Manners & morals November 2013
In the arena
The gentleman athlete has disappeared
Hobey Baker at Princeton
Hobey Baker, a turn-of-the-century athlete, is all but forgotten today—a revealing case of cultural amnesia. What Baker represented, and what he still represents, is in short supply in our time: an athlete whose success is determined by his moral integrity, not by the number of wins he stacks up or by the sums of money he earns.
In his own era, matters were different. Baker was a famous, even legendary, amateur hockey player. He had the name recognition of today’s professional athletes. But there was an important distinction. Baker was the most celebrated hockey player of his day, not just for his...
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