Born and raised in Brooklyn, a graduate of Columbia and Rutgers, Levine taught in the History department at Michigan State University since 1969, the year he left graduate school. Trained originally as a Jacksonian historian, Levine's scholarly and writing interests expanded to encompass the entire 19th century and beyond. His works engaged in a wide range of interrelated themes and topics, including the immigrant experience and assimilation. Peter Levine retired from MSU in 2000 and now lives in Brooklyn where he continues to write. He is also an actor, appearing in numerous productions in New York and throughout the Northeast. Dr. Levine is currently (as of 2010) a faculty member at Columbia University in the Sports Management Program. He teaches Socio-Historical Foundations of American Sport. His writings include A.G. Spalding and the Rise of Baseball (1985), American Sport: A Documentary History (1989), Ellis Island to Ebbets Field: Sport and the American Jewish Experience (1992), Idols of the Game (1995 with Robert Lipsyte), Sports and the American Jew (1997), a novel: The Rabbi of Swat (1999). He served as the editor of the journal Baseball History for five years and was a consultant on Ken Burns' PBS documentary Baseball.