Review of "The Tigerbelles"

While I have read other great books on Olympic athletes, on Black athletes during the era of blatant racial discrimination and other books on running and track, this is probably the best one that combines all three of these topics into one great read.  Here is my review of "The Tigerbelles".  

Title/Author:

“The Tigerbelles: Olympic Legends from Tennessee State” by Aime Alley Card

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:  

While there have been many books released on the struggles of Black athletes from previous eras the last few years, there hasn’t been one that has focused on an exclusive set of fabulous Black female athletes from those times until now.  “The Tigerbelles” gets its title from the name given to the women’s track and field team for Tennessee State University.  This excellent book on the Tigerbelles by Aime Alley Card is a fantastic account of their success at both their competition against other amateur athletes and their medal-winning trips to the 1956 and 1960 Olympics.

 Any discussion of the Tigerbelles has to start with their dedicated coach, Ed Temple. Temple not only provided guidance to the women on their performance on the track, but he also was a mentor on showing them how to conduct themselves outside of the school.  This was not only about their behavior, but their attitudes, their dress and their temperament.  There were some who would rebel against this, and they would be met with consequences but overall, Ed Temple was the driving force behind their success.  The book describes what he did and his life extremely well.

 As for the athletes themselves, Card writes about them with equal detail and knowledge.  While the most famous member of the Tigerbelles would have to be Wilma Rudolph, her story is not the only one that makes for great reading.  Others who enjoyed success with the team such as Barbara Jones and Lucinda Williams also have stories that should be shared and they are in this book.  The women’s experiences, both good and bad, are shared here as well.  While it is well-known about the racial discrimination faced by all Black people at that time, it is always painful to read about them.  However, there are also many uplifting stories, including the experience of those who qualified for the 1960 Olympics in Rome. It was good to read about these as well as the hardships the athletes faced.

 Speaking of hardships, the team faced those at their school as well.  Despite their success and popularity, Temple faced many difficulties in securing funding from the school for the team and for upgrading their facilities.  It didn’t help that the press did not take female athletes seriously (even more so than today) and did not give them the same respect and publicity. That didn’t detract their fellow students as Temple would annually hold a Blue and White competition with teammates running and competing against each other and it would attract many spectators on campus.

It isn’t often that a high quality book is written about a little-known athlete or team and while Wilma Rudolph may be known to some, the Tigerbelles have a story that many may not know but now will have stories that should be known by more people.

I wish to thank Lyons Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Link: Amazon.com: The Tigerbelles: Olympic Legends from Tennessee State eBook : Card, Aime Alley: Kindle Store