Johnny Smith

Johnny Smith is the Julius C. "Bud" Shaw Professor of Sports History and Associate Professor of History. His research focuses on the history of sports and American culture.

Smith has authored four books: War Fever: Boston, Baseball, and America in the Shadow of the Great War (written with Randy Roberts); A Season in the Sun: The Rise of Mickey Mantle (written with Randy Roberts); Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X (written with Randy Roberts); and The Sons of Westwood: John Wooden, UCLA, and the Dynasty That Changed College Basketball.  Blood Brothers won the North American Society for Sport History (NASSH) Book Award, and Choice named The Sons of Westwood an "Outstanding Academic Title."

His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Slate, The Undefeated, Reviews in American History, and The American Historian, among others. 

In 2017, Professor Smith was named a Distinguished Lecturer by the Organization of American Historians.  He is also a two-time recipient of the Journal of Sport History's Best Article Award (2009; 2018).