{"id":10716,"date":"2025-09-01T11:56:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T15:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/?p=10716"},"modified":"2026-07-20T13:43:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T17:43:01","slug":"reading-sport-call-for-labor-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/reading-sport-call-for-labor-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading Sport Call<\/em>, the Official Organ of the Workers\u2019 Sports League, for Labor Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Greg Bond, Sports Archivist and Curator, Joyce Sports Research Collection <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In honor of Labor Day, Rare Books and Special Collections is pleased to highlight three recently acquired 1937 issues of the scarce monthly publication Sport Call, The Official Organ of The Workers\u2019 Sports League of America<\/a><\/em>. Published during the 1930s, Sport Call<\/em>\u2019s tagline explained that it was \u201ca periodical devoted to the physical education of the working class,\u201d and it promoted healthful sports and recreation for laborers and workers.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Front page of Sport Call,<\/em> February 1937.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

During the turbulent years of the Great Depression, Sport Call<\/em> and the Workers\u2019 Sports League of America (WSLA) were active participants in national and international socialist movements. Headquartered in New York City, the League\u2014through its official journal\u2014offered a decidedly pro-labor view of sports and athletics that critiqued, what it saw as, capitalist exploitation of laborers and athletes. Sport Call<\/em> also fervently opposed the rising tide of fascist politics during the 1930s and endorsed sports as a potential unifying and democratizing force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sport Call<\/em> supported, for example, a January 1937 conference organized by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) that aimed to establish a permanent Labor Sports Movement. Speaking to more than 150 delegates, Siegfried Lipschitz, President of the Workers\u2019 Sports League, described the principles of Workers\u2019 Sports International\u2014the parent organization of the WSLA. \u201cThe Workers\u2019 Sports International,” he said, “is a pillar of world democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Jewish German emigr\u00e9, lawyer, journalist, and activist, Lipschitz knew first hand the necessity of fighting reactionary politics:  \u201cThe International and its affiliated organizations reject dictatorship in all its forms,” he declared. “To them it is an eternal creed that Labor cannot live and flourish,\u201d Lipschitz concluded, \u201cexcept in an atmosphere of free speech, free press, and the fullest expression of popular sentiments.\u201d (March 1937, p. 3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sport Call<\/em> well understood the connection between sports and politics, and an anti-fascist theme runs throughout these three issues. In February 1937, the journal editorialized strongly against the upcoming heavyweight championship fight between German Max Schmeling and American James Braddock. The editors wrote that they were \u201cvehemently opposed to the spreading of Nazi propaganda in Sports!,\u201d and they elaborated: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe fact that Max Schmeling is a Nazi is known everywhere. The fact that Schmeling is a first-class propaganda merchant of Hitler\u2019s is also well known. The opportunity to spread Nazi filth in this country must not be given to Hitler! The Braddock-Schmeling fight must not be staged!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, the Workers\u2019 Sports League had advocated for boycotting the 1936 Berlin Olympics in protest of Nazi Germany\u2019s policies. The following year, the League supported and promoted the Third International Workers Olympiad held in Antwerp, Belgium, as an alternative and more egalitarian athletic competition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an editorial titled, \u201cForward to Antwerp,\u201d the March 1937 issue of Sport Call<\/em> endorsed the call to action of George Elvin, the General Secretary of the British Workers Sports Association. The purpose of the Workers Olympiad, Elvin said, was to promote: \u201cThe unity of the people against war; the determination to continue the fight for clean, healthy, and beneficial sport; the maintenance of liberty and democracy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Venue for the swimming events at the 1937 Third International Workers Olympiad as pictured in Sport Call<\/em> March 1937, page 2.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

More specifically, Elvin elaborated that there will be \u201cnone of those regrettable incidents, which mar other sports meetings. Working class leaders will not refuse the hand-clasp of congratulations to victors as Hitler did to Jesse Owens, because he did not approve of the color of his skin.\u201d (March 1937, page 1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Workers\u2019 Sports League and Sport Call<\/em> consistently participated in anti-fascist events around New York and sought to include sports programming in socialist and pro-labor gatherings. In February 1937, Wilhelm Sollmann, a German politician and a former Minister of Labor in Germany\u2019s Weimar government, gave a lecture in New York City titled, \u201cWhat After Hitler?\u201d As part of the event, members of the Workers\u2019 Sports League put on a sports exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Athletes at Anti-Nazi Meet: Members of the Workers\u2019 Sports League pose with American flags and a banner reading: \u201cWelcome son of German soil, may freedom be yours\u201d (March 1937, page 5).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sport Call<\/em> also favorably covered the Second Annual World Labor Athletic Festival held on July 11, 1937, at New York City\u2019s Randall Park. More than 20,000 \u201ctrade unionists and sports fans,\u201d according to the journal, attended and participated in the meet. The cover of the July 1937 issue of Sport Call<\/em> featured members of the Workers\u2019 Sports League performing \u201ctheir rhythmic calisthenic drill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In addition to supporting national and international causes, the Workers\u2019 Sports League also promoted the health benefits of recreation. Sport Call<\/em> regularly printed health and recreation tips for readers and workers. In February 1937 (page 4), an article encouraged \u201cExercise in Winter\u201d and featured a picture explaining, \u201cIt\u2019s a lot fun and warmer than you think!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A letter to the editor of the March 1937 issue further discussed the importance of the participatory and egalitarian nature of labor sports organizations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe Workers\u2019 Sports League, building upon its program of solidarity with the working class and its aspirations, physical development of the masses rather than individual \u201cstars,\u201d real amateurism rather than quasi-professionalism, equal welcome to all regardless of race and color, and democratic organization control, can be built into a mighty organization\u2014and become itself the \u201cofficial\u201d sports movement.\u201d (March 1937, page 6)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

These Sport Call <\/em>issues <\/em>are available to researchers. RBSC welcomes new donations to expand our holdings of this scarce and important title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Note about<\/em> Sport Call publication history: This hard-to-find and relatively obscure journal is held by few repositories. It apparently began publication as the German-language <\/em>Arbeiter-Sport in Amerika (Workers\u2019 Sport in America) in about 1930. The journal changed titles to <\/em>Proletarian Sports and adopted English in 1934, before changing titles again to <\/em>Sport Call in about 1936.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RBSC is closed Monday, September 1st, for Labor Day.<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Previous Labor Day Posts:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

2024: Labor Day 2024 \u2013 Perspectives from the Catholic Pamphlet Collection<\/a>
2023: Souvenirs from the Union Printers National Baseball League Tournament<\/a>
2020: Labor and Linen \u2014 The Prints of William Hincks<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In honor of Labor Day, Rare Books and Special Collections is pleased to highlight three recently acquired 1937 issues of the scarce monthly publication Sport Call, The Official Organ of The Workers\u2019 Sports League of America. Published during the 1930s, Sport Call\u2019s tagline explained that it was \u201ca periodical devoted to the physical education of … Continue reading Reading Sport Call<\/em>, the Official Organ of the Workers\u2019 Sports League, for Labor Day<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1936,"featured_media":10740,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[75061,75063,75052],"tags":[77948,77929,75749],"class_list":["post-10716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-modern-european-cultures","category-sports-research","category-us-history-culture","tag-otd-holidays","tag-periodicals","tag-recent-acquisitions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1936"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10716"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12453,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10716\/revisions\/12453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/rbsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}