Space City and shortstops: Baseball, boosterism, and Houston's coming of age
by Wise, Travis Glenn, M.A., STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY, 2010, 136 pages; 1499017

Abstract:

This thesis examines Houston's push for and acquisition of a baseball franchise in the 1950s and 1960s and how it impacted the city's changing identity. By placing the ballclub in the context of Houston's growth machine, this paper argues that the Houston Sports Association utilized the team as a means to enhance the city's image and promote civic growth. From 1962, when the franchise first came into being as the Houston Colt .45s, to 1965 and beyond, when Roy Hofheinz renamed it the Houston Astros to fit with the completed Astrodome, the ballclub reflected Houston's shifting boosterism as the city turned from promoting a mythic old-frontier image to lauding Space City, USA. Drawing from books, newspapers, and correspondence written during the fifties and sixties, this thesis demonstrates the hope that Houston's growth machine had for the team and how they used the franchise to display the city's coming of age.

 
AdviserPaul Sandul
SchoolSTEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY
SourceMAI/ 50-01, p. , Aug 2011
Source TypeThesis
SubjectsAmerican history; Social research; Modern history
Publication Number1499017
Adobe PDF Access the complete dissertation:
 

» Find an electronic copy at your library.
  Use the link below to access a full citation record of this graduate work:
  http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl%3furl_ver=Z39.88-2004%26res_dat=xri:pqdiss%26rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation%26rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:1499017
  If your library subscribes to the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database, you may be entitled to a free electronic version of this graduate work. If not, you will have the option to purchase one, and access a 24 page preview for free (if available).

About ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
With over 2.3 million records, the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database is the most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses in the world. It is the database of record for graduate research.

The database includes citations of graduate works ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester. Of the 2.3 million graduate works included in the database, ProQuest offers more than 1.9 million in full text formats. Of those, over 860,000 are available in PDF format. More than 60,000 dissertations and theses are added to the database each year.

If you have questions, please feel free to visit the ProQuest Web site - http://www.proquest.com - or call ProQuest Hotline Customer Support at 1-800-521-3042.