Sportsman, athlete and scholar: Vernon Louis Parrington's Lyon County years, 1877-1897

Abstract

This study investigates Parrington's involvement in athletics during his years in Lyon County, Kansas. Chapter I reviews earlier scholarship on Parrington's Main Currents In American Thought and traces the instant success and rapid decline of his 1928 Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Additionally, this chapter critiques previous biography, and focuses primarily on scholarship concerning Parrington's early Lyon County, Kansas, years. Chapter II investigates Parrington's early years in Americus, Kansas, and offers a brief family history and a detailed account of Parrington's farm and hunting experiences. Chapter III investigates Parrington's involvement in baseball as a student and professor at the College of Emporia. Additionally, Parrington's participation on a local semiprofessional baseball team is detailed. Chapter IV examines the controversies surrounding his role in the organization of the first College of Emporia football team, and focuses on his involvement as a professor and football player.