Fisher, Donald M. 1967-

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FISHER, Donald M. 1967-

PERSONAL: Born 1967. Education: St. John Fisher College, B.A. (history); State University of New York at Buffalo, M.A. (history), Ph.D. (history).

ADDRESSES: Office—Department of History, Niagara County Community College, SUNY, 3111 Saunders Settlement Rd., Sanborn, NY 14132. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Niagara County Community College, State University of New York, Sanborn, currently assistant professor of history.

WRITINGS:

Lacrosse: A History of the Game, Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Donald M. Fisher is the author of the first complete history of a sport that has never achieved the status of hockey, baseball, and other games widely played by both Americans and Canadians. Lacrosse: A History of the Game traces the beginnings of the sport, which was adapted from the Mohawk Indians' game of tewaarathon by European Canadians. Lacrosse was promoted by Montreal dentist George Beers, who hoped to make it Canada's middle-class national game and intended it to be played in a gentlemanly manner. The working class, however, soon developed their own version of the new sport, transforming lacrosse into a fiercely competitive game in which winning was the goal.

When lacrosse migrated to the United States, it was played by elites and viewed as a game designed to build character and sportsmanship. Players initially used expensive hand-crafted sticks, but when manufactured metal sticks became available the game became accessible to players outside the upper-class social confines. Still, lacrosse never developed into a national sport, either in Canada or the United States.

In his book Fisher notes the individuals who have contributed to the sport, including Rosabelle Sinclair, who promoted the women's game in the 1950s; Syracuse coach Laurie Cox; Gaylord Powless, the 1960s Native star who experienced racism both on the field and off; Wes Patterson and Oren Lyons, who in 1983 co-founded the inter-reservation Iroquois Nationals; and Paul and Gary Gait, Canadian twins who were All-Americans at Syracuse University.

Benjamin G. Rader wrote in the Journal of American History that "perhaps the most intriguing and satisfying aspect of Fisher's book is his exploration through lacrosse of the complex relationships between Native Americans and Euro-Americans. The sport's association with the mystique of the noble savage was a vital component of the game's upper-class ideology; indeed, white players were depicted as playing Indian, as playing with the same spirit, nobility, and elemental toughness of earlier indigenous peoples." White players were tested, however, when they played Native American teams like the one from Pennsylvania's Carlyle Boarding School and those from upstate New York. Christina Burr, writing in the Canadian Historical Review noted that "one of the strengths of Fisher's analysis is his insightful probing of the negotiation of the ideals of amateurism, patriotism, and manly sports as opposed to professionalism, commercialism, and sports-as-spectacle."