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ABC SPORTS: SPORTSCENTURY: MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE (TV)

Summary

This special program looks at the twentieth century's ten most influential figures in sports who are not athletes. Hosted by Bob Ley, this program consists of in-depth profiles of these figures along with comments from various sports personalities and spectators. The ten people featured in this program are sports agent Mark McCormack; former Chicago Bears coach George Halas; former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley; former International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Avery Brundage; NBA commissioner David Stern; former baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis; former independent counsel for the Major League Baseball Players Union Marvin Miller; former ABC sports president Roone Arledge; former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle; and former Brooklyn Dodgers president and general manager Branch Rickey.

The program begins with the tenth most influential figure, sports agent Mark McCormack, whom the narrator describes as having ushered in "the era of comprehensive sports marketing." Washington Post columnist Leonard Shapiro supports this view with his comment that McCormack was the first person to recognize the potential for an athlete to make money off the playing field. The next individual mentioned is Sportscentury's ninth most influential figure: former Chicago Bears coach and innovator George Halas. Author Bert Sugar mentions the way that Halas managed to get sponsorship for the Chicago Bears, while Hall of Famer Dick Butkus comments on the fact that Halas managed to lure Red Grange into participating in a barnstorming tour to boost interest in professional football. The eighth most influential figure is former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley. Author Roger Kahn and former Brooklyn Dodger Ralph Branca explain how faithful Dodgers fans in Brooklyn regarded O'Malley's decision to move the team to the west coast. Additionally, Roger Noll, a Stanford University economics professor, hails O'Malley's "operation" as the best-managed franchise in sports history.

The seventh individual on Sportscentury's list is former International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Avery Brundage. Author Allen Guttmann and former Cincinnati Post columnist Pat Harmon point out that Brundage preached about preserving the purity of the Olympic games since Brundage believed that athletes should compete for the love of the game, not for money. The viewer also learns that Brundage was branded as a Nazi sympathizer after he allegedly arranged for the removal of two Jewish sprinters from the U.S. team during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Then, the next segment of the program focuses on the showmen who turned sports events into entertainment. These showmen include boxing promoter Tex Rickard, Harlem Globetrotters founder Abe Saperstein, and ballpark owner Bill Veeck. Shirley Povich, who wrote for the Washington Post, refers to Tex Rickard as the greatest sports promoter who ever lived, while boxing promoter Ben Bentley talks about Rickard's impact on the sport of boxing. The next showman presented is Abe Saperstein, coach and owner of the Harlem Globetrotters. Connie Hawkins, a former Globetrotter, comments on Saperstein's conception of the Globetrotters as "the greatest show on earth." It is also mentioned that the Globetrotters proved that they could serve as serious competition to any professional team, but Saperstein determined that white audiences would more readily accept the team members as strictly entertainers. The next figure mentioned was a good friend of Saperstein's: Bill Veeck. Minor league executive Pat Williams adds that Veeck focused on making the ballpark fun each night, while Veeck's son reflects on Bill Veeck's contributions to baseball, such as featuring players' names on their uniforms and holding giveaway days.

The countdown then continues with Sportcentury's sixth most influential figure, NBA commissioner David Stern, who turned the NBA into a thriving industry. Hall of Famer Julius Erving talks about the role that race played in the public's perception of the NBA, and NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol talks about the unique deal that Stern negotiated with a sports union in order to turn the league around. Furthermore, CBS Sports commentator Brent Musburger discusses how Stern made the NBA a dominant force around the world. Next on the list is the fifth most influential figure, former baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Author John Underwood and former broadcaster Curt Gowdy comment that the scandal of the 1919 World Series demonstrated the corruptibility of sports and caused the public to lose confidence in sports. Thus, it is noted that the major league owners wished to bring in an impartial figure, namely Landis, to establish order. Accordingly, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig talks about why it was imperative that Landis have absolute power as a commissioner. Marvin Miller, independent counsel for the Major League Baseball players union, is featured as the fourth most influential figure. Author Eliot Asinof refers to the ball club (of pre-Miller days) as a slave system. The viewer learns that when Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood refused to be traded to the Phillies, Miller was able to use him as a test case in the fight against the club owners. And Marvin Miller talks of Flood's willingness to press forward with his case for the sake of future baseball players, even though Flood would be sacrificing his future in the sport. Flood didn't win his case, but it is noted that an arbiter ruled in Miller's favor, thus introducing the concept of free agency. The next segment of the program focuses on people who served as myth makers. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Bill Gleason comments on how newspaper coverage of sports was heavily relied upon in the 1920s. It is mentioned that Grantland Rice was one journalist who was able to use his writing to transform athletes like Babe Ruth and Red Grange into "living myths." In addition, Hall of Fame broadcasters Bob Wolff and Joe Garagiola comment that people like Bill Stern and Mel Allen were the pioneers of sports radio broadcasting.

The third most influential figure is former ABC Sports president Roone Arledge. Dick Ebersol, NBC Sports columnist, and Charlie Jones, ABC Sports commentator, mention the innovations that Arledge put into effect to make viewers feel as if they were part of the game. It is also noted that Roone transformed the Olympics when he used a combination of close-ups and commentary during the 1972 Olympics, making Olga Corbin (a Soviet gymnast) a well-known figure in America. The following segment of the program focuses on the process by which women have made major advancements in sports. Author Susan Cayleff comments that Olympic rules hindered women from competing in many events, and Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) founder, Jack Kramer, discusses the fact that women on the 1970 tour fought to receive equal pay. Tennis commentator Mary Carillo declares that Billie Jean King was practically forced to play a tennis match against Bobby Riggs, in order to prove that women athletes could compete with men athletes. The program then continues with a presentation about the second most influential figure, former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. Jerry Izenberg, of the Star-Ledger, shares his view that the election of Rozelle as NFL commissioner signaled the creation of a national football league. It is also noted that Rozelle initiated modern sports marketing, viewing the NFL as "the ultimate franchise."

Then, this special concludes with the most influential figure of the century, former Brooklyn Dodgers president and general manager Branch Rickey, who is recognized as the person who was determined to integrate baseball. The viewer is informed that the first ball player whom Rickey recruited from the Negro League was Jackie Robinson. Former Negro League player John "Buck" O'Neil comments on the reaction throughout the black community when Rickey signed the first black major league player. And Branch Rickey's grandson Branch Rickey III comments on the lifelong mutual admiration that Rickey and Robinson had for each other. Bob Ley concludes the program by commenting on the role that sports has played in the way that America has handled different social issues, and he refers to the impact that different sports figures have had on society. Commercials deleted.

Details

  • NETWORK: ABC
  • DATE: May 23, 1999 2:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 1:28:58
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: T:57372
  • GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries; Sports
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Blacks - sports; Olympic games - 1936; Olympic games - 1968; Olympic games - 1972; Racism; She Made It Collection (Mary Carillo); Sports betting; Sports franchises; Television broadcasting of sports; Women in sports; African-American Collection - News/Talk; African-American Collection - Sports
  • SERIES RUN: ESPN - TV, 1999
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Bob Ley … Host
  • Mel Allen
  • Roone Arledge
  • Eliot Asinof
  • Ben Bentley
  • Ralph Branca
  • Avery Brundage
  • Dick Butkus
  • Mary Carillo
  • Susan Cayleff
  • Olga Corbin
  • Dick Ebersol
  • Julius Erving
  • Curt Flood
  • Joe Garagiola
  • Bill Gleason
  • Curt Gowdy
  • Red Grange
  • Allen Guttmann
  • George Halas
  • Pat Harmon
  • Connie Hawkins
  • Jerry Izenberg
  • Charlie Jones
  • Roger Kahn
  • Billie Jean King
  • Jack Kramer
  • Kenesaw Mountain Landis
  • Mark McCormack
  • Brent Musburger
  • Roger Noll
  • Walter OÕMalley
  • OÕNeil, John "Buck"
  • Shirley Povich
  • Grantland Rice
  • Branch Rickey
  • Branch III Rickey
  • Bobby Riggs
  • Jackie Robinson
  • Pete Rozelle
  • Ruth, Babe (George Herman Ruth)
  • Abe Saperstein
  • Bud Selig
  • Bill Stern
  • Bert Sugar
  • John Underwood
  • Bill Veeck
  • Mike Veeck
  • Pat Williams
  • Bob Wolff