Contributions to Sport Psychology: Walter R. Miles and the Early Studies on the Motor Skills of Athletes1

During the late 1890s and early 1900s, psychologists began to study the motor skills of athletes. One individual who gained attention for his work related to investigating the motor skills of athletes was Walter R. Miles. In particular, his research related to the reaction time of football players at Stanford University gained notoriety. Although these studies have been overviewed, discussion of Miles's additional work and influence related the study of athletes has received virtually no attention. This paper examines the various contributions of Miles and his colleagues to the study of the perceptual and motor skills of athletes.