Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling And Other Forgotten Sports

Fox Tossing. . . and Other Forgotten Sports is an indispensable collection of history's cruellest, strangest and most ridiculous entertainments.

Who was the monkey fighting champion of 19th century London?
How is aerial golf possible?
Was baseball with cannon even the least bit safe?

In 17th century Germany the favourite pastime of nobles was to catapult foxes into the air and club them on landing. African cheetahs once raced on the greyhound tracks of England. The Vikings' idea of a good game was to try and drown each other. How have these sports slipped from our collective memory? And how many others have been forgotten?

In this unique compendium no page was left unturned to find over 100 forgotten sports from around the world - from the lethal 12, 000 year-old Native American buffalo Jumping to London's own firework boxing; from the insanity of auto polo to the majestic awfulness of ski ballet. Learn the stories of lost legendary athletes like Emperor Augustus the Strong, Aircraftman 'Brainy' Dobbs and Suzy 'Chapstick' Chaffee; discover the origin of the spiked dog collar, how many British prime ministers have fought a duel, the dos and don'ts of donkey boxing, the secret pyromania of Isaac Newton, the best way to drop the word 'Velocipedestrianisticalistinarianologist' into conversation. . . and even what porcupine flesh tastes like.

Fox Tossing is a breathless romp through the back-alleys of history, an indispensable collection of the cruellest, most dangerous and downright ridiculous entertainments ever invented.