Society, Culture,
and Sport
Chapter 20
Sport Books Publisher
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Topics Covered:
Brief history of sport in the USA
 Brief history of the Olympic Games
 Sport and American culture
 Icons of American sport
 The business of sport
 Sport as a spectacle
 Being an informed consumer

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Brief History of Sport in USA
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By analyzing American sport history and
by examining the larger role sport
currently plays in people's everyday
lives, we can further understand how
sport has come to permeate our culture
and society.
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New Beginnings (1400s to 1860)
15th and 16th century
 European explorers and settlers fascinated
by Native American games
– Example: baggataway
• To develop warrior’s skill
• First viewed by French
• Today known as lacrosse
17th and 18th century
 Hampered development due to church
sentiment and wars
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New Beginnings (1400s to 1860)
Late 18th and 19th century
 End of American Revolution
 Beginning of First Industrial
revolution
– More leisure time
– Sports/games develop more rapidly

Mostly social elite sports
– Examples: golf, horse racing, target
shooting

Bare-knuckle fights
– Initially illegal; slave against slave
– Universally accepted end of 19th
century
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The Civil War and the Second
Industrial Revolution (1861 to 1918)
Ice Hockey

King’s College,
Nova Scotia (Canada)
Played on a frozen pond
with a wooden puck and
a stick
Montreal
Quebec (Canada)
New England
States (USA)
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The Civil War and the Second
Industrial Revolution (1861 to 1918)
Baseball
 Origin of “bat and ball” or “town ball”:
– Abner Doubleday, Cooperstown NY(1839)
– Western MA (late 1700s)
– Small towns in Eastern NY and New England; (late 1700s)

Origin of modern baseball:
– Alexander Cartwright; Knickerbockers Base Ball Club; 1845


Spread throughout the country during the Civil War
years
Played by all
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The Civil War and the Second
Industrial Revolution (1861 to 1918)
Football
 Originally the “Boston game”
 First game – 1869
– Soccer rules

Rugby rules adopted in 1867
 11-man game (versus 15)
– Adopted several years later
– Allowed for more control and strategy
– Walter Camp – “father of modern football”
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The Civil War and the Second
Industrial Revolution (1861 to 1918)
Basketball
 Truly North American in origin
 Developed by Dr. James Naismith
visiting YMCA Training School (now
Springfield College) in MA in 1890
– Soccer ball and peach baskets


Developed as a form of recreation to
pass away cold New England
winters
Spread by YMCA Training School
graduates to urban areas
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James Naismith
10
The Civil War and the Second
Industrial Revolution (1861 to 1918)
Other activities
 Cycling
– Bicycle craze due to overpopulation and transportation
issues
– Development of competitive cycling

Car racing
– Invention of automobile
– Popular pastime for those who could afford it

Modern Olympic Games
– Pierre de Coubertin
– Modeled after ancient Olympics
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Post-World War I Era
(1919 to present)

Post WWI and Great Depression
Lou Gehrig
– “Golden age” of sport
– American sports icons help nation put painful WWI memories
behind
– Beginning of Professional leagues
• The American Professional Football League (1920)
– The Negro League of Baseball
– Sport seen as form of entertainment that generates revenue
• Athletes paid and traded
• Football moved to larger urban areas
– Olympics gained momentum

Post WWII
– Economic boom accompanied by emergence of sport, recreation,
and physical activity as important part of our society
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Post-World War I Era (1919 to
present)
Emergence of Mass Media
 Invention of radio
 Invention of TV (1950s and 1960s)
– Brought sport icons to people’s homes
– Sport perfect medium for TV
– Gathered families

Billie Jean King
Sports popularity in mass media and with it
participation in sports grows
– Baseball
– Tennis – Billie Jean King

Sports on TV influence children and adults
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Post-World War I Era
(1919 to present)
Sport for All
 Amendment XIV – Equal access for all races
– Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
– Against doctrine of “separate but equal”/Plessy v. Ferguson
(1986)

Title IX – Equal opportunity and funding regardless of
sex
– Established the Education Amendments of 1972
– Produced a change in attitude toward female athletes and
sports
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Brief History of Olympic Games
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V Stockholm, 1912
I Athens, 1896
II Paris, 1900
III St. Louis, 1904
IV London, 1908
•First modern
Olympics
•First unofficial
appearance of
women (golf and
tennis)
•Also coincided
with World’s Fair
•Originally awarded •Electronic devices,
public address
to Rome
systems, and photo
•Athletes walked in
finishes used
by nation for the
•First to have
first time
representation from
•Ray Ewry
all five continents
•Developed by
Baron Pierre de
Coubertin
•IOC
•Vision: to promote
the idea of true
armature athletic
competition
•In conjunction with
World's Fair
•Ray Ewry, Myer
Pristein
•4½ months
duration
•First to utilize
medal system
•George Eyser
•Jim Thorpe
•James Connolly
SUMMER
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WWI
1914-1918
VI Berlin, 1916
VII Antwerp, 1920
VIII Paris, 1924
•Cancelled due to
WWI
•Olympic flag
•First Olympic
village
•Still holds the
distinction of the
Games of VI
Olympiad
•Athlete’s Oath
•Release of dove
as a symbol of
peace
•Ethelda Bleibtrey
•Motto “Citius,
Altius, Fortius”
•Raising of 3 flags
in the closing
ceremony
•Johnny
Weissmuller
IX Amsterdam,
1928
X Los Angeles,
1932
•Ignition of Olympic
flame during
opening
ceremonies
•Began the tradition
of honoring victors
with their national
anthem
•First time women •Babe Didrikson
were recognized as
competitors in
“athletic” events
(e.g., track and
field)
•Elizabeth
Robinson
SUMMER
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XI Berlin, 1936
WWII
WWII
1939-1945
1939-1945
XII Helsinki, 1940
•First TV broadcast •Cancelled due to
WWII
•Torch relay
introduced
•“the Hitler
Olympics”: Hitler’s
means of
propaganda
XIII London, 1944 XIV London, 1948
XV Helsinki, 1952
•Cancelled due to
WWII
•First time showing
of USSR, Israel,
and Federal
Republic of
Germany
•Reawarded to
London
•First to be seen on
home TV’s
•Bob Mathias,
Robert Richards
•Jesse Owens
embarrassed Hitler
by winning 4 gold
medals
•Setting stage for
USSR v. USA
rivalry
•Harrison Dilard,
Patricia McCormick
•Marjorie Gestring
SUMMER
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XVI Melbourne,
1956
XVII Rome, 1960
•Played an anthem
•First city in the
that was played
southern
back at first modern
hemisphere to host Olympics in Athens;
became the official
•Athletes walk
anthem
together v. by
nation for the
•Dominated by
closing ceremonies USSR
•Wilma Rudolph, Al •Wilma Rudolph,
Oerter
Cassius Clay
XVIII Tokyo, 1964
•First time the
Games were
hosted by an Asian
nation
•Volleyball – first
women’s team
sport
•Billy Mills, Joe
Frazier
XIX Mexico City,
1968
•Altitude benefited
short distance and
disadvantaged long
distance events
•Long jump world
record made that
remained unbroken
for 22 years (Bob
Beamon)
XX Munich, 1972
•September 5, 1972
Palestinian
terrorists (Black
September) took
hostage and killed
11 Israeli athletes
•The first Judge’s
Oath was recited
•Mark Spitz
•Tommie Smith and
John Carlos protest
against racial
segregation in USA
SUMMER
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XXI Montreal, 1976
•Allegations of
suspected drug use
were at the
forefront of media
coverage
•First ever perfect
score in gymnastics
earned by Nadia
Comaneci of
Romania
•Edwin Moses,
Greg Louganis
SUMMER
XXII Moscow,
1980
XXIII Los Angeles,
1984
•A U.S. lead
boycott by Western
nations protesting
the Soviet invasion
of Afghanistan
•In response to
Moscow Olympics
Soviets and other
nations boycott
•Soviet team
dominated
•Huge success;
>$200 million profit
•Carl Lewis, Joan
Benoit
XXIV Seoul, 1988
•South Korean
government
refused to co-host
with the North
Korea
•North Korea and
Cuba boycott in
response
XXV Barcelona,
1992
•First time since
Munich to be held
without a boycott
•South Africa was
allowed to
participate following
abolishment of
apartheid
•Florence GriffithJoyner, Matt Biondi •W and E Germany
together
•Russian states
separate
•Basketball Dream
Team, Gail Devers
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XXVI Atlanta, 1996
•A bomb detonated
in Centennial
Olympic Park
•2 people killed;
100 injured
•Carl Lewis,
Michael Johnson
XXVII Sydney,
2000
XXVII Athens,
2004
•First time since
Korean War, North
and South played
together
•Return home after
more than a
century
•Women took part
in weightlifting and
decathlon
•Marion Jones,
Michael Johnson
•Most expensive in
history
•Post-September
11; Extra degree of
security
•No incident
•Michael Phelps
SUMMER
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WWII
1939-1945
I Chamonix, 1924
II St. Moritz, 1928
•Originally an
“International
Winter Sports
Week”
•Sonja Henie,
future Hollywood
film star, earns first
three gold medals
•Officially
recognized as
winter Olympics in
1926
•Charles Jewtraw
WINTER
III Lake Placid,
1932
•First in the
Americas
IV GarmischPartenkirchen,
1936
•First time for
Alpine events
•Sled dog racing
•U.S. wins two gold appears as a
•Austrian and
medals in bobsled demonstration sport Swiss skier
and skeleton tracks
boycotted to protest
•Eddie Eagen the
exclusion of ski
only athlete ever to
instructors
win gold in both
Summer and
•Leo Freisinger
Winter Olympics
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1940& 1944
•Cancelled due to
WWI
•Unlike Summer
Olympics did not
keep their
numerical
designations
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V St. Moritz, 1948
VI Oslo, 1952
•Return after 20
years to same
place
•Nordic ski events
open to women for
the first time
•Germany and
Japan not invited
•Dick button
•Gretchen Fraser,
Dick Burton
VII Cortina
d’Ampezzo, 1956
•First appearance
by the USSR
•First Athlete’s Oath
taken by a woman
•Last outdoor figure
skating events
•Tenley Albright
WINTER
VIII Squaw Valley,
1960
IX Innsbruck, 1964
•Endangered due to
•First use of instant lack of snow
replay
•Austrian Army
•Biathlon made its brought snow from
debut
the surrounding
mountaintops
•Women
speedskating
•USSR dominated
•Carol Heiss, David •Terry McDermott
Jenkins
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X Grenoble, 1968
XI Sapporo, 1972
•Women underwent
sex tests
•First outside of
Europe or U.S.
•The East German
Women’s luge team
disqualified for
heating the runners
•Karl Schranz
banned for
receiving payments
from ski
manufacturer
•First broadcast in
color TV
•Peggy Fleming
•Soviet hockey
players, paid by
government,
allowed
XII Innsbruck,
1976
XIII Lake Placid,
1980
•Originally awarded
to Denver but were
removed due to
funding issues
•Second time in
same place
•Ice dancing
entered as Olympic
event
•Dorothy Hamill,
Peter Mueller,
Sheila Young
•Artificial snow
•U.S. hockey team
defeated USSR,
the “Miracle on Ice”
XIV Sarajevo, 1984
•20-km Nordic
event for women
•New IOC president
•Phil and Steve
Mahre, Scott
Hamilton
•Eric Heiden
•Canadian hockey
boycott
WINTER
•7 of 8 USA medals
won by women
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XV Calgary, 1988
•First in Canada
•Spread out over
three weekend
•Speedskating
under a covered
venue
•Added super G
and Alpine
combined
•Brian Boitano,
Bonnie Blair
WINTER
XVI Albertville,
1992
XVII Lillehammer,
1994
•Last Winter
Games to be held
in the same year as
the Summer
Games
•One of the
greatest ever
•Women’s biathlon
•Added freestyle
skiing and shorttrack speedskating
•Bonnie Blair, Kristi
Yamaguchi, Nancy
Kerrigan
•Dan Jansen,
Nancy Kerrigan,
Tonya Harding
XVII Nagano, 1998
•First time for
Women’s hockey
•Reintroduced
curling
•Added
snowboarding
•NHL players
allowed to
participate
•Jonny Moseley,
Picabo Street, Tara
Lipinski
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XIX Salt Lake City,
2002
•Return of skeleton
•Women’s bobsled
•French judge
suspended for
misconduct; gold
medals given to
both Russian and
Canadian pairs
•Sarah Hughes
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XX Torino, 2006
•Italy hosts for the
second time
•Extreme
snowboard cross
added
•Sarah Konrad,
Shani Davis
WINTER
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Sport and American Culture
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Sport and Culture

Sport and American culture are
intricately intertwined in many significant
ways

Example: Olympics continue to be seen
as a cultural event as well as arena for
athletic accomplishment
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The Relationship Between Sport and
Culture

Culture represents the ways of life people
create in a given society
– It is a creation of people, not something that is
imposed upon a group

The relationship between sport and culture
can be see in the following three areas:
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1. Quest for Excitement
Sport appeals to participants’ or spectators’
quest for excitement
 Sport offers physical challenge and
psychological risks that are hard to find in
contemporary society
 Examples?

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2. The Appeal of Sports

Everyone has an
appreciation of the
tremendous physical
skills required to
participate in high level
sports
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3. Sport’s Cultural Significance

Because of our need
for development of
social identification and
rivalries
 We need to be part of a
collective whole and to
identify with our
accomplishments
 Example: “The Miracle
on Ice”
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What is Sport Culture?

Development of sport allowed the formation of a
myriad of new social groups

These groups formed their own criteria for
acceptance to an inner circle, thus creating a
“culture” within a particular sport

Sport culture is constantly redefining itself

Spectators have developed their own distinguishing
social groups by aligning with a particular team
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What is Sport Culture?
Sports Fans Versus Sports Fanatics

Sports fans:
– Passive admirers or true devotees
– Have true appreciation for the game
– Consider themselves as outsiders (i.e., can’t change the
game)

Sports fanatics:
–
–
–
–
Have difficulty dissociating from the game
Sport becomes and obsession
Believe they can actually change the outcome
Often engage in unruly behavior
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Icons of American Sport
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Baseball

Satchel Paige
–
–
–
–

One of the most dominant pitchers
Career of >4 decades and >2,500 games
Lou Gehrig
Started in Negro League (1920s)
One of the early pioneers in breaking the color barrier in
professional sport
Lou Gehrig
–
–
–
–
The original Iron Man
Played 2,130 consecutive games
In 1931 hit 181 RBIs (still an American League record)
In 1941 died of ALS, now referred to as Lou Gehrig's
disease
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Football
Vince Lombardi

Walter Payton
–
–
–
–

All-time leading rusher in professional football (until 2002)
2 time NFL MVP (1977 and 1985)
Spent entire career with one organization – Chicago Bears
High community involvement
Vince Lombardi
– Named the coach of the century (2000; ESPN)
– Head coach of the Green Bay Packers (1958)
– Super bowl trophy now called the Vince Lombardi Trophy
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Professional Golf
Tiger Woods

Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias
– First and probably the finest female professional multi-sport
athlete
– Basketball, track and field, golf
– First female to participate in men’s professional golf
tournament (1945 Los Angeles open)

Eldrick “Tiger” Woods
– Youngest golfer to achieve a world #1 ranking (age 21)
– By age 5 was featured in Golf Digest magazine
– Youngest golfer to achieve U.S. Amateur Championship (age
15)
– The first golfer to hold four major golf championship titles
concurrently
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Wilma
Rudolph
Olympic Athletes

Mary Lou Retton
– 1st American to ever win Olympic gold in gymnastics (1984; age 16)

Jesse Owens
– Shattered the walls of sports racism by leaving “the Hitler Olympics”
(1936) with 4 gold medals

Muhammad Ali
– Earned Olympic gold medal in boxing at age 18 (1960)
– Outspoken supporter of Civil Rights; refused induction into the U.S.
army in 1967

Wilma Rudolph
– Star Olympic athlete in track and field
– United Press Athlete of the Year and the Associated Press Woman
Athlete of the Year (1960)

Carl Lewis
– Dominated track and field on the world stage for >decade
– Four Olympic gold medals in 1984
– Last Olympic gold medal in 1996 at age 35
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Michael
Jordan
Basketball

Michael Jordan
– One of the greatest athletes of all time
– 15-year NBA career
– NBA accolades: 6 championships, 7 scoring titles,
6 Finals MVP trophies, 5 league MVP trophies, 1
Defensive Player of the Year award

Dr. James Naismith
– Canadian-born educator known as the inventor of
basketball
– Also credited for developing first football helmet
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Professional Tennis

Arthur
Ashe
Arthur Ashe
– Ranked number one in the world on several occasions
– Better known for being a courageous advocate for social
change:
• Racism and apartheid in South Africa
• HIV and AIDS

Billie Jean (Moffit) King
Billie Jean
King
– Ranked number one in the world on numerous occasions
– A tireless advocate for women’s rights
– In “the Battle of the Sexes” (1973) King defeated former
Wimbledon men’s champion Bobby Riggs (6-4, 6-3, 6-3)
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The Business of Sport
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The Business of Sport

Economic factors now dominate major
decisions that affect the business of sport

Sport is one of the fastest growing industries
in the U.S.

The economic conditions that allow corporate
business to thrive are the same conditions
necessary for the survival of commercial
sport
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The Business of Sport
Licensing
fees
Gate receipts
Media rights
Merchandise
Revenues
from sales of
concessions
Internet hits
Sponsorship
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Other?
45
Professional Sports in North America

Athletes are paid
 Sports are privately owned
Table. Comparison of minor league versus top NA franchise owners
Minor League
Profit
Negative
Top franchise
Make
millions of dollars
Lucky
to break even
Owners go out of
business
Owner
description
Individuals
or
partnership
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Large
corporations,
wealthy partnerships, or
individuals
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Amateur Sport in the US

Athletes participate for the love of the
game, not for a salary

Do not have owner

Have governing bodies:
– President’s Council on Physical Fitness
– United States Olympic Committee
– Amateur Athletic Union
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Sport Sponsorship

An agreement between a
commercial company and an
individual, team, or sport that
in return for money athletes
advertise the names of
sponsors through:
– Clothing lines, corporate
logos, TV ads, and choice of
commodities

Found in professional and
amateur sports
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Sport Sponsorship: Advantages and
Disadvantages for Professional Athletes
Money
Made
Money
Lost
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Sport Sponsorship: Advantages and
Disadvantages for Amateur Athletes
•Strong reliance =
powerful hold by the
sponsor
Allows athletes to
give up a job and
train full-time
•Sponsors request
changes in organization
•Hard to attract
sponsors if low TV
appeal
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Sport Sponsorship:
How It All Works

Agreed period of time (months or years)

Sign legal agreement to prevent quick
termination if things go wrong
– Example: Actions of athlete brings bad publicity
– Example: Sponsor is linked with unethical practice

Since this agreement is difficult to terminate,
it important to make correct selection
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Sport Sponsorship:
The Nature of the Sponsorship

Should companies that sell unsuitable
products be allowed to sponsor sports?

Amateur sports: many colleges and
universities no longer willing to sign
agreements with unsuitable sponsors

Professional sports: many franchises are
sponsored by precisely such organizations
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Sport as a Spectacle
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Television

Televised sports have become a form of sportainment
– The equivalent of a TV movie that claims to be based on a
true story

Sports account for a growing proportion of income
made on the sales of commercial time by television
companies

TV companies are therefore willing to spend an
escalating amount of money for the rights to televise
certain sports and sporting events
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Newspapers
One sports page in
common
newspapers
~1900’s
•Sports page expanded to sports
“section”
1920’s
TODAY
•More daily coverage devoted to sport than any
other topic (~25%)
•Sports section = 1/3 of total circulation
•Tremendous circulation reaches millions of
readers
•Large advertising revenues for newspapers
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Books and Magazines

Magazines
– About major and minor sports
– Popular content: biographies, statistics, pictures,
all forms of news
– Magazines about sports in general are harder to
find and generally sales have not done well
(exception: Sports Illustrated)

Books
– Popular content: (auto)biographies, coaching, and
training
– Less popular content: novels based on sport
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Radio

Before TV, radio was #1
media form

Advantages of radio (versus
TV) live event broadcasting:
– Company: More economical
because it involves smaller #
of broadcasters and producers
– Listener: Costs less, more
mobile – therefore can do
other things at the same time
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Film and Video

In spite of their dramatic content, sports are not a
popular topic for films and videos

Video collection of sporting moments and
instructional videos remain popular
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Internet

Unlike other media forms:
– Allows the consumer to access information
at the time of his or her choosing
– Not limited to sequential programming

Use of Internet:
– Extension of existing media
– Fantasy leagues
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Being and Informed Consumer
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
Sport commercialism, as well as our
rich sports history, impact on us as
individual consumers

Corporations have a financial interest in
the average American citizen
– U.S. high school student
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Factors Influencing Student
Participation

People participate in physical activity
(PA) for different reasons at different
points in their lives

Issues considered by high school
students will be different than those
considered by adults
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Media
influences
Individual
perception of
sport and PA
Teacher or
coach
Participation
American
athlete role
models
Commercial
interests
Other ?
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The Benefits of School and
Community PA
Improving cohesion
among students and
faculty
Other?
School and
Community PA
Improved selfesteem and
overall mood
Improved
fitness levels
Development of
school spirit
Improved
fitness
Lower
hospitalization
costs
Greater overall
acceptance by
one’s peers
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The Importance of Being an
Informed Consumer

Advertisers constantly tell us that what
we currently have comes up far short

We will almost always feel the need to
buy more and better sports and
exercise equipment
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Technology

Continues to change sports:
– Tennis players hit with greater power using
larger, graphite, tightly strung rackets
– Golfers have advantage by playing with
titanium heads
– Introduction of the flexible fiberglass pole
completely changed pole vaulting
– Other examples?

However, the choice of racket or club will
make little, if any, difference to nonelite
performance

Therefore, it is best to go with less expensive
equipment until an advanced level is reached
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Clothing

Have performance
benefit:
–
–
–
–

Heat removal
Windproof
Aerodynamic advantage
Biomechanical advantage of shoes
Again, these technological advances have
little benefit for nonelite performance
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Summary:

History of sport in the U.S.

Brief retrospective of the Olympic Games

Reflection on some of the most significant American
sports role models

Relationship between sport and culture in the U.S.

Sport has become a business and a spectacle

Impact of sports trends on us as individuals
Sport Books Publisher
70