change commercialization professional sports · 2016. 8. 16. · in present sports, the immediate...

Social Change and the Commercializationof Professional Sports

R. TERRY FURST (U.S.A.)

The identification and understanding of the social factors that underliethe burgeoning commercialization of modern professional sports in the

United States is the primary objective of this paper. Within this frame-work the transformation of baseball, football, basketball and hockey fromplay to professionalization is explored. By presenting sociological patternsin present sports, the immediate past and the distant past, light will beshed on the historical antecedents that engender changes in professionalsports.

Specifically, we would like to know what are the effect of increas-ing commercialization on the intrinsic nature of sports? What are theindicants that set today’s sports apart from other periods? To answerthese questions and to raise others, let us start by scanning the presentsituation and then examine the relationship between play and work.

. Present versus Past

Professional spectator sports in the United States in the last twentyyears have grown at an unprecedented rate. The following quotationcharacterizes this upward movement in professional sports:

In a time of booming population, inflation and television, everything is comingup dollar signs, from Super Bowl Commercials at $135,000 a minute to new stadiumsat $50 million apiece... It is a time when Braulio Baeza makes a quarter of a milliondollars a year riding horses, when a college senior Lew Alcindor may make a mil-lion dollars playing pro-basketball - and when Joe Namath makes a fortune

playing football and treads on a white illama rug in the splendor of his East Sidepad (Durso, 1969:1).

The fact that historically the quest for money through sports hasbeen present at all times does not mean that today’s zealous pursuit ofpecuniary reward is just an extension of the past. Professional sports, intheir present mercantilistic forms, evince an aura which is ubiquitous

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in the history of sports. Moreover, the ambience that surrounds athleticstoday conceals a fundamental transformation which is qualitatively andquantitatively distinct. The historical uniqueness and validity of this

proposition can be demonstrated in part by identifying historical trendsand relating them to contemporary manifestations in sports. To facili-

tate the identification of the uniqueness of modern sports, an examina-tion of the historical relationship between play and work will be help-f ul.

Play and W ork

&dquo; Caillois (1961:1-10) defines play as a &dquo;free&dquo; activity that is not obli-gatory, and is unproductive; it does not create new goods. There is the

same amount of wealth at the beginning and end. Play is also &dquo;make-

believe&dquo; in the sense that the reality of play is separate from the

reality of everyday life. Later in this social process, play emerges a,:a game. Games are the product of rules. Organized games have theirmodern origin in the first quarter of the nineteenth century in Engiand(Huizinga, 1964:197). At that time the sporadic, spontaneous play of

individuals was superseded by the initiation of permanent teams and

organizations devoted to the playing of &dquo;ballgames.&dquo; The systematicapproach to play was a reflection of increasing regimentation and

organization in British society. Until the twentieth century, huntingand fishing, for the most part, denoted work in the U.S. But througha composite of social conditions, the most important being industrialism.these subsistence occupations were gradually transformed into play(hunting and fishing for pleasure). Still later in this process, play reveresback to work. Through organization and professionalization, men emergewho act as hunting and fishing guides thereby assuming a work role.

The lumberjach profession has had a parallel development. Initiallyit fulfilled a work role. Later lumberjacks competed in contests (play)to demonstrate their skills. With encroaching commercial pressures, manyof them competed as professionals, thereby reverting to a work form.This cyclical process is not restricted to primary industries; it can he

evidenced in modern business where play and work overlap.When the play-work model is applied to sports, the evident difference

is that the four major American professional sports started out as playinstead of work. With this exception, the tripartite transmutation

identified in fishing, hunting and lumbering, corespond to present-dayprofessional athletics. Brief outlines of the four major sports will showthe transformation of play into work. Emphasis will be on three points:first appearance of the sport in which it resembles its present forms:



155

when the play element in sport was superseded by codification of the

rules and became a game; and when the players first engaged in the

sport for money (work).Baseball first appeared in Boston in 1831 as a verisimilitude of its

present form and was called &dquo;town ball&dquo;. In 1845 the first regular ballclub was organized in New York City. The popularity of the gameincreased in 1869 in the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the &dquo;first

salaried team in the game’s history&dquo; (Menke, 1969:47,64).Football, in its early stages, emanated from rugby and soccer . A com-

Oination of rugby and soccer with variations was played as earlyas 1860 in the U.S., and had a slight resemblance to the contemporarvgame. But it was not until 1847, in a game between Harvard and McGilluniversities, that a format similar to present-day football appeared. Forthe first time players were able to &dquo;pick up the ball at any time and alsov-ere permitted to run with it if pursued.&dquo; In 1882 rules of &dquo;downs&dquo;

and &dquo;yards&dquo; were introduced, thus establishing rules which definitelydifferentiated the game from the earlier rugby-soccer game. Twenty-oneyears later in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, the first professional game wasplayed (Menke, 1969:367,427).

Hockey was imported from Canada. It originated in Kingston, Canadain 1855; some reports suggest hockey was played in that city in the

1830s. In 1875 students at McGill University in Canada laid down a set ofrules. Hockey made its first appearance in the U.S. in 1893 at Yale

University in Connecticut and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.The first professional team was organized in 1903 and was &dquo;...known

as (the) Portage Lakers from the small Michigan mining town of

Houghton&dquo; (Menke, 1969:628,630).As far as it is known, basketball did not have a period of unrestrained

play, where rules guiding play were customary rather than codified.

Instead of the usual progression from traditional play forms, the game ofbasketball was invented in 1891 by James A. Naismath. The game wasintroduced by fastening two peach baskets to a gymnasium balcony andstipulating a set cf thirteen rules. Seven yea rs later, the National Basket-ball League, the game’s first professional Organization, was founded.(Manke, 1969:150-152).

The Table on the next page summarizes these four major spectatorsports and three other popular professional sports in the U.S.; the

statistics are vertically ordered according to the temporal progression ofeach sport from inception to codification, and finally professionalization.A persual of this Table indicates that each sport endured for varyinglengths of time as play, as a game and then as work (professionaliza-ti on).



156

HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS OF MODERN SPORTS

The immediate task will be to locate the determinants that affectedthe change from play to work in sports. To accomplish this the essentialfactors will be historically ordered from the early nineteenth centuryto the first quarter of the twentieth century. This period, which will becalled contemporary, constitutes an infrastructure - a primal era -that has evoked, in part, the immediate influences affecting modernsports; that is, a time from the end of the contemporary era to then

present. The primary factors in the modern epoch will also be set forthin their temporal sequence.

Within contemporary sports, the following factors will be discussed:1) industrialization; 2) decline of the work week; 3) immigration andinternal migration; 4) community spirit; 5) mass education; 6) religion.The factors in modern sports to be discussed will include: 1) large scaleorganization; 2) growth of the community; 3) rationalization of sport;4) television; and 5) emerging new middle class.

Industrialization and the Decline o f the Work Week

Without increased leisure, 1 the development of sports would have

been seriously hampered. From 1850 to 1960, free time increased from2.18 hours per day to 7.48 hours per day (Kaplan, 1960:38). A steadilyincreasing gross national product over the last 120 years, with the ex-

ception of periodic declines, and rapidly rising output per worker,a response to technological innovation, has markedly raised the standardof living-thus increasing free time, the time left after eating, sleepingand other necessities (Kaplan, 1960:38). More specifically, the impEtusfor this growth can be attributed to an array of industrial and socialconcurrences. The introduction and initial operation of a national rail-

way system, along with a growing population, stand out as primarystimuli to engendering economic progress in the last half of the

nineteenth century.One of the most important consequences of increased free time was

the facilitation of the transition of sport from play to a game form. But

1 The concept of leisure is difficult to define. It can be thought of as a state ofmind or it can be envisioned as an objective state clearly identifiable. Rather thanpursue the logical extensions of the subjective or the objective arguments of

leisure — and being fully aware of the danger of over simplification — leisure will

be understood to be the antithesis of work and a state wherein a non-economic

entity is pursued (Kaplan, 1960:22).



157

the transformation has a unique element that needs to be brieflyexplored. Looking at the Table, it can be seen that the majority of

sports listed have a longer period as a game when compared with thetime they existed as play. This difference is a result of the dispropor-tionate increase in free time in the last half of the nineteenth centuryand the beginning of the twentieth century. Most of the sports listedwere games in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, a time whenthe work week was decreasing and free time was very rapidly in-

creasing.

Glancing at the Table under the horizontal column marked work, it is

interesting to note that five of the sports turned professional at approxi-mately the same time - the period from 1895 to 1903. The generalorganizational tenor that pervaded this period in American history mightaccount for this trend toward professionalization.

In the late 1880s and 1890s the century was industrializing. Rationalcalculations of operating costs and increments of production becameadministrative policies. Furthermore, expanding firms required coordina-tion between larger departments, and accounting procedures became in-creasingly important as the web of affiliations became more complex. Inlight of these developments seeking to maximize profit, it is not difficult

to understand how this organizational ethos influenced sports. Withineight years (1895-1903), five sports had reorganized on a professionalbasis.

2 Golf, tennis and baseball are exceptions. Golf and tennis were upper class

sports not seriously influenced by the decreasing work week. Baseball was affectedby disproportionate increase in free time, whereby free time was accelerating fasterfrom 1854 to 1869 (baseball as a game) as compared with 1831 to 1845 (baseball asplay). While increasing free time is one of the significant factors that contributedto the transformation of play into a game, it is not a total explanation for this

transition.



158

Immigration, Migration and Community Spirit

By the turn of the century, the population had swelled to seventy-sixmillion, three times larger than it was in 1850. In 1900, forty percentof the population lived in urban centers (Petersen, 1963:33). The effects ofincreased population and internal migration upon sports are interwoven.The myriad movement of immigrants and pioneers had an importanteffect upon the development of sports vis-a-vis the emergence and declineof community life.

Frohlich (1952:5) addressed himself to the relationship between lieintense interest in sports evinced by some communities and their historicaldevelopment. He studied the community of Athens, Ohio and found thatfootball and basketball aroused the residents’ passionate interest becauseof several factors.

The predominant factor was designated as the &dquo;Community ServiceSystem&dquo; which was at its peak between 1910 and 1930. Athletes and

members of the community, explicitly and implicitly, mutually supportedeach other. By intensive participation by way of consistent attendanceat the games, and through frequent laudatory comments about the team.the spectators demonstrated loyalty, if not devotion, to the home team.In turn, the team enhanced community pride: when the athletes werevictorious, the whole town shared in the glory. Frohlich (1952:64) spe-

culates that emphasis on victory or defeat works directly upon the self-

attitudes of the individual. If there is a win, the self is vindicated. Theidea of the winning team expands to include other selves into a &dquo;we

feeling.&dquo; If a loss is sustained, the spectator’s self is damaged. He maywithdraw with an elimination of the &dquo;we&dquo; feeling, depending upon thecloseness of the score and the quality of play. Using this notion as

a conceptual framework, Frohlich’s thesis suggests that at a time (1910-1920) when the community was losing its collective solidarity, sportswere a means to re-introduce the spirit of togetherness into the com-munity. &dquo;Thus the week-end football or basketball game is not just a fewhours’ diversion for players and fans; it is a symbol and a ritual, a re-affirmation of unity and collective pride&dquo; (Frohlich, 1952:274).

Three ideas pertinent to the historical development of sports can beabstracted from this study. 1. Immigration and internal migration in thelast half of the nineteenth century affected social solidarity in mancommunities during a time when sports were either in a play or gameform. Frohlich (1952:197) makes a similar point when he observes that&dquo;the influx of over 3000 strangers into the community in ten years(1900-1910) certainly could not occur without same loosening in the

interlocking patterns of social interaction.&dquo;



159

2. There is an interdependent relationship between a communityand the progression of a sport. The Athens, Ohio community study reportsthat football and baseball had been well established before the communityused the spectacle of sport as a source of cohesion in response to

a decline in social solidarity between 1910 and 1920. On the other hand,an influx and migration of residents into a community would seriouslyaffect social integration, thereby inhibiting the growth of sport in anembryonic stage. 3. Inter-community sports rivalries were weak in thelast half of the nineteenth century due to the recurrent waves of

immigration and migration that had an unsettling effect upon the

community. Opposition between community teams in the twentieth

century has been a powerful reason for the rise and popularity of sports.The inter-town basketball rivalries currently observable in the Midwestattest to the importance of community pride in the development ofsports.

Mass Ed.2ccation

Another aspect that relates to the understanding of the growth of

contemporary sports in the U.S. is the introduction of mass education

in the 1880s. Education became more important as a reaction to a wan-ing agrarian society. Attendance, at all levels of education, increased.

Consequently, primary and secondary schools, along with collegesand universities, were built. The migration of college students to

small communities enhanced the development of sports. Football, hockeyand basketball were dependent upon students to develop and popularizethem. The perpetuation of amateur sports was a direct outgrowth ofschool athletics, albeit amateurism flourished in the school system. It has

paradoxically acted as a recruiting agent for today’s market of professionalathletes.

,

Religion

Recreation was recognized as a basic need by the Puritans. But

diversionary pastimes that did not include productivity were thought tobe sinful. The Christian church interpreted sport in its play and gameforms as an activity that did not reflect religious piety but instead

connoted a reckless abandon signifying improper public behavior - a sinin the eyes of the church. The Christian church cannot be entirelyblamed for inhibiting the development of sports. The church in the U.S.



160

generally advocated that &dquo;one day in seven shall be a day of rest&dquo;.

Originally this day was to be one devoted to religious worship andabstention from physical labor. In the nineteenth century, the six-daywork week was prevalent, Sunday was usually the only day on whichsports activities could be engaged in. But moral, religious and legalsanctions were a strong deterrent to engaging in sports on Sunday. TheNew England colonies, under the influence of Puritanism, passed &dquo;Blue

Laws&dquo; which curtailed activities on the sabbath (Lee, 1964:175). Manyother states passed laws which either prohibited work or limited the

kinds of activities permitted on Sunday.Assuming that the Puritan revulsion against sports was omnipresent

but declining in the nineteenth century, it can be advanced that sportsintroduced at a later time in the century went through a transition fromplay to work more rapidly than sports introduced at an early periodbecause of religious restraints. Partial evidence exists for this proposition.By tracing the development of football, hockey, basketball and tennis,and comparing the progression of these sports to that of baseball and

bowling, it becomes apparent that sports introduced at an earlier time

had a slower transition than those initiated at a later date. Football,which was introduced at a later time than baseball, had a thirty-twoyear span from play to professionalism. Baseball took thirty-eight yearsto reach the same point. Hockey, introduced in this country in 189’3, tookten years to become professionalized. Basketball took only seven years tostart being played for money. Bowling, which was introduced in a pre-modern form in 1825, required seventy years to make the transforma-tion to professional status. This evidence, although not conclusive, doesindicate a trend sufficient for positing that religion, particularly the

Christian ethic, acted as a barrier to the growth of sports. 3

Upsurging industrialism, spiraling immigration, extensive populationmovements, mass education, religion and the application of prebureau-cratic organizational forms in business combined to exert varying pres-sures on the accretion and unfolding spectacle of sports in the nineteenthcentury and the first quarter of the twentieth century. This delineationdoes not mean these influences were restricted to this period; it suggestfthat they exerted their maximum effect during the contemporary era.

and shaped the forces that were to have a direct effect upon modern

sports.

3 The slow development of golf could be argued along the same lines. However,this would require an extensive class analysis which is beyond the scope of this

paper.



161

MODERN SPORTS

No single event or momentous occurrence heralded the beginning ofwhat has been designated as the era of modern sports. The roaringtwenties acted as a bridge connecting contemporary sports with modernsports. The influence that characterizes modern sports was formingalthough not fully operative in the twenties. The beginning of modernsports coincides with the beginning of the recovery of the economy inthe 1930s. During this time the &dquo;organizational society&dquo; became firmlyentrenched and replaced the prebureaucratic enterprises (Presthus,1962:59). It is difficult to cite an exact time when this mode of planningaffected the operations within sport administration. A general indicationwould be the emergence of the public relations expert who usuallyaccompanies the rise of large-scale organizations (Presthus, 1962:70).When the entrepreneur, as a large-scale business operator, comes in

conflict with society, the expert is called upon to ameliorate these differ-ences and to promote the desired effect. By supplying specific informa-tion that facilitates the quelling of obstacles, the publicist fulfills a vitalservice (Wilensky, 1967:10). ‘~

Large-Scale Orga7ai.zationFrom the aforementioned rationale an approximate date can be

ascertained for the emergence of large-scale organization and planningin professional sports. By 1950 sport entrepreneurs were beset with

decreasing attendance and the spectre of television. Their reaction to

television was ambivalent: they wanted the revenues to supplant lossesfrom declining attendance but feared the spectator would abandon

the stadium permanently for the comfort of viewing the sport spectaclein his living room. It was a time when major changes were needed toconfront or to embrace the unknown effects of television on the profes-sional sports. It was a time when organizational approaches were beingimplemented by a new breed of sports entrepreneurs. Formerly sportfranchise owners were men who generally approached the administrationof teams with a mixture of deep emotional commitment to the sportand the belief that financial operations were a necessary adjunct to

a successful season. Imbued with the organizational ethos, the new ownerthinks primarily of maximizing profit through calculated business pro-cedures. This new type of sports entrepreneur still appreciates the spec-tacle of sport but only as a secondary consideration. Consistently in-

creasing revenues are the primary consideration.4 Public relations acumen existed from 1915 when the Univ. of Pittsburgh "...introd-

uced numbers for players in order to spur the sale of programs..." (Denney, 1957:115).



162

Growth of the Community

From 1950 to 19’60, the population increased by 29.4 million in whatthe U.S. Bureau of the Budget calls standard metropolitan statistical

areas, meaning: &dquo;One or more contiguous non-agricultural counties

containing at least one city of 50,000 or more, and having a generallymetropolitan character based on the counties’ social and economic

integration with the central city&dquo; (Petersen, 1963:186). This increase in

metropolitan areas did not go unnoticed by the more judicious sportsowners. When the Braves baseball team decided to move from Mil-

waukee to Atlanta in 1966, the ostensible reason was declining attendance.But of equal importance was the potential increase in revenues from

a larger telecast and radio market in the Southwest. The Braves

estimated they would receive $750,000 in Atlanta compared with

$525,000 in Wisconsin (Newsweek, 1965:67) because of the increased

media market in this area providing high return per dollar invested insports. The importance of television and radio markets has been

unquestionably predominant in the expansion plans of many professionalbaseball, football, hockey and basket ball teams.

The Effect o f Technology on the Rationalization o f Sport

The emergence of superior athletic performance is related to techno-logical innovations. Discoveries in science and changes in industry arereflected in aids and techniques eagerly applied in the environs of thesport spectacle. The exigencies of the growing demands for excellenceby both spectator and participant rapidly absorb all technical assistance.

Technological advances have been implemented directly and indirectlyin sports. Changes in protective gear in football and the introduction ofsafety helmets in baseball are examples of direct application. Indirect

effects are innovations that do not pertain to the equipment actuallyused in playing the game. One example of how technology indirectlyaffects the game is the introduction of night baseball into the major lea-gues in 1946. This might have been apocryphal of the renascent entertain-ment aura in sports.

In football, possibly because of its game format, rational techniqueshave been implemented for a longer period than in any other sport. In1905 Knute Rockne and Gus Dorais teamed up to introduce the forward

pass in football. This marked, as Denney (1957:116) suggests, the applica-tion of scientific principles to sports: utilizing the passing potential of

the spiral-shaped ball. The &dquo;ethos of brawn&dquo; had given way to &dquo;inventive-



163

ness.&dquo; The cerebral approach to sports engendered the two platoonsystem in college football in 1941. Soon afterwards, in 1943, professionalteams adopted the same idea: free substitution of players.

In 1968, in Baltimore, baseball attempted to apply scientific principlesto the game and conducted a time and motion study. One conclusion wasthat one-fifth of the game needed more lively, entertaining activity toeliminate what may be called dead time.

Perhaps the scarcity of outstanding boxing matches has evoked massmedia’s most notable effort to influence sport. The elimination of deadtime would appear to be the idea behind simulated championship boxingmatches between former champions vis-a-vis the lucubrations of a com-puter, e.g., programming the computer with strategic information suchas the &dquo;punching power ... general normal physical condition, stamina,power behind a left hook, power behind a straight right...&dquo; (Daniel,1968:18). The computer then spews out a blow-by-blow account of cham-pions of the past paired against each other. For example, &dquo;Cassius Clayoutpointed Max Schmeling in 15 rounds with the score 10-3-2... RockeyMarciano defeated Max Baer in the thirteenth round, TKO&dquo; (Daniel,1968:19).

_

Television

Television has been an integral factor in the bourgeoning sportsindustry. More perplexing and in need of discussion is the degree to

which historical circumstances have influenced television - facilitatingthe hegemony it presently maintains over professional spectator sports.Three conditions greatly aided the rise and importance of television insports: 1) lagging attendance at major sports events in the early 1950s;2) federal legislation; and 3) an emerging new middle class with increas-ing leisure time.

Since the attitudes of major sporting franchises in the U.S. were

ambivalent in response to the introduction of television in the earlyfifties, the question the owners faced was: would the drain on their

coffers be assuaged by potential revenues from television or would thepossibility of a greater decline in attendance by T.V. negatively offsetany gains from television? The question, amidst debate, is still unresolved(see Bogart, 1958:17; Wylie, 19’55:29; Jordan, 1950:74). Whether the

opinion of baseball entrepreneurs in general concurred with the notionthat televison would eventually establish a new audience or whether theythought it would be harmful is beside the historical fact. Baseball warilygreated television in the late forties, hesitantly accepted it in the earlyfifties and warmly embraced it in the later part of the decade.



164

The action of the Justice Department was to have broad implicationfor professional sports. In 1951 it warned baseball and football officialsthat designating geographic areas where games could be televised wasa restraint of trade. Baseball complied with the suggestion and stoppedblacking out areas. However, Bert Bell of the National Football Leagueresisted and eventually in 1953 defeated the Justice Department decisionby obtaining a favourable ruling from Federal Court Justice, Alan

K. Grim, who said in part: &dquo;The purpose of the Sherman (antitrust) Actcertainly will not be served by prohibiting the defendant clubs... from

protecting their home gate receipts froin the disastrous etffects of invad-ing telecasts...&dquo; (Knig, 1965:32).

Two important facts can be deduced from the manner in which

football and baseball confronted the threat of federal intervention.

Baseball was greatly intimidated by the specter of the Justice Depart-ment. It succumbed reluctantly, permitting networks to telecast gameswherever they wished. This capitulation created a precedent for unlimit-ed telecasting of baseball; a condition that, at times, undermined atten-dance. 5 Whereas, football took an aggressive posture in defeating the

action of the Justice Department, thereby lessening the possibility of

overexposure.The disparate actions of baseball and football characterize their re-

spective predisposition as commercial entities. When the football leagues’commissioners negotiate with television, they proceed with the knowledgeof a league unified. Substantial financial benefits accrue from their

unanimity. Obversely, baseball has bargained from a fragmented position.Individual teams dicker with television networks, inevitably weakeningthe collective position and rewards therein for baseball,.’

Televison, while having a considerable effect upon sports as

a dispenser of mass entertainment, only increased the tempo of changein sports from work to play rather than acting as a prime determinantin the evolution of sports. Needless to say, television presently enjoysa dominant position in the control of sports. Although the conjecturemight be made that the direction of sports would not have been greatlyimpeded if television were not present, the factors previously elaboratedupon strongly suggest that sports would have evolved in a similar manner,culminating in rampant commercialization. However, this is a moot

argument.

5 Since the defeat of the antitrust action by football in 1953, baseball has

reverted to limited telecasting of games.



165

The New Middle Class

The emergence of a new middle class has provided financial andspiritual support for the rapid expansion of sports. After the Second

World War, approximately three million veterans received a collegeeducation under the sponsorship of the federal government, thus provid-ing the educational basis for the rise of this class. Many of these

undergraduates participated in or were exposed to sports which theymay not have come in contact with previously. As these students

graduated and began to develop careers, the world of sports was providedwith a new audience, predisposed to seek an array of spectator sports.With increassing affluence, this audience could afford to support the

growth of sports. However, for many of the new middle class, the priceof affluence is the contravention of their individuality by large-scalebusiness organization. Thus, sports spectatorship affords the possibilityfor reclaiming or maintaining one’s autonomy.

DISCUSSION

In addition to changing the fundamental nature of sports from playto work, the foregoing factors have also evoked a unique developmentthat has been visible since the early 1950s. From this time, increasingnumbers of people have invested time, money and energy to engage in,and to embrace the world of sports. In this frenetic quest, sport enter-preneurs have attempted to differentiate their product from their com-petitors through imaginative publicity and spectacular innovations. When-ever a sport does not seem able to sustain previous levels of interest, thecreative sport entrepreneurs will endeavor to implement changes in therules or the format of the game. The recent changes in the strike zoneand the lowering of the mound in baseball would attest to this idea. Rulechanges in the last twenty years in hockey, basketball and football wouldalso support this notion. In brief, this development in sports includes:innovative proi-notion; rule changes; alterations in the playing environ-ment and attire of participants (Kansas City Athletics); spectacular accou-trements (scoreboard in Houston astrodome). These components constitutewhat might be labeled as sports as entertainment. The following examplesillustrate the presence and the diversity of this phenomenon.

On an October evening in 1968, if you were in the vicinity of midtown

Manhattan, you would have witnessed a &dquo;boxing motorcade&dquo; travelingdown Broadway. The object of this spectacular presentation was to pro-



166

mote the forthcoming match between Dick Tiger and Frankie DePaulaat Madison Square Garden.

The New York Times reported in May of 1969 that Monticello

Raceway, during the opening night ceremonies, would present a racethat would be sensational in its import: a contest between a pacer anda man (former Olympic champion sprinter, Henry Carr). The race wouldbe run on an eighth of a mile course with the man being alloweda handicap of ten yards. It is interesting to note the statement of LeonGreenberg, president and general manager of the raceway. In responseto the idea that the contest was in reality a promotion device, he com-mented : &dquo;For opening night gimmicks, we will have a marching band.a choral group, acrobats, aerialists, and a musical comedy act. But a manracing a horse is not a gimmick, it’s a contest&dquo; (N. Y. Times, 1969).

Another aspect of sport as entertainment is the gravitation of star

professional athletes into the entertainment business. From the days ofJim Corbett’s lead in &dquo;Sports McAllister&dquo; in 1892 to Archie Moore’s

attempt to establish a movie career in the 1.950s, prominent athletes havetried to expand their careers in this direction. Today there are more starprofessional athletes in the entertainment business than fifteen yearsago. But not only is there a quantitative difference, there is also a qua-litative distinction.

Professional sports have reached a stage wherein a prominent athlete,at a particular point in his career, can envisage his current livelihood asmerely a stepping stone: a means to other income domains which incor-porate and utilize to financial advantage the public image he has attainedpreviously as a star athlete.

In the past, a professional athlete, equivalent in popularity to a starathlete of today, generally did not seriously consider another career

until his &dquo;playing days&dquo; were almost over. Today, the pecuniary-orientedathlete starts planning extra-athletic pursuits as soon as his popularity asan athlete warrants it. The exulted position associated with a battingchampionship or a most valuable player award catapults a well-respectedplayer into national prominence and the concomitant increased monetarypotential. The examples cited to illustrate sports as entertainment are

analogous to occurrences at earlier periods in the history of sports.What distinguishes present sports from the past is the pattern of events(and the unique conjuncture of factors) which has succeeded in generat-ing a new era in sports. The locus of this change suggests that the seriousstructure of games is being supplanted by the introduction of non-seriouselements into games within the world of sports.

The huge sums of money devoted to sports have undoubtedly enhancedthe idea of an immanent connection between spectator sports and enter-



167

tainment. Most people think of sports as being synonymous with

entertainment. And from an experiential construction this is essentiallytrue. But upon reflection, sport and entertainment - a seeming sy-nergism - are separate spheres of reality. Sport seeks to gratify theindividual through his direct participation in the game. Entertainmentendeavors to divert the individual through inactive acquisition of the

salient features of the game. Fundamentally the format of games originat-ed for the purpose of satisfying the competitive needs of participants. Onlyat a later time, when spectators started attending sport contests, did thedistinction become blurred between sport as a game in and for itself andas entertainment.

In spite of the influence of spectators, what has occurred historicallyis that sports have changed within the context of the game rather thanwithin the context of the spectators’ predispositions. That is, games havemaintained their basic format. Innovations have been made within thisframework (e.g., rule changes) rather than completely dismantling the

design of a game and starting anew with the entertainment inclinationof the spectators as a guide.

As sports have progressed, this implicit disparity between the intrinsicnotion of sport as a game and the divertissement orientation of the spec-tators has been reduced in proportion to the growing numbers of

spectators attending sport events. The reason for this reduction has

been the renascent awareness of this gap by sport promoters. In the last

twenty years, more than ever before, they have taken the initiative toredress this imbalance. However, they are constrained by traditional

formats and have been restricted to implement with these limiting con-figurations. Much of the value laden criticism directed toward innovationin sports emerges from this rudimentary conflict: the subversion and

attempts to subvert the original purpose of the design of the game.Paralleling this antagonism is the change of values in sports which

also reflects changes in the structure of modern sports. Many sets of

values inhere in sports, but aesthetic assessrnent, 6 the heroic ethos, and

sincerity o f effort are values paramount amongst players, spectatorsand other members of the sporting fraternity. These values are not

equally represented in all individuals, but vary according to the person’sexperience and position in athletics. In other words, the professionalbaseball player possesses the same set of values as the baseball spectatorbut the order and significance of each value may be different. The

8 The value of aesthetic assessment was suggested by Frohlich’s (1952:88) for-

mulation of an "aesthetic appreciation system."



168

interpretation of these values is presented as a pure formulation andusually does not exist in sports in this ideal state.

Aesthetic assessment embodies the idea that playing the game is

a creation which exists in and for itself. The game is not importantbecause it is entertaining or because one team emerges victorious. Its

importance is derived from the degree of skill attached to plays.individual effort, and the player’s general excellence. In a pure for-mulation the game is an end in itself. Adherence to rules and sports-manlike conduct are secondary aspects of aesthetic assessment.

Heroic ethos as a value emanates from historical periods duringwhich feats of courage and endurance were highly esteemed. Todayheroism suggests courage: the player demonstrates daring and bold

imagination in his performance. Endurance implies high performancethat is consistent and untiring. This value emphasizes the participantrather than the game and stems from aesthetic assessment but is not

subordinate to it. Daring and imaginative acts by an individual stand outas spectacular feats and by their very nature tend to overhadow elementsof aesthetic assessment. In addition, valorous conduct on and off the

playing field are part of the heroic value.

Sincerity of effort suggests the player’s undiluted desire to participateat peak performance and implies honesty and the obsence of deceit.

This value, common to both player and spectator, is more easily under-stood from the perspective of the latter - the spectator affects

a psychic transference of trust and vicarious heroic emulation in the

belief that the player is performing at his maximum ability and notperpetrating a fraud.

These values have been present in sports at all times, but have pro-portionately changed in their position of importance. In the past, hardphysical training was a value espoused as a builder of character. Vigorousexercise was good in itself. Today this value is generally present in

society but the focus has shifted. Physical training is now undertaken

with a specific goal in mind: the ends achieved are more important thanthe intrinsic value of the training. Likewise, physical condition is

important in sports today but more important is the ability to perform inorder to obtain specific ends. Hits in baseball are acclaimed, but homerunsare more highly acclaimed. Offensive linework in football is apprecited buttakes a subordinate position in comparison to touchdown-runs or passescaught for touchdowns.

7 Values in the above usage connote a deep-rooted belief akin to Sumner’s

(1968) use of mores.



169

In modern sports, the aesthetic value in a game has given way to thedesire for heroism or, put differently, the game in its traditional;undiluted game-form has been supplanted by the spectacular, commercialgame-form. The contemporary professional athlete drew a distinction

between work and play. Imbued with the remnants of Puritan attitudestoward work, he approached his chosen field as a total means of ex-

pression. The modern athlete does not delineate work and play in thismanner. This does not mean today’s professional athlete does not thinkof his participation in sports as work. It suggests that high esteem andpublic notoriety do not lend themselves to a separation of work and play:this extension of heroic image provides opportunities to earn money inself-enhancing activities containing elements of play. Appearing as a gueston T.V. programs, personal appearances as part of promotional ventures,and modeling are extracurricular activities which help blur the linebetween work and play.

Although the professional athlete of today is cooperation-oriented, heremains economically independent. The professional athlete in the con-temporary period was part of the collective insecurity pervading the

time. The player in professional sports today - because of sports’overwhelming success and a higher level of education than his prede-cessors’ - has many alternatives open to him. In conjunction with hisindependent status is the change of attitude toward authority. The

players of today are more likely to challenge the established officials orowners the leagues. The players of the past tended to be less orientedtoward confrontation with authority than the aggressive professionalsof today. This attitude is exemplified by the recent threat of a baseballstrike and the reluctance of first draft professional football players to

sign contracts until they felt their negotiating position had improved.

SUMMARY

An attempt has been made to identify and explain the unique changesin professional sports in the U.S. A number of factors in both the

nineteenth and twentieth centuries that have contributed to a trans-

formation of play into work have been traced. This transition has evokeda fundamental conflict between the original format of &dquo;the game&dquo; andthe predilection of audiences to seek the spectacular. The outcome ofthis strain is that professional sports have attempted to enliven the gameby introducing rule changes, spectacular accoutrements, and innovativepublicity promotions. Concomitantly, values within professional sportshave also changed, thus tending to support the entertainment value of



170

sports rather than the idea of the intrinsic value of the game in and foritself. The emphasis upon entertainment has ushered in a new epoch thatcan be called the ascendant entertainment aura in professional sports.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bogart L., The Age of Television, New York 1958, Frederick Ungor Pub. Co.Caillois R., Man, Play, and Games, New York 1961, The Free Press of Glencoe Inc.Daniel D., The Ring Computer Series Gets Top Rating With Few Booboos, "The

Ring", XLVII No. 1 (Feb.), 1968.Denney R., The Astonished Muse, Chicago 1957, The University of Chicago Press.Durso J., Big Money and Professional Sports: Vexing Problems Go With Affluence.

"New York Times" 9 (Feb.):4, 1969.Frohlich P. E., Sports and the Community: a Study in Social Change in Athens,

Ohio 1952, unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin.Huizinga J., Homo Ludens, Boston 1964, Beacon Press.Jordan J., "Newsweek" 31 (Aug.):74, 1950.Kaplan M., Leisure in America, New York 1960, John Wiley and Sons.King J., Baseball’s No. 1 Job: Tame the TV Bully, "New York World-Telegram" 20

(Dec.):18, 1965.Lee R., Religion and Leisure in America, New York 1964, Abingdon Press.Marx K., Das Kapital, Vol I, tr. Samuel Moore and Edward Ovelting, Chicago 1921,

Carles H. Kerr and Co.

Menke F. G., The Encylclopedia of Sports, New York 1969, A. S. Barnes and Co."Newsweek", "Newsweek" 31 (Aug.):74, 1950.

"New York Times", Carr and Pacer Split Test Runs, "New York Times" 13 (May),1969.

Petersen W., Population, New York 1963, The Macmillan Co.Presthus R., The Organizational Society, New York 1962, Vintage Books.Sumner W. G., Folkways, New York 1968, Mentor Books. Wilensky H., Organizational Intelligence, New York 1967, Basic Books Inc.Wylie M., Clear Channels, New York 1955, Funk and Wagnalls Co.

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SOZIALE VERANDERUNGEN UND DIE KOMMERZIALISIERUNG DES

LEISTUNGSSPORTS

Zusammenfassung

In diesem Material werden die sozialen Faktoren verfolgt, die eine Kommer-

zialisierung des Leistungssports in den USA bewirkten. Vor diesem Hintergrundwerden solche Disziplinen wie Baseball, Fussball, Korbball und Hockey in ihrer

Entwicklung vom Spiel zur Proffessionalisierung behandelt. Diejenigen Faktoren,die fiir eine derartige Entwicklung ausschlaggebend waren, sind in die neuere undin die neueste Era im amerykanischen Sport gegliedert. Die erste erstreckt sich aufden Zeitabschnitt von Anfang des 19. Jh. bis zu dem ersten Viertel des 20. Jh., diezweite hingegen betrifft die Zeit vom zweiten Viertel des 19. Jh. bis zur Gegenwart.

Im Laufe der neueren Era im amerikanischen Sport waren zwei wesentlicheFaktoren fur die Entwicklung des Sports ausschlaggebend: die rasche Industriali-

sierung und die ersten Anzeichen von vorburokratischen Organisationsformen. DieIndustrialisierung fbrderte neue Organisationsfor men, die die verwaltungsmässige



172

Kompliziertheit der wachsenden lVIärkte vorantrieben. Sie bewirkte ebenfalls eineNachfrage nach neuen Technologien, die wiederum eine Herabsetzung der Arbeits-zeit pro Woche bewirkten und auf diese Weise mehr Freizeit und fur Sport be-

deuteten, Die Proffessionalisierung des Sports ist ein direktes Resultat der allseitigen ’

Integration in der Geschdftswelt. Von der Jahrhundertwende und kurz danachwurden die in Grossunternehmen erfolgreich eingefuhrten rationellen Organisa-tionsmethoden ebenfalls im Sport angewandt. Lose Mannschaftsverbdnde schlossensich nun unter der Agide von anerkannten K6rperschaften zusammen, die ebenfallsdie Befugnisse hatten, Regeln zu entv~ickeln und in Kraft zu setzen, Verhaltensvor-schriften zu erlassen und einheitliche Beitrittsgebiihren einzufiihren. Kurz gesagt:Die Professionalisierung des Sports und das Spiel fiirs Spiel begannen unbestritten izu herrschen.

In der neuesten Zeit waren drei Elemente fur die Entwicklung des Sports aus-schlaggebend, und zwar: die Rationalisierung des Sports, die Bildung einer neuenMittelklasse und die Massenmedien. Die Rationalisierung des Sports fuhrte zu einerweiteren Trennung zwischen Spiel und Unterhaltung. Fur den Teilnehmer unterlag es keinem Zweifel, dass anstelle der uneingeschrankten Freude an der Improvisa-tion w5hrend des Spiels nun (wenigstens zeitweilig) die Notwendigkeit trat, sich

freiwillig die beschwerlichen strategischen Techniken aufzuburden. In der neuestenEra des Sports hatte die st5ndige Betonung der rationellen Techniken seitens Trai-ner, Sportoffizielle und Spieler einen ausdriicklichen Einfluss auf die Denkweise derSpieler: Sie ermutigte sie dazu, fur ihre Dienste einen finanziellen Aquivalent zufordern. Zusatzlich f6rderten der Uberfluss innerhalb der neuen Mittelklasse unddie ubertriebene Neigung der Reklamem5iiner in Firmen, ihre Produkte im Fern-sehen mit Sportveranstaltungen in Verbindung zu bringen, eine beispielslose Wachs-tumVsrate im Sport. An einer anderen Stelle der Analyse wird ersichtlich, dass dergrundsatzliche Widerspruch zwischen der ursprunglichen Form des Spiels und derTendenz der Zuschauer, das Spektakul5re zu suchen, eine allein dastehende Er-

scheinung im Sport entwickelt hat: den Sport als Unterhaltung. Das Andauern

dieses Phdnomens ebenso wie diese Neigung der Zuschauer scheint fur die Durch-

fiihrung von aktionsorientierten Sportveranstaltungen ausschlaggebcnd zu sein.

LES CHANGEMENTS SOCIAUX ET LA COMMERCIALISATIONDES SPORTS PROFESSIONNELS

Resume

Cet article d6termine les facteurs sociaux qui ont provoque la commercialisationdes sports professionnels aux Etats Unis. Le baseball, le football, le basket-ball etle hockey ont ete examin6s sous cet aspect, pour observer comment ils ont pass6du jeu a la professionalisation. Les facteurs qui avaient determine cette transitionsont historiquement divises en: L’ere contemporaine et 1’ere moderne en sport am6-ricain. La premi6re periode de temps est enferm6e entre le commencement du dix-neuvieme siecle et le premier quart du vingtieme si6cle. La seconde commence parle deuxi6me quart du vingtieme si6cle et dure jusqu’a present.

Pendant la periode contemporaine il y avait dans le sport am6ricain deux fac-teurs qui fixaient son developpement: 1’industrialisation rapide et la naissance desformes prebureaucratiques de 1’organisation. L’industrialisation encouragait les



173

nouvelles formes d’organisation a se soumettre a la complexite administrative desmarch6s grandissants. Cela a cause aussi la necessite de la technologie qui facilitaitla reduction des jours du travail, et de 1A plus de temps libre pour le sport. La

professionalisation dans le sport est sans doute le r6sultat directe de cette principaleet lat~rale integration dans les affaires. Du detour du siecle et peu apres les pro-

cedures d’organisation étaient successivement transportes des grandes affaires au

sport. Les confederations incoherentes des 6quipes se sont liees maintenant sous

1,6guide des personnes reconnues, enrichies par des regles imposes et sanctionnees,

par de codes de conduite et des prix regles et uniformes. Court, la profe.;sionalisa-tion du sport et l’id~e du match pour soi-m6me r6gnaient incontestablement.

Pendant 1’6re moderne, les trois elements dominaient la progression du sport:la rationalisation du sport, la formation de la nouvelle classe moyenne et les

moyens de masse. La rationalisation du sport a side a s6parer plus vite le jeu dumatch. La, il ne pouvait pas exister quelque doute dans 1’esprit du participant, quela joie illimit6e du jeu improvise etait maintenant (ne fut-ce que temporairement)repoussee par la nécessité de 1’obstacle spontan6 sous forme des techniques strate-

giques. Pendant 1’6re moderne du sport, la demonstration cons6quente des techni-ques rationnelles menee par les entraineurs, les possesseurs et les joueurs a beaucoupinfluance la mani6re de penser des joueurs: elle les a encourag6s a assurer une

plus grande renumeration financielle pour leurs services... An addition, la combinai-son de 1’abondance chez la classe moyenne et la tendence grandissante de la publi-cite a lier leurs produits avec les epreuves sportives t6l6vis6es, maintient le prixenorme pour la grandeur dans le sport. De 1’autre cote, le conflit fondamental entrele forms original du match et la predilection du public a la spectacularite ont

determine le role unique du sport - celui d’etre spectaculaire. La continuation dece phenomene semble aussi vr6semblable que l’inclination du public sportif a la

participation aux spectacles sportifs orient6s vers action.



change commercialization professional sports · 2016. 8. 16. · in present sports, the immediate...

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