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Work and Play

Work and Play. The Business of Professional Sports. I. Evolution of Sports Business. Plight of players in post-WWII America Consolidation trend in American business Rise of a mass consumer culture Emerging national perspective Standardization of professional sports.

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Work and Play

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  1. Work and Play The Business of Professional Sports

  2. I. Evolution of Sports Business • Plight of players in post-WWII America • Consolidation trend in American business • Rise of a mass consumer culture • Emerging national perspective • Standardization of professional sports

  3. I. Evolution of Sports Business (cont.) • Emergence of organized professional leagues • Club owners similar to the “Robber Barons” of an earlier era • Sports industry of late 1940’s functioned as a cartel

  4. II. Foundations of the Sports Cartel • Baseball’s antitrust exemption (1922) --Federal Baseball Club v. National League • NFL/AFL merger (1966) • The Reserve Clause

  5. II. Foundations of the Sports Cartel • Waiver Clauses • Annual Player Draft • Rival Leagues were the only way to break the cartel --Mexican League (1946)

  6. III. Slow Start for Players Labor Organization • National political climate --Taft-Hartley Act (1947) --Red Scare • American Baseball Guild (1946) --Larry MacPhail

  7. IV. The Business of Professional Football • Blackout rights (1953) • Failure to gain antitrust exemption • NFL a model of harmony and cooperation • Immigrant Catholic culture as a cement among owners • The role of Pete Rozelle • Challenges to player organization

  8. V. Labor Organization in Hockey and Basketball • Cultural and structural impediments to union activity in hockey • James Norris-Arthur Witz conglomerate --Conn Smythe • National Basketball Players Association (1961) • Racial division within the Union

  9. VI. Organizing Baseball Players • “Dog Fight” world of baseball ownership • Franchise shifting beginning in the 1950’s • The Dodgers go west (1957) --Walter O’Malley • Major League Baseball Players’ Association (1953)

  10. VI. Organizing Baseball Players (cont.) • Median income of pro athletes rose in the 50’s and 60’s • Star quality of pro athletes • Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale hold out in 1966

  11. VI. Organizing Baseball Players (cont.) • Marvin Miller’s leadership of the MLBPA beginning in 1966 • Solidarity of the Players Association • Influence of the Civil Rights Movement

  12. VII. Establishment of New Franchises and Rival Leagues • The AFL vs. the NFL • Factors in creating new franchises --air travel --television --Federal tax laws --growth of the “Sun Belt”

  13. VII. New Franchises and New Leagues (cont.) • Emergence of New Leagues --Gary Davidson, the ABA, and the WHA --The USFL (1983) --Branch Rickey’s Continental League (1959)

  14. VII. New Franchises and New Leagues (cont.) • Flurry of new leagues, new franchises, and franchise shifting changed the structure of pro sports • When losing could actually be winning • CBS sells the NY Yankees to George Steinbrenner (1973)

  15. VIII. The Threat of Franchise Shifting • Owner loyalty to cities declined • Al Davis moves the Raiders to Los Angeles (1982) • Calls for congressional regulation of the sports business • Opposition to congressional regulation

  16. IX. Revolution in Players’ Salaries • New demand for player services • Balance of power shifts away from owners by the late 1980’s • Baseball led the way • Curt Flood challenges the Reserve Clause (1969) • 1972 Baseball Strike

  17. X. A Tale of Two Players’ Unions • Major League Baseball owners agree to sign no free agents between 1986-1988 • Weakness of the NFL Players’ Association --1987 NFL Players’ Strike fails

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