Evolution of Sports

  • Fans paid to attend a baseball game between two teams in the New York City area at Fashion Rack Course in Queens.

  • National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was officially formed to govern collegiate athletics.

  • Lou Gehrig appeared on a Wheaties box.

  • All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was formed due to many Major League Baseball players serving in WWII.

  • Wilson Sporting Goods signed golfer Babe Didrickson Zaharias to an endorsement contract for $100,000 per year.

  • Phil Knight opens Blue Ribbon Sports. (nike)

  • the name is changed to Nike. Title IX is enacted, mandating equal access to educational opportunities for men and women.

  • Rich Foods pays $60,000/year for the naming rights to the Buffalo Bills football stadium.

  • The US boycotts the Summer Olympics in Moscow.

  • The Olympics becomes commercialized. Peter Ueberoth helps to make the Olympics profitable.

  • Olympic Park in Atlanta, GA is bombed.