Research Catalog

The big leagues go to Washington : Congress and sports antitrust, 1951-1989

Title
The big leagues go to Washington : Congress and sports antitrust, 1951-1989 / David George Surdam.
Author
Surdam, David G. (David George)
Publication
Urbana ; Chicago ; Springfield : University of Illinois Press, [2015]

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Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person.

TextUse in library JFE 15-4180Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description
viii, 314 pages; 25 cm
Summary
"Between 1951 and 1976 the U. S. Congress held a series of hearings to investigate antitrust aspects of professional sports leagues. Congress was concerned about their cartel-like behavior, which included territorial protection, controlling ownership of players, restricting new franchises, and preventing the formation of competitive leagues. Surdam chronicles the key issues in the major hearings and discusses the direct and indirect consequences of them, sometimes through legislation and more often through public airing of the worst practices. The hearings brought into view the conflicting interests of owners, players, labor and property laws, and major and minor league teams, whose locations and success mattered to members of Congress. The hearings led to relocation of ailing franchises, as legislators from the West and South pressed the league into bringing teams into their states. Other hearings affected broadcasting rights and black-outs, the role of leagues versus their individual franchises, player drafts, player unions, league mergers, and the dominance of the New York Yankees. Surdam pays special attention to the economic issues that arose in each case. The success and survival of the major league teams depended in large part of their ability to avoid congressional interference, and adapting to it when necessary"--
Subjects
Genre/Form
History.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
A Brief History of Professional Team Sports -- Economics of Antitrust -- An Overview of the Hearings -- Player Rights (1951 and 1957) -- Closing the Last Vestige of a "Free Market" In Labor (1964) -- Should Antitrust Apply to Sports? (1957 and 1958) -- We Want More Baseball and Football (1959 and 1960) -- Damn Yankees and Relocations (1964 and 1965) -- Professional Sports Team Community Protection Acts (1982 and 1984-1985) -- Professional Sports Teams Grapple with Radio and Television -- Baseball and Broadcasting (1953) -- The NFL's Big Television Score (1961) -- Television Blackout Hearings (1972-1977) -- The Future Arrives Via Cable Television (1989) -- Can't We All Get Along? (1966) -- The Proposed NBA/ABA Merger (1971-1972) -- Conclusion : A Look Back at the Hearings
Call Number
JFE 15-4180
ISBN
  • 9780252039140
  • 0252039149
  • 9780252097126 (canceled/invalid)
LCCN
2014034696
OCLC
893454468
Author
Surdam, David G. (David George), author.
Title
The big leagues go to Washington : Congress and sports antitrust, 1951-1989 / David George Surdam.
Publisher
Urbana ; Chicago ; Springfield : University of Illinois Press, [2015]
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Chronological Term
1900 - 1999
Research Call Number
JFE 15-4180
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