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Run to Glory and Profits University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters University of Nebraska Press Fall 2013 Run to Glory and Profits David George Surdam Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/unpresssamples Surdam, David George, "Run to Glory and Profits" (2013). University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters. 214. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/unpresssamples/214 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Nebraska Press at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Run to Glory and Profits Buy the Book Buy the Book RUN TO GLORY & PROFITS THE ECONOMIC RISE OF THE NFL DURING THE 1950s DAVID GEORGE SURDAM University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London Buy the Book © 2013 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska Portions of chapter 9 originally appeared as the author’s “A Tale of Two Gate-Sharing Plans: The National Football League and the National League, 1952–56,” Southern Economic Journal 73, no. 4 (April 2007): 931–46. This content appears with the permission of the Southern Economic Association, © 2007. All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Surdam, David G. (David George) Run to glory and profits: the eco- nomic rise of the nfl during the 1950s / David George Surdam. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-8032-4696-6 (cloth: alk. paper) 1. National Football League. 2. Football—Economic aspects—United States. I. Title. gv955.5.n35s87 2013 796.332'64097309045—dc23 2013011615 Set in Minion by Laura Wellington. Designed by Nathan Putens. Buy the Book CONTENTS List of Tables ......................................... vii Acknowledgments .................................... ix Introduction . 1 1. The Usurpers: Theaafc Challenge ................ 11 2. Prosperity and Its Drawbacks ...................... 39 3. Measures of the nfl’s Popularity ................... 58 4. Profits and Losses .................................... 72 5. The Perils and Triumphs ofnfl Ownership ...... 101 6. Antitrust Adventures ................................120 7. Competitive Balance and Its Sources ............. 143 8. The Player Draft .................................... 169 9. Gate Sharing ........................................ 189 10. Gilded Peonage ..................................... 205 11. Television ............................................ 225 12. Innovation ........................................... 255 13. Integration .......................................... 279 Conclusion: Thenfl’s Rise to Prominence ...... 295 Appendix of Tables ................................. 303 Notes ................................................. 343 Bibliography ......................................... 403 Index ................................................. 409 Buy the Book Buy the Book TABLES See Appendix of Tables, page 303 1. Characteristics of nfl cities (1950) 2. nfl attendance, 1946–60 3. nfl ticket prices, earliest and latest reported prices for box and reserved tickets, 1941–61 4. aafc and nfl reported losses, 1946–49 5. nfl net income before taxes, 1952–56 6. nfl gross operating income, 1952–56 7. nfl home game receipts, 1952–56 8. nfl home game receipts/attendance, 1952–56 9. nfl away game receipts, 1952–56 10. nfl exhibition game receipts, 1952–56 11. nfl receipts from sale of television and radio rights, 1952–56 12. nfl gross operating expenses, 1952–56 13. nfl administrative salaries, 1952–56 14. nfl other expenses, 1952–56 15. nfl player salaries, 1952–56 16. nfl Championship Game finances, 1945–59 17. nfl franchise sales and expansion fees, 1946–63 18. aafc home attendance and win-loss records 19. Competitive balance in the nfl and aafc, 1946–59 Buy the Book 20. Volatility in the nfl, 1946–59 21. Greatest season scoring disparities, 1946–59 22. Number of players who played in nfl versus number drafted, 1936–38, 1950–52, and 1956–58 23. Round drafted of All-nfl players, 1950–60 24. Teams that drafted All-nfl players, 1950–60 25. Outcomes for teams that drafted All-nfl players, 1950–60 26. nl attendance and win-loss records, 1952–56 27. nfl attendance and win-loss records, 1952–56 28. Five-year total sources of revenue in the nfl, 1952–56 29. Estimated gate revenue without gate sharing in the nl, 1952–56 30. Actual gate revenue (home and away) in the nl, 1952–56 31. Estimated amounts transferred via gate sharing, 1952–56 32. Summary of gate sharing’s effects on nl teams, 1952–56 33. nl attendance and estimated gate- sharing payments, 1956 34. nfl revenue sharing, 1956 35. Summary of gate sharing’s effects on nfl teams, 1956 36. Attendance at intradivision nfl games, 1956 37. aafc road and road-home attendance 38. Households with television versus football attendance, 1946–60 39. Broadcast revenues, mlb and the nfl, 1952–64 40. The game on the field, 1945–62 41. Integration on the field and in the stands Buy the Book ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As always, writing the acknowledgements is one of this author’s favorite tasks. Many people have assisted me in the preparation of this book. George Rugg, curator of the Joyce Sports Collection at Notre Dame University, was instrumental in providing team scorecards and other infor- mation. Jon Kendle, researcher at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Archives and Information Center in Canton, Ohio, supplied me with minutes of National Football League and American Football League meetings, as well as other information. Their assistance made this book stronger. I offer my grateful appreciation for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Archives and Information Center’s permission to use archival material in this book. I also thank the Southern Economic Journal for their permission to reprint large portions of my article on gate sharing in Chapter Nine. The University of Oregon and Notre Dame University microfilm sec- tions staff helped in locating The Sporting News on microfilm. University of Oregon archivists helped me located information on Joe Lillard, an early pioneer of integration in the nfl. Graduate students Ashley Fewins and Nadya Shumilova downloaded and printed key New York Times articles. In addition, both were attentive students and a joy to work with. Alicia Pecha, Nathan Mackey, and Kayla Gump, undergraduate student assistants in the Economics Department at the University of Northern Iowa worked on processing the note cards for this book. Their efforts on a rather tedious task were greatly appreciated. Farzad Moussavi, dean of the College of Business Administration, and Fred Abraham, head of the Economics Department at the University of Northern Iowa, gave unstinting financial support and encouragement. The University of Northern Iowa generously granted me a summer research ix Buy the Book grant during the writing stage. The College of Business Administration gave funds for two research trips to Canton, Ohio, as well as financing the index. Janine Goodwin copyedited the manuscript under the direction of Sabrina Stellrecht at the University of Nebraska Press. Their efforts improved the final version, and I enjoyed working with them. Sarah Statz Cords compiled the index and, as usual, was a pleasure to work with. Professor Kevin Quinn of St. Norbert College gave the book a thorough reading early in the process. Two anonymous referees provided useful comments for improving this manuscript. I also acknowledge three more members of the University of Northern Iowa community. Rosie Lang, dining unit manager at Rialto Dining Hall, has supervised hundreds of delicious meals for a hungry bachelor, as well as being a good friend. Students Jen Bolden and Danielle Enderson proved inspiring with their dedication to scholarship and their friendliness. Ms. Boden will one day join the academy; Ms. Enderson earned a cpa and various honors while rooting for the New England Patriots. I’m sorry there isn’t more about your favorite team, Danielle, but they came late in the story. I thank the surviving members of my dissertation committee, Professors Robert W. Fogel, Nobel Prize winner in economics, and David Galenson for their encouragement over the past twenty-five years. While thenfl is a far cry from my Civil War dissertation, they have maintained an interest in my work. For the sake of Bob, who is a Chicago Bears fan, I trust I have not unduly maligned the Bears in any way. x Acknowledgments Buy the Book Run to Glory and Profits Buy the Book Buy the Book INTRODUCTION The National Football League nfl( ) has longed reigned as America’s favorite professional sports league, having surpassed Major League Baseball (mlb) and prevailed against the National Basketball Association (nba). Success may have spoiled the nfl, as the league has exhibited pompous and arro- gant behavior. During the 1976 bicentennial celebrations, the nfl sponsored an essay contest for the schoolchildren of America on the topic “The nfl in American History.” Leading historians — including Henry Steele Com- mager, who retorted, “It has no importance whatsoever” — scorned the league’s chutzpah.1 The league’s historical videos are renowned for their overly dramatic narration and unsubtle musical cues.2 One would think the narrator was describing the titanic struggle between the Red Army and the Wehrmacht instead of the Packers
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