The Athletes

The Athletes

Age of heroes seemed to be over by the 1970s and 1980s.

Heroes at this time were rock musicians, television’s Bionic Man or Woman and Evel Knievel.

Professional Athletes

High salariesLong term contractsLabor unionsStrikes

Changing Currents of Society and Culture

1940s & 1950s- Joe DiMaggio, Joe Louis, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.

DiMaggio- San FranciscoLouis- DetroitMantle- OklahomaMays- Alabama

Athletic Champions

Muhammad Ali- Militant blacksBillie Jean King- Militant femalesVince Lombardi- Militant traditionalistsJoe Namath- Militant quest for freedom

from traditional social constraints.

Old School

Johnny Unitas

New School

Joe Namath

Performance on T.V.

1983- 45% of men felt that given the same training, they could do as well as the athletes on television.

74%- 14 to 17 age range25%- 65 and over age range

Andre Agassi

Earned more money than others on the tennis circuit even though he was not #1.

Past vs. Present

Past= Special Virtue, endurance, sacrifice and courage.

Present= Political and greedy. 1. Strikes

2. Free agency

3. High salaries

What caused this?

1st- Competition among franchises for player talent.

2nd- Demise of player reservation systems.

3rd- Formation of player unions.

Money matters

All-America Football Conference- 1940s salary was $8,000.

Joe Namath received a 3 year deal for $420,000 from the Jets.

As late as 1968 one in five NFL players made less than $15,000 per season.

1967 1975 1985 1990 1995 2000

MLB $19 $46 $371 $598 $1,111 $1,894

ABA/ $20 $107 $325 $817 $2,010 $ 4,200

NBA

NFL $25 $42 $194 $352 $714 $1,116

Spectator Attitudes toward Professional Athletes (1982)

Agree Disagree Undecided

Athletes are 76 20 4

overpaid

Athletes selfish 50 42 8

Should be tested 71 27 2

for drugs before

each game

Youth Athletes Getting Serious

Masillon, Ohio- Booster club of 2,700 members, had a stadium that could hold 20,000 fans etc.

Highland Park High School- (1985) Chartered nine buses to shuttle themselves 300 miles to the championship games.

Odessa- regularly drew 20,000 fans.

Volunteers in the post-World War II Era

Pop Warner Football League- 1929

Little League Baseball- 1939 *Carl Stotz founded this league in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Both of these leagues flourished after WWII.