Sports Histories draws on figurational sociology to analyse the development of modern sport. The book brings together case studies from a wide range of sports, from the mainstream such as soccer, rugby, baseball, boxing and cricket, to less frequently examined sports, such as shooting, motor racing, tennis, gymnastics and martial arts. This groundbreaking work highlights key debates in the analysis of modern sport, such as: - The relative influence of intra-national class conflict and international conflict - The relative prominence of commercially led processes in different contexts - The centrality of concerns over violence - Differences between elite and mass-led sports developments Above all, Sport Histories demonstrates the distinctiveness of the figurational sociological approach and its usefulness in the study of the development of modern sport.