September 16, 2016

HHP-430-01
Sports & Facility Mgmt.
Professor Buchanan
History of the Sport Business Industry
Hunter Norris
1870-Commercialization Models of Baseball:
In the decade of 1870 we see the commercialization of baseball. Sports entertainment becomes in
high demand. The population is booming in urban industrialized cities, so the need for
entertainment rises. The higher wages experienced by industry workers they have more money to
invest in entertainment. At this time in American we also see the use of the railways bringing
sporting teams to new destinations for play. This form of transportation brought many teams to
areas they had not played in before. This expansion of the use of the rails also made it possible to
transport sporting goods and team memorabilia across the country.
The invention of the telegraph and newspaper production allowed information to also travel from
coast to coast. The telegraph machine opened the possibilities for information to travel across the
country quicker much like our fax machines of today. The telegraph also allowed for scores to
broadcast sooner and deals to be made quicker. The printed newspaper allowed for knowledge to
be spread whether it was a sports score or just news in general. The flood of knowledge will lead
many citizens to become interested in these sporting activities, which in turn draws a larger
crowd, which generates more revenue. All this interest would bring about the rise of the art of
promotion and selling in 1870. In 1871 the National Association of Professional Baseball Players
was introduced. We know it today as the players union.

1880s Commercialization Models in Sporting Goods

We see the rise of sporting goods products with 79 companies producing items. Some companies
changed their production lines entirely, such as Weed Sewing Machine Company in 1878. Weed
Sewing started making bicycles, while other such as Goodrich Machine Company simply added
another production line of sports equipment to their portfolio. B. F. Goodrich who we know is
synonymous with tires was once a golf ball producer and gymnastics equipment in 1885.
Companies had to make vertical integrated movements to stay competitive. With the changing of
times a company would simply diversify their production of one item such as a baseball glove to
manufacturing fishing equipment. This would also lead companies to decentralize their
organization by basically developing separate divisions, or sub companies so that they could
focus on certain products but still operate under one brand.

1880s Commercialization Models in Intercollegiate Sport

The intercollegiate football has done more for commercialization than most sports. The demand
for seating at these football collegiate levels games rose from free admission at the
Princeton/Rutgers 1869 game to a gate of $100 USD for the Yale/Columbia game. In 1875
Harvard met Yale on the gridiron and each school profited around $500 USD. This was the
introduction of commercialized college sports as we know it today. Although now sporting event
can bring millions of dollars at a gate in todays society.
The official rules of play for football was introduced in 1876, this would usher in the
standardizing of the game. This standardization would later lead to the commercialization as well
as the feed the need for sports. The public interest had taken hold and there was no stopping it, in
1895 it was estimated by the Chicago Tribune that on Thanksgiving Day there were over 5,000
football games played. Thanksgiving Day has never been the same.

1890s Intense Market competition and the Bicycle Craze

The Bicycle craze takes hold with the invention of the safety bike. The safety bikes are
presumed safer than the high-wheeler bikes. In 1894 the Bamboo bike was designed for its light
weight and less vibration on the rider. Also in 1894 Annie Kopchovsky rode her bicycle around
the world with the help of ships and trains. She started in Boston and ended in Chicago a year
later. Susan B. Anthony felt the invention of the bicycle did more to equalize women by giving
them a sense of freedom and self-reliance.

1900s Market Development and market Segmentation

The sports industry was booming by the time we reach the 1900s. The general thought was more
people had time for sporting activities, so supply and demand was at an all-time high. The largest
demographic group would be the middle-class white male sports enthusiast. Middle-class
consumers outnumbered others groups in spending, and they had the desire and the means to
purchase tickets to sporting events as well as equipment to participate.
Not to leave the women out of the picture, the marketers looked for ways to entice the females to
participate and purchase equipment for sports. The store front window display was born, the
notion behind this was to visually entice the consumer with fancy window ads. We are visual
people, so to see what we didnt know we needed fueled the desire to have stuff.

1910s The Rise of Endorsement Advertising

Babe Ruth signs with H& B for a mere $100 USD and a set of golf clubs, but in that time was
huge. This deal was proclaimed to be the greatest single deal in endorsement contract history.
Babe Ruth agreed to let the company use his signature on their bats, the Louisville Slugger. Two
years after this deal this bat was the number one selling bat.
This becomes the beginning of the art of using an athletes name to sell a product. The
assumption that a Babe Ruth endorsed bat could make you hit like him was all the advertisement
the company needed. Advertisers used endorsed products to unify product quality with brand

name recognition. Consumers were attracted by the height that they could perform better because
it was a licensed endorsed product from that athlete that used it.

1930s Depression and the Age of Cooperation

Notre Dame Football attendance grows from 4,000 to 120,000 fans in 1930. In 1931 the stock
market crash devastates the sporting goods equipment industry. Sales dropped 50%, putting
almost 20% of companies that manufacture sporting goods equipment out of business. In 1935,
the promotion of department stores and sporting goods equipment revives the industry. Baseball
promotion was established by the Athletic Institute driven by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers
Association.
The introduction of the Fair Trade Practice Act in 1935 solidified regulations that governed and
restricted competition. Organizations remained profitable during the depression due to this act. In
1937 Baseball promotion was on the rise with the help from the American Legion and the
American Baseball Congress. This promotion of baseball encouraged the public to both play and
be a spectator. By 1939, sporting goods sales are finally out of the red. Sales for sports such as
tennis and golf start to see some increase in 1939.

1940s World War II and Sport Policy

In 1942 the United States price administration office stopped the production of sports equipment,
namely golf clubs, due to the need for rubber in wartime products. 1945 we saw the rise of a
young black American baseball player Jackie Robinson become the first to cross the Major
League Baseball color barrier and sign with the Dodgers. Just one year later Marion Motley and
Bill Willis two black Americans to thrive in their respective professional sports of football and
boxing.
Women would not be left out, in 1943-1954 the Rockford Peaches toured the country playing in
an all-female baseball league. During this time of war sports became part of the military policy
training. This was a time of ethics, values and the changing of attitudes. Sports was looked upon
as having a positive influence on the moral of soldiers. Sports activities was thought to have kept
soldiers in good physical as well as mental conditions. It kept them occupied in down time as
well as developed their leadership skills.

1950s New Technology and New Technologies

1952 sports and television partner up to broadcast sporting events. In the early 1950s the TV
broadcasting companies started televising boxing, wrestling, and roller derby. These sports were
chosen due to need for one camera angle picturing. In 1950 the shot clock was invented, by
Syracuse owner Leo Ferris. They converted the average amount of shots per team in a game and
divided by the game length. They converted that length into seconds and convinced the NBA to
adopt this shot clock rule.
In 1945, the American College of Sports Medicine Organization was established. This
organizations primary focus was on the physical fitness, so the push to have a physician present

on the sideline was born. In 1958 as cameramen develop more techniques, baseball becomes
popular, it was estimated that over 800 baseball games were broadcast. In 1958 the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) approves the sale of anabolic steroids and the US weightlifting team
were some of the first to experiment with the drug.

1960s The Foreign Invasion

The foreign invasion of athletes as well as industry takes hold in the United States sporting
markets, also the U.S. branches out to other countries. The first televised F.S. cup soccer final
was in 1961, and it was played in London. This was the first overseas televised event seen
worldwide. The following year the FIFA world cup was played with the defending Brazilians
holding their title for a three-peat.
Japan takes control of the baseball good markets in the U.S. in 1963. Japan specialized in
baseball and softball gloves and controlled over 60% of the market. 1964 ushered in the rise of
foreign manufacturers within the U.S. sporting goods market place. In 1965 the sporting goods
company Spalding moves its production of baseball equipment to Korea. Other companies to
follow suit were Adidas, Puma and Tiger in 1967, which meant Japan was gaining ground in this
industry. In 1966 Sports Management and Administration becomes a college career path at Ohio
State University. Neil Armstrong walks on the moon, and Muhammed Ali fights Rocky Marciano
in 1969 to end the decade.

1970s From Woodstock to Nautilus

The 1970s brought about the movement of free love with the notorious Woodstock. With the
induction of peace, love, and rock and roll, there was also another movement coming the fitness
craze. New fad diets and workout videos emerged, as well as the fitness club that was replacing
the old garage gym. Fitness Club gave the common Joe a place to work out, so the need for
workout routines and healthy lifestyles brought on the need for the professional development of
these issues.
Within this time period we also see the rise of the professional sport agent, sports marketing, and
the professional club management. Managing professional athletes endorsements and
sponsorships was tremendous, so companies like International Management Group (IMG)
became very popular with professional athletes. We also saw the rise of the mogul Reebok in the
later part of the 70s and in 1979 ESPN took to the air with their first SportsCenter broadcast.

1980s The Participation Revolution

Reebok becomes the number one athletic shoe manufacturer in the United States. In 1982 the
company introduces the first woman designed athletic shoe. This invention gives way to the rise
of aerobic exercise craze in the early 80s as well as sport exercise. In 1987 it was estimated that
over 30 million children participated in some form of organized sports activities under the age of
16. The boom of sport participation fueled the demand for equipment and sport clothing.

In 1988 civil right mandates offered opportunities to women athletes that before had been
nonexistent. Public institutions that received public funding increased woman participated sports.
It was estimated that in 1989 2/3 of sport participation included a female athlete.

1990s MJ as Brand and the Experience Economy

We all had a pair of Jordans at some point in our lifetime as young men or you watched him
play in the 90s. The experience that you could be like Mike was all it took and we were hooked.
The MJ brand brought about newer NBA commercialization as well. The uniforms were more
appealing, the atmosphere in the arenas was more appealing due to ceremonies so to was the
NBA experience. The fan experience was catapulted into another dimension with take home
souvenirs being given out as well as the immense TV coverage with better camera coverage,
better instant replay, and announcers. This paved the way for sports sponsorship with the
branding of MJ.
Describe the Medias impact on Modern sport, including timeframe.
The medias impact on modern sport can be seen everywhere. Moguls like ESPN, CNN, CBS
Sports, FOX News and NBC Sports are just to name a few giants in this industry. The first
televised baseball and football games were in 1939. A year later basketball made its debut on
NBC. The first live east coast to west coast football game was broadcast in 1951.
Roone Arledge helped ABC with the rights to broadcast college football games. With the
invention of the broadcasting brought about the instant replay of college football to the viewers
at home. CBS buys a portion of the New York Yankees and became the first major TV network to
be a stakeholder in a professional sports company. Lastly, the birth of the team mascot can be
attributed to the public viewing of football games. The team mascot to this day is a tradition that
many look for when viewing games.

Describe the role of endorsement advertising in modern sport, including timeframe.

The endorsement of athletes has really evolved over time. Athletes now are endorsed through TV
commercials, the internet, radio, etc. The first ever endorsement contract was Honus Wagner
who was a famous baseball player in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. His contract was
signed in 1905 with Louisville slugger. His signature would be placed on bats that they produced
and his signature is still on 60% of bats produced by Louisville slugger today. This fascinated me
because Louisville slugger was looking to increase the sales of their baseball bats so they went
out and found the best baseball player and put his signature on their bats. So many sports
companies do this like Nike giving Kobe and Lebron their own signature line of shoes.
Companies use big named athletes to promote their product and it works because we all want the
shoes that Kobe and Lebron wear, and baseball players want to swing a bat with one of the best
players ever name on it.