From Chronology to Confessional: New Zealand Sporting Biographies in Transition

Abstract

Formerly rather uniform in pattern, sporting biographies have evolved significantly since the 1970s, becoming much more open in their criticism of teammates and administrators as well as being more revealing of their subject’s private lives. This article identifies three transitional phases in the genre; a chronological era, extending from the early twentieth century until the 1960s; an indirectly confessional phase between the 1970s and mid 1980s and an openly confessional phase from the mid-1980s. Despite these changes, sporting biographies continue to reinforce the dominant narratives around sport in New Zealand.