In the 1870s Gus Hornsby spread the game of American football around the world and helped establish American football in the heartland of the U.S. Hornsby seemed destined for greatness but his arrogance greed and an intractable gambling addiction drove him to criminality and cast him into obscurity. Hornsby’s meteoric rise and fall intersected with towering influencers of the time including the women and men who would pioneer the “first-wave” feminist movement in the United States. This talk interweaves their stories- along with details from the first American football game in the Midwest a match in Evanston in February 1876- to reveal elements of a pivotal moment in American history both in feminism and sports. It is a story about America- brash imaginative and seemingly limitless in resources and creativity but overly self-assured and wildly reckless.
Free & Open to All RSVP on www.evanstonhistorycenter.org
*This in-person event will also be streamed on Facebook Live for those who cannot make it in person. You do not need to RSVP to attend via Facebook Live.
Event Venue
Evanston History Center, Greenwood Street, Evanston, IL, USA, United States
USD 0.00
