic Studies
Newsletter 18 (Fall 1991): 9-11.
"Perfect Bodies, Eternal Youth: The Obsession of Modern America." (With James S. Olson).
Lamar Journal of the Humanities 15 (Spring 1989): 39-55.
"The Days of Tamerlane." The Ring 65 (1986): 38-45.
"The Lamp of Experience." Society 23 (1986): 21-24.
"Galveston's Jack Johnson: Flourishing in the Dark." Southwestern Historical Quarterly 87
(1983): 37-56.
"Dr. Watson's Warning." Baker Street Journal 31 (1981): 80-82.
"Oscar Wilde and Sherlock Holmes: A Literary Mystery." Clues: A Journal of Detection, 1
(1980): 41-45.
"Eighteenth Century Boxing." Journal of Sport History 4 (1977): 246-59.
"Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson: His Omaha Image." Nebraska History 57 (1976): 22641.
"Jack Dempsey: An American Hero in the 1920s." Journal of Popular Culture 8, (1974): 411-26.
Anthologized in Eldon E. Snyder, ed., Sports: A Social Scoreboard (1975); Andrew Yainnakis,
Thomas D. McIntyre, Merrill J. Melnick, and Dale P. Hart, eds., Sport Sociology: Contemporary
Themes (1976); and Paul J. Zingg, ed., The Sporting Image: Readings in American Sport History
(1988).
Pamphlets, Encyclopedia, Handbook, and Dictionary Entries:
"The Anti-War Movement" (with James S. Olson), in The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. New
York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996, 29-47.
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"Leisure and Recreation," in The Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century 4.
New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 4 (1996): 1743-59.
"Nathaniel S. Fleischer", "Richard Kyle Fox," "Sugar Ray Robinson," "Sports Illustrated," and
"Sportswriting," in The Encyclopedia of New York City. Yale University Press, 1995: 418, 435,
1012, 1106, 1106-1107.
"Sports," in The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indiana University Press, 1994: 182-88.
"Teaching American History Through Film." HarperCollins, 1994 (pamphlet).
"Film and the Vietnam War," in The Vietnam War: Handbook of the Literature and Research.
Greenwood Press, 1993: 401-25.
"Learning to Think Critically: Film, Myth and American History" (with Robert May).
HarperCollins, 1993 (pamphlet).
"Boxing" and "Black in Sports" in Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. University of North Carolina
Press, 1989: 1214-15, 195-97.
"World War I," in Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism. Greenwood Press, 1991: 67072.
"Television," in Dictionary of the Vietnam War. Greenwood Press, 1988: 440-41.
"Charles Coughlin," "Martin Dies, Jr.," "William Randolph Hearst," and "Huey Long," in Historical
Dictionary of the New Deal: From Inauguration to Preparation for War, 1985: 104-06, 123-24,
237-38, 308-10.
Review Essays:
"Losing Friends and Influencing People." Reviews in American History 23, No. 4 (1995): 729-33.
"Both Sides of Creation: The Public and Private Careers of Dean Acheson." Reviews in American
History 22 (June 1994): 310-15.
"Women's Sports." Reviews in American History 20 (June 1992): 242-46.
"FDR in the House of Mirrors." Reviews in American History 18 (March 1990): 82-88.
"Men, Women, and the Sweet Science." Southern Review 25 (Summer 1989): 771-77.
"Wild Delinquents and Misunderstood Rebels." Reviews in American History 15 (June 1987):
327-31.
"Sports, Action, and the American Mind." Reviews in American History 12 (September 1984):
398-402.
"Requiem for the Body Snatchers." Reviews in American History 11 (September 1983): 447-53.
"Baseball Myths and American Realities." Reviews in American History 10 (March 1982): 141-45.
Selected Documentaries:
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“Pearl Harbor—24 Hours After” (History Channel, scheduled December 2011). Consultant and
on-camera.
“Purdue Profiles: Gus Grissom” (Big Ten Network, 2011). On-camera host and consultant.
“Purdue Profiles: John Wooden” (Big Ten Network, 2010). On-camera host and consultant.
“Purdue Profiles: Orville Redenbacher” (Big Ten Network, 2010). On-camera Host and
consultant.
“The Kennedy Assassination—24 Hours After” (History Channel, 2009). Consultant and oncamera.
“Joe Louis: American Hero… Betrayed” (HBO, 2008). Consultant and on-camera.
Ken Burns’ “Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson” (PBS, 2006). Consultant
and on-camera.
“Ten days that Unexpectedly Changed America” (History Channel, 2006). Consultant.
“Sports Century: Jack Dempsey” (ESPN, 2001). On-camera.
“Mysteries and Scandals: John Wayne” (ETV, 2001). On-camera.
“Fighting the Mob: The Story of Carmen Basilio” (ESPN, 1999). On-camera.
“Shadow Boxing: The Journey of the African American Fighter” (HBO, 1999). On-camera.
“Reputations: John Wayne: The Unquiet American” (BBC2, 1997). On-camera.
“The Journey of the African American Athlete” (Parts 1 and 2, HBO, 1996). On-camera.
Other Professional Activities:
More than seventy-five book reviews published in a wide range of historical journals, magazines,
and newspapers.
More than forty papers or public lectures presented in the United States and Great Britain. These
include papers presented at the conferences of the American Historical Association, the
Organization of American Historians, the Southern Historical Association, and other historical
meetings, as well as invited lectures in England, Wales, and colleges and universities throughout
the United States.
Co-Editor, Sports and Society Series with Benjamin Rader for University of Illinois Press: 1985present.
Co-Editor, Illinois History of Sports Series with Benjamin Rader for University of Illinois Press:
1992-present.
Book Review Editor, Journal of Sport History, 1984-87.
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Advisory Editor, Arete: The Journal of Sport Literature.
Editorial Board, Journal of Sport History.
Editorial Board, Lamar Journal of the Humanities.
Editorial Board, Popular Culture and Libraries.
Editorial Board of The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War.
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