Lawrence Webster Fielding

Dr. Lawrence W. Fielding, 81, passed away on May 13, 2025. Born April 17th, 1944, Larry spent his formative years in Corning NY, graduating high school from Corning Free Academy in 1962 where he played football, basketball, and ran track and field. A dedicated academic, Larry went on to study physical education at the State University of New York at Cortland, where he was a member of the tennis team, graduating in 1966. He earned a Masters’ Degree in 1968 from the University of Maryland and taught physical education and coached track and field at Hornell High School in New York before moving on to earn his Doctorate Degree at the University of Maryland in sport history in 1975. At Maryland he taught in the Kinesiology department for five years as a graduate assistant. After moving to Louisville in 1975, Larry spent more than two decades at the University of Louisville in the Kinesiology Department teaching courses on Sports Management and the History of Women’s Sports among many others. He served as Department Chair from 1986 to 1993. In 1995 he joined Indiana University where he directed the sports marketing/management program and served as the director of the Kinesiology graduate program from 2002-2010. He retired from IU in 2014. He is considered one of the founding fathers of the field of Sport Management.

As a sport historian Dr. Fielding focused on and analyzed the business of sports. He examined the performance of entrepreneurial organizations like the Harlem Globetrotters and analyzed trends in the sporting goods industry, athletic marketing, professional sport ticket distribution agencies, and other sport related businesses. During his career he published over 60 academic articles and received numerous professional accolades such as the Young Faculty Researcher of the Year at the University of Louisville in 1978 and Faculty Advisor of the Year in 1992; he was chosen to deliver the Stewart C Stanley Address at the North American Society for Sport History in 1985, and was tapped as a research fellow by the North American Society for Sport Management in 2002; he also served as a member of the North American Society for Sport History Executive Council from 1979-1981 and from 1985-1987. In 2012 he was named a Distinguished Alumni from SUNY Cortland.

Larry loved spending time at his house (which he designed and built) on Nolin Lake, and enjoyed boat rides, a cold beer (or two) after a hard day of work, playing his banjo with neighbors at the lake, and debating intellectual ideas over euchre games with his children and friends. A lover of sport, he enjoyed playing golf with a group of fellow IU professors, coaching his children’s sport teams, and travelling and cheering on his daughter and the University of Michigan Women’s Tennis Team; as a grandparent, he devoted time to and very much appreciated watching his granddaughters’ play soccer, basketball, volleyball, and tennis.

In his retirement years, Larry was instrumental in the catholic church lecturing on spiritual, religious, and historical topics at Mother of Good Counsel, Saint Bernadette, and Saint Albert the Great. He also sang in the choir at Saint Albert. Ever the teacher, Larry continued to provide guidance and advice to his children (in their careers) and doctoral students long after his retirement from Indiana University.

Larry was preceded in death by his parents Kenneth Fielding and Marjorie Webster Fielding and is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Joan, his sons, Kent Fielding (Este), Scott Fielding (Lisa) and his daughter, Jaimie McRae (Jeff); his brothers, Tom Fielding and Dick Fielding, his

grandchildren, Rachel, Callia, Allison, Josie, Kate, Lily, Jessa and Amara; his niece Mary Fielding, his nephews Bill Gottschalk-Fielding and Chris Fielding, great-nieces Tasha and Alisha, great-nephew Brandon and great-great-nephew Elend.

All those that knew and loved Larry will miss him dearly.

The memorial service will be held on Monday, May 19th at 10 am at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church 1395 Girard Dr, Louisville, KY 40222. Flowers can be sent to 2000 Balfour Dr. Louisville, KY 40242 or in lieu of flowers a donation in Lawrence Fielding’s name can be made to Saint Albert the Great Catholic Church.