metathesis retiring - sage journals · 2016. 8. 16. · the professional footballer, like the...

The Inevitable Metathesis of the Retiring Athlete

PETER HILL AND BENJAMIN LOWE (U.S.A.)

introduction

The sociological study of sport in society raises issues which aresometimes considered peripheral to the field of inquiry. In the past theretirement of the professional athlete has fallen into this category. Pre-sumably this is because the transposition from player to ex-player hassevered the athlete’s connection with sport. Such a superficial approachemanates from the belief that the study of sport should embody onlyintrinsic or ’’active’’ consideration. However, if one views sporL as anitneractive force within society then topics which seemingly appear pe-ripheral are seen to have a more pervasive quality. This paper supportsthe later contention by drawing attention to the manifold ramificationswhich retirement has for sporL. An analysis of the preconditions for re-tirement from sport will be given and a statement will be made withregard 01, the post-retirement opportunities as they reflect trends insocial change.

Retirement

In order tu develop a clearer understanding of &dquo;1’e Lll’e111en from sport&dquo;it is profitable to look at the concept of retirement in general. In manyinstances the ideas involved are particularly relevant to the terminationof a career in sport.

Classical volumes on she subject typically speak of retirement andaging synonymously. However, gerontologists have paid only scant at-tention to the professional athlete as he brings his sporting career toa close. It is, nevertheless, the very process of aging which usuallyforces the athlete to leave his chosen profession.

By definition, retirement implies withdrawal from the social scene.t t

1 Withdrawal from one’s major economic role in life is associated with thecreation of a behavior syndrome similar to one associated with major long-termillness (psychiatric as well as physical). This is said to center on the shift froman active to a non-active status, no more appropriately manifest than in the caseof the athlete.

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It can have both positive and negative connotations. On the one hand,retirement can be seen as the leisure time to which a person is entitled

after a life of toil. Conversely it can imply a diminution of certainabilities and the end of one’s usefulness to society. Goffman (1963)remarks that retirement carries with it an accompanying stigma andsuggests that people assign to it a degraded or devalued status. It is notclear now either of these interpretations apply to the athlete.

Another way of looking at retirement is as a post-productive timesequence (Sussman’s &dquo;life sector&dquo; (1971) ) which is chronologically set atthe age of 60 or 65. In industry the specified retiring age facilitates the

replacement of older workers in order that there is a minimal amount of

disruption in productivity. In sport, where there is no standard retiringage, the process of replacing the old with the new produces a finely-honed edge of competition for places which constantly ensures top levelproduction.

The retirement of industrial workers at 65 and the retirement of

a professional athlete after his displacement by a younger player areboth instances of involuntary retirement. This type of retirement is mostcommon among athletes as it encompasses illness and disability. A pre-mature end to his career it the daily threat which faces all athletes.

Occasionally retirement can be voluntary and it is then associatedwith a greater number of options for moving into other life careers. Newroles ar e assumed more smoothly as the social and psychological essentialsof life are not so harshly buffeted and the concomitant stress arereduced.

Even so, retirement has been identified as one of the major stresspoints to be encountered in the course of life. Putting these difficultiesinto perspective, Moore (1959) writes:

&dquo;We must relinquish, in succession, the satisfaction of nursing, childhood habits,adolescence, vigorous maturity, then vocation or profession, and finally life itself.&dquo;(P. 89)

For the athlete there is a fusion of three of the most vital of these

stages. Success and recognition in sport offers a link between adolescenceand maturity while at the same time providing entry into a profession.

Retirement thus marks the first time in the athlete’s life when heis deprived of the satisf actions which sport has always given him. It isin his adjustment to a lifestyle in which he cannot rely upon sport toprovide these satisfactions that the athlete experiences difficulties inretiring gracefully. Such a compounding of difficulties to adjustment isnot encountered in the retiree of 60 or 65 years. Moore also states :

&dquo;The real test as to how one takes retirement can only be employed some monthsafter the break from earlier work schedules. Some ... take it in a happy stride fromthe very first. Others never deviate from a reaction to misery.&dquo; (p. 21)



7

This discussion is continued in relation to the athlete at a later point inthis paper.

Although there is a lack of evidence concerning the degree to whichathletes are reluctant to accept retirement., studies conducted in in-dustrial settings provide indications of the reactions of ordinary workers.In 1950, Tuckman and Lorge found that garment workers’ strong re-pugnance to retirement was based on cultural, economic, psychologicaland social factors. One plausible explanation is that the protestant workethic demands that a positive value be attached to gainful employment.Thus, work provides a means for earning a living, achieving personalindependence, and serving mankind while simultaneously satisfying thebasic psychological and sociological needs of the individual.2 As theauthors state:

&dquo;Often, only through work does the individual develop his meaningful social con-tacts, express his creative interests, make his contribution to society, and achievestatus in the community.&dquo; (p. 90)

Retirement naturally arouses resentment as it divests a person of theopportunity to attain these goals. This is just as true in the case of theathlete and his retirement.

z

~

’

,

. RETIREMENT AND SPORT ..., ,

Although we now have greater cognizance of the career patterns ofprofessional athletes, several misconceptions are still prevalent. Forexample, in 1971 Sussman wrote:

&dquo;In some occupational fields such as flying, sports, and entertainment, forcibleretirement at an early age is anticipated, and programs of informal resocializationinto new careers take place well before the person retires. Today, when amateurfootball and basketball players of outstanding ability sign an initial professionalcontract, they are guaranteed a second career when their playing days are over.&dquo;(p. 57)

A closer examination of the professional athlete and retirement revealsthat the state of affairs which Sussman identifies tends to be the

exception rather than the rule.3 Furthermore, to speak of sports in gen-eral is misleading. A glance at boxing provides silent witness to a modusoperand which has resisted change over the years. (Further insight intothis question will be given in relevant sections of this paper).

2 This opinion is supported independently by both Pollock O. [26] andWolff K. [36].

3 See Douglas Peter [8, p. 123] : "And even the player who has managed tofind himself a more or less secure position with a stable club is not consciouslypreparing himself for early retirement at 30 or 35: yet such a time comes as sureas day follows night".



8

Life’s stress points have already been mentioned. The athlete (likethe professional soldier) is spared one situation which Tuckman andLorge (1953) characterized as particularly distressing. This occurs whenthe athlete is shielded by his club from the anxieties which accompanyleaving the protective climate of the home and school in order to assumethe responsibilities of family life and an occupation. Thus the pro-fessional athlete, like the soldier, has day to day responsibilities takenaway from him in order to ensure a more efficient perforinance of his&dquo;job&dquo;. The athlete is viewed as a thoroughbred who must constantly becosseted and never troubled by the 111L1nC1~11’le matters which are the lotof the typical working man.4 Protectiveness carried to this degree canbe extremely detrimental to the athlete in light of the abruptness ofretirement.

Moore (1959) comments that the onset of retirement marks:

&dquo;...the sudden change from days full of regular and familiar duties with well-defined obligations and relationships to days empty of a familiar schedule andwith the line of duty and relationships ill-defined.&dquo; (p. 15)

However, the athlete is atypical because besides occupying relativelyfew hours of each day, his work is also seasonal.s The off-season affordsthe athlete an opportunity to de-emphasize his dependence upon anathletic career. Thus, although retirement deprives the athlete and theordinary worker of a customary daily schedule, a career in sport oughtto reduce the traumatic effect of such a loss. That retirement is oftentraumatic for the professional athlete is part of the raisin d’être of thispaper.

Typically the athlete has experienced economic insecurity in hischildhood and he views a career in professional sport as the best wayto improve his station in life. His impending deliverance from economichardship leads the athlete to disregard the acknowledged insecurity ofa career in athletics. His youthfulness will not allow hlln to see thatprofessional sport is only a short-term career. Younger people rarelytake into consideration the fact that one day they will grow old. Par-adoxically, professional athletes actually &dquo;grow old&dquo; at an earlier agethan other people.

Throughout his career the athlete is expected to produce perform-ances of high quality which demand specialized physical abilities. A de-terioration of many of these abilities usually presages retiren1ents-regard-less of the age at which this occurs. Unlike other professions, an athletetypically reaches his &dquo;peak of experience&dquo; in his late twenties or early

4 Ibid., pp. 116 and 124.5 The professional footballer, like the soldier, spends most of his time training

rather than battling with opponents. His maximal working week, as advised forthe old S.E.T. (Selective Employment Tax) return, is nineteen hours, making hima part-timer by industrial standards" [24, p. 117].



9

thir ties.~ Fr om this juncture the athlete must begin planning a freshcareer, whereas other professionals may continue in their chosen careersuntil they reach the statutory retiring age.7

Milhovilovic (1968) suggests several factors which underlie retirementamong athletes. He pays par ticular attention to unprofessional conductby the coaching staff, poor coaching, and lack of care for the players onthe part of the management. He says that:

&dquo;The problem of leaving the team is connected with numerous conflict situationsand states of frustration. An older sportsman who has dropped out of the teamusually hides, escapes, look for compensation in alcohol, blames others, weavesdreams, and creates various combinations for returning to the team, deceives him-self as regards his possibilities, and grows indifferent to events around him.&dquo;(p. 81)

Ninety five per cent (95%) of the athletes involved in this studyindicated that they were forced to retire because of the following reasons:

1) injuries (sport) -31.80/o;2) age - 27.3%;

’

3) family reasons-22.7%;4) bad relations with the club/coaching - 6.8%;5) forced out by younger players - 6.8%.

According to Milhovilovic appr oximately half of all athletes would preferto gradually retire from their sport. They would then be able to adjustto the reduction in social, material and other benefits which accrue f romprofessional sport.

A Spectrurn o f Employment o f Former Athletes

At this point it seems appropriate to suggest the types of work inwhich retired athletes find employment. This could easily be done bycalling upon personal impressions; it is more difficult to achieve ifempirical verification is sought. Information concerning the retiredathlete and his employment is difficult to obtain - almost non-existent.

6 Sussman says, "A related issue is that different occupations may have dif-ferent climatic peaks. The myth, or at least the rhetoric, is that mathematicians,metallurgists, and physicists peak in their early twenties, musicians and composersin their late twenties; architects, academic physicians, and behavioral scientists, intheir late forties" [31, pp. 38-39].

7 "Everyone likes to finish his career on top, but most keep coming backbecause they have nothing planned or laid out in their lives. I have that securityand it’s the major point in my reason to retire.

Sure I could play one or two more years, and maybe it will make retirementa little harder for me now, because I know I can still play. But even if I playedthree more years — regardless of when I retire it would be tough. When you dosomething your whole life, you’ve got to miss it." Dave DeBusschere quoted inPhiladelphia "Inquirer", 1974, Sunday, February 10.



10

In reply to one of the inquiries made to the Sports Council of GreatBritain, Roger Bannister wrote:

&dquo;...at the present time, the Sports Council does not keep references or data.&dquo;

he added:

&dquo;However, there are indications that, for instance, a large number of professionalfootballer (soccer) players and professional cricketers continue in some form orother to be involved with their sports.&dquo; 8

A letter from the Professional Footballers (Soccer) Association of GreatBritain supported Dr. Bannister’s comment, but added a note on trendswhich will be discussed in an appropriate sections of this paper.

A series of telephone calls to the four major professional league sportfranchises in Philadelphia (football, basketball, baseball and ice hockey),supported the British judgements. Jim Gallacher of the Eagles FootballClub suggested that retiring football players find position in sales (brassand copper, concrete, and real estate), in the medical and legal pro-fessions, and in either teaching or coaching at high schools. He addedthat 99% of all professional football coaches are former players. ChrisWheeler of this Phillies baseball Club cited coaching, scouting, realestate, stock brokerage, and broadcasting. He stressed &dquo;staying in thegame&dquo;. Ice hockey players, according to John Brogan of the Flyers IceHockey Club, seek business opportunities, executive positions in hockeymanagement, coaching, radio and television announcing, or ownershipof a community ice rink. He also mentioned a tendency to remain con-nected with the sport in some capacity. Harvey Pollock, of the 76ersBasketball Club, emphasized staying in the sport as coaches, either inthe professional or callege ranks, selling sport equipment, leadership ofrecreation centers and similar projects. He also recalled cases of formerplayers becoming businessmen associated with trucking and, in oneinstance, airline pilot. Another common tendency was for a player tosettle down in the city where he was best known, as a sports personality.It is only the superstar who is geographically mobile.

As the foregoing is obviously an inadequate explanation of retirementamong professional athletes an attempt must be made to glean sub-stantiated evidence from sources such as sports biographies. Roger Kahn’s(1972) The Boys of Surnmer deals with the Brooklyn Dodger’s of theauthor’s youth. One section of the book examines the careers which theex-baseball players have built for themselves since their retirement.These former Brooklyn Dodgers held (in 1972) jobs such as generalmanager of a sport apparel firm (Clem Labine), clerk-typist for the postoffice (George Shuba), insurance-broker and banker (Carl Erskine), coach-manager for a minor league team (Andy Pafko), vice president forspecial markets (Joe Black), grocer (Elwin &dquo;Preacher&dquo; Roe), sports broad-

8 "Personal Communication", 1973, November 21.



11

caster and businessman (Pee Wee Reese), labourer (Carl Furillo ), man-

ager of the New York Mets (Gil Hodges), and farmer (Duke Snider). LuisOlmo, who played with Brooklyn in 1945 and 1946, presently holds theposition of President of the American International Life Insurance Co.,at Santurce in Puerto Rico.

Writing about boxing in The Sweet Science, A. J. Liebling (1956)identified four former boxers as a bus driver, taxi driver, a lieutenantin the Fire Department, and a policeman. In 1971 Hare studied a sampleof 48 retired boxers, 37 .of whom had steady jobs as unskilled or semi-skilled labourers. Of this 37, 60% were dissatisfied with their jobs andwould have been happier if otherwise employed. One former heavy-weight champion not in Hares sample) who presumably enjoys his workis Jersey Joe Walcott - he successfully ran for office as sheriff of Cam-den, New Jersey, after becoming a policeman on his retirement fromboxing.

Three recent British texts provide biographical data on the post careerpositions of former professional soccer players.9 Successful post careerenterprise is generally restricted to &dquo;star&dquo; players 10 whilst caution isoften urged to active players expressing an interest in business ventures.This in done partly because errors of judgement and bad advice can beeconomically disastrous, but also, because involvement outside of sportdistracts the player’s attention away from his profession.&dquo; l

The Blacl,; Athlete ccnd Retirement

Hare (1971) observed that, because of the greater benevolence on the

part of their managers, white boxers typically fare better in post careerlife than their black counterparts. He illustrates his point by referringto the experiences of Rocky Marciano and Joe Louis.12 IIare also found

9 See Douglas Peter, op. cit., particularly pages 119—126: Pawson Tony. op. cit.:and Davis Hunter [6].

10 The appointment of Johnny Weismuller, Joe Louis and Pancho Gonzales tothe staff of the Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas was announced under therubric of The Glad Handers in the Philadelphia "Sunday Bulletin" magazine,"Discover", 1974, February 3. Weissmuller as "host-greeters", clearly as positionreserved for an exclusive few, namely former superstars in their sports with thedignity of years resting of their strong shoulders. Gonzales’ position as tennisdirector offers one more instance of the athlete who has stayed in his sport. Bysuch recognition, the exceptionally gifted athlete avoids the stigma of "has-been"in his declining years, while sustaining for society the intrinsic meaning of hero.

11 Nicholson Bill, the manager of a successfull English Soccer club says,"I prefer players not to be too good or too clever at other things. It means theycan concentrate on football (soccer)." Hunter Davies, op. cit., p. 59.

12 To be fair it must be pointed out that Louis’ misfortunes were partly self-inflicted as a result of his involvement in gambling. See Polsky Ned, Hustlers,Beats and Others, New York, Anchor Books, 1969, p. 68.



12

indications that for small time fighters (by far the majority) there werebetter opportunities for whites after retirement. ,

This picture is not restricted to boxing. Ralph Andreano (1973) states:

&dquo;It always has seemed strange to me that major league baseball received immensecredit for accenting Negroes as players but only two persons have cracked the

managerial caste system.&dquo; (p. 311)

The significance of this state of affairs will become more apparent ina later section of this paper dealing with post-r etirement opportunities.

RETIREMENT AND PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER

Several cases of retired athletes taking, or attempting to take, theirown lives have been recorded. Unfortunatelly the frequency of thisoccurrence in comparison to normal suicide rates is not kn,)wn. HughCasey, former pitcher of the Brooklyn Dodgers, used a shotgun to endhis life during his retirement. Johny Saxton, three years after winningthe welterweight championship, was charged with two burglaries andheld in a New Jersey jail. While in custody he tried to con-lmit suicideand had to be admitted to the State Mental Hospital (Hare, 1971). Extremepatterns of lethal behavior have long been associated with psychiatricdisorder - and psychiatric disorder is identified as a possible outcomeof retirement. However, mental instability among retirees is more likelyto show itself in some form of anxiety.

When discussing the effect that aging had on the garment workersin their study, Tuckman and Lorge (1953) stated that:

I

&dquo;The older worher’s awareness that he is not as effective on the job as he usedto be may create anxiety about his ability to keep his job.&dquo; (p. 40)

The prevalence of this anxiety is a function of age.Tucklnan and Lorge also associate retirement with loss of status.

Pollack (1956) echoed this belief in restating retirement as a loss ofsocial identity for the normal male in contemporary society. It wouldappear then, that identity, status and occupation are inextricably boundtogether in the human psyche. Thus, adjustment to the social and psy-chological changes involved in retirement becomes more pressing thanfacing up to the biological effects of aging. In the case of the athlete,retirement could be the first major stress point that he encounters(see the second paragraph of the earlier discussion on Retirement andSport). This occurs well beyond the time when the average man is madeto &dquo;face the world&dquo;. From the athlete’s point of view, his identity (work)and social standing have always been acknowledged. To be forced to

. make the social transposition from &dquo;known&dquo; to &dquo;unknown&dquo; can havedisastrous effects on an individual who finds adjustment difficult.



13

The maintenance of self-respect is critically important for the reti r edathlete as he has always seen himself in the public eye. 13 Gordie Howe,commenting on his retirement, alter a career with the Detroit Red WingsIce Hockey team said:

&dquo;It wasn’t a happy time. A man doesn’t like feeling useless. A man wants to feelwanted.&dquo; zu

The disruption of the regimen provided by daily work, the fall fromfame to anonymity and the failure of a business venture can place theathlete in a severe state of depression. Such is the theme of Peter Hard-ke’s novel, The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick. This breakdownwas manifested in violence and an unwitting murder by strangulation,neither fully comprehended nor exactly remembered. The book offers afictional statement which is a fitting illustration of the severe psychicstress which can overwhelm the retiring athlete.

In 1968, manager s responding to Milhovilovic’s questionnaire aboutretiring athletes expressed the opinion that most display &dquo;a seriouspsychic state&dquo; along with other unnatural behavior s. If smoking is takenas a means of releasing tension, then it is noteworthy that 39% of theathletes in this stLidy admitt.ed to increasing their smoking habit uponretirement.

Beisser (1967) states that:

&dquo;Studying the athletes who crossed the threshold from psychiatric health topsychiatric illness, sports have been found to be of central importance in thechange which occurred - when a signal event indicated the end of their satisfy-ing role in sports.&dquo; (p. 227)

The interpretation given to this syndrome by Fred Sher~, coach tothe Philadelphia Flyers (Ice Hockey) Club, is that the athlete retiresonly to find that he is &dquo;ten years behind the times&dquo;. Shero, who is awareof several retired hockey players who committed suicide, suggests thatit is seeing ones counterparts ten to twelve years ahead in their careerswhich leads to depression and possible self-destruction. Both Vinnai(1973) and Beisser (1969) relate such problems to the extended ri.tes depassage of a technocratized society in which they see sport playing amajor role.

ANTICIPATORY ADJUSTMENT TO RETIREMENT

Anticipatory adjustment to retirement takes many forms and differsin emphasis from person to person. Landis (quoted by More in 1959)

13 Self respect and social responsibility are germane to countermanding theeffects of the negative status assigned to retirement by society (Sussman, 1971).

14 Reported in Philadelphia "Sunday Bulletin", "Discover", 1974, February 3.



14

found that those who thought the world was better off 50 years agowere not as well-adjusted as those who preferred today’s way of life.Tuckman and Lorge (1953) discovered that the preparations for retirementmade by garment workers were centered almost entirely around en-

suring financial security in retirement. For these people the &dquo;problemof leisure time&dquo; occupied most of their &dquo;non-financial&dquo; concerns. Con-

versely, the retired athlete gives little thought to leisure but concentrateson obtaining some training or an education which will enable him tobegin a new career.

’

Jim Lonsberg of the Boston Red Sox is quoted as having said (Durso1971) :&dquo;Leaving Baseball can be a a big shock to a player, because he may not reallyhave prepared himself for a different kind of life.&dquo; (p. 224)

Failure to prepare adequately for retirement is also a fault among normalretirees of 65. It is the opinion of Moore (1959) that:

&dquo;...many who have not made preparation for this experience (retirement) have

nothing else to hold to but the past.&dquo; (p. 81)

Quoting a study of adaptation to old age conducted by Francis Conkey,he states that:

&dquo;...holding to the past hinders adaptation to the present. Both the keeping of relicsand conversations about the past prevented satisfactory adjustment.&dquo; (p. 83)

The professional athlete is obviously vulnerable to this weakness as heis part of an industry which thrives on the cultivation of folklore andamassing of imenioi~abilia.15

The value orientation of the athlete will also affect much of his an-

ticipatory socialization and his retirement outcomes. Three value axes(Kluckholm and Strodtbeck, 1961) are of significance in assessing a typ-ically conservative athlete. The orientations provided by the value axesare:

1) sel f vers2es other, in which the individual reflects a greater selfinterest or else has the interests of others at heart;

2) jatalistic versus ma?np~atzue, in which the individual feels thatoutcomes depend upon the behavior of others, or conversely, he is ableto prescribe conditions for his own destiny; and

3) f uture, present and past-oriented, in which the individual anti-cipates events of the future based on happenings today, or uses past ofaffairs which are uppermost in his mind. (Since these orientations affectadjustments and choices of options for post retirement careers, it is im-

_

portant to establish how they relate to the typical athlete).An examination of the self-imterest or other-directed axis suggests

that differences occur between sports rather than between athletes. Much

15 See, Borkowski Richard [4, pp. 24—34].



15

the same can be said for the 1nanipulative-Iatalistic polarity.l~ If thisis the case then it is misleading to speak of athletes as a single entity.

Kane (1972) has demonstrated the existence of differences in personalitystructures among athletes in different sports. As a result of his study.Davies (1973) commented that football (soccer) players generally showunderdeveloped personalities in social situations, even though they exudean air of confidence. On the other hand Milhovilovic (1968) found thatathletes generally show more self-interest than other-directedness. Hesays:

&dquo;...older players... try to stay (on the team) with the help of various intrigues,conspiracies and connections with coaches, the management and members of theclub, by emphasizing their merits and experience and by boycotting and sabotagingthe young.&dquo; (p. 80)

This contradiction of the popular notion that veterans help youngerplayers is given further support by Bouton (1971), Parrish (1971) andMeggyesy (1971).

, PRECONDITIONS FOR RETIREMENT

The preconditions for retirement from any profession or positionwithin a profession can be manifold. For the purposes of this paper fourmajor areas are considered essential in discussion of the retiring athlete.These are:

1) career expectancy and remuneration potential;2) skills and employment potential;3) occupational casualty and occupational stress;4) occupational health and lifesiyle.

It is possible to juxtapose these with the &dquo;pre-retirement factors&dquo; ofSussman’s (1971) Process Model, and this will be attempted in a con-cluding section of the paper.

Career Expectancy and Re1nnneral ion Potential

Speaking of sportsmen Stone (1971) states: ... &dquo;the worker (athlete) has a relativelyshort productive work life, and generally his occupational experience does notqualify him for any other skill.&dquo; (p. 50) 1’

16 The incidence of superstitions among athletes would tend towards categoriz-ing them primarily as fatalistic, see Vinnai G. [34. pp. 83—85]; also Weinberg K.and Arond H. state, "As most bouts are unpredictable, boxers usually have su-perstitions which serve to create confidence and emotional security among them"[35, p. 464] and, Pawson T., op cit., p. 143.

17 Some sports such as golf. provide exceptions to this generalization. In 1968,Sam Snead, at the age of 55 and in his thirty-second year on the professional tour,had his most financially profitable year (S43,106). So far this year Snead has won$18,100 and was runner up in the Los Angeles Open. See Underwood John, ThatOld Man River of Golf, "Sports Illustrated", 1974, 40:9, March 4, pp. 18—19.



16

Looking at this problem from a different perspective Juan Manuel

Fangio, five times World Grand Prix race-driving champion, was recentlyquoted as saying:

&dquo;I think thal about 10 years of professional driving today is enough to makedrivers tired.&dquo;,

As if to bear out Fangio’s opinion both Jackie StevvarL 1!) and MarDonohue 20 recently retired from racing at ages of 34 and 36 respec-tively. Data indicating the aver age career expectancy of professionalracing drivers is unobtainable, but in any case, an estimate would bedistorted by the high percentage of fatal accidents .21

Andreano (1973) and Blitz (1973) both estimate the average car eerof a professional baseball player to be seven years. Salaries of minorleague players vary from $2000 to ~4500 whereas the range in themajor leagues is from a minimum of ~16,000 to Dick Allen’s $225,000.The computed average in the major leagues, where thirty players receivemore than $100,000 is S35,000. There are 600 major league and 3.000minor league players competing for these salaries.22

Blitz (1973) calculates that the average length of a plolessional basket-ball career is only five years. The average salary in the National Basket-ball Assocation is higher ($65,000) than in the American BasketballAssociation ($38,000) and fifty players in the former league earn inexcess of $100,000. Supplementary income raises these salaries by anaverage of ~;30.000 (see post-retiremen L opportunities in this paper), butcompetition for places is inlense and in 1971-2 only 0.8 per cent of alleligible college players (or 60 in number) played on squads in the N.B.A.or A.B.A.

,

The average playing career of the football player is about five yearsand the minimum salary in the National Football League, y12.000, ispaid to rookies.2:3 The average professional football player earns slightly

18 Reported in "The New York Times". 1973. Sunday. October 21, Section 5.p. 8.

19 Jackie Stewart retired for family reasons after 12 years of professionalracing. See Stewart Drove for Auto Racing Safety, "New York Times", 1973, Octo-ber 21. Details of the plans Stewart has made for retirement are outlined in Safetythe Concern of Stewart in Retirement, London, "Times", 1973, Monday, October 15.

20 See "New York Times", 1974, Sunday, February 24.21 In 1973 there were at least 12 fatalities among international racing drivers.

Cevert was 23 when he died at Watkins Glen on October 6, 1973.22 An impression of baseball salaries for the current (1974) season can be

gained from Murray Chass, Even Some Losers Emerge as Winners in Baseball’sNew Arbitration Procedure, "New York Times", 1974, Sunday, March 3.

23 Players in the National Football League will shortly demand that thisfigure be raised. It is also predicted that the formation of the World Football

League will lead to players’ salaries being doubled. See Economist Sees Pro Foot-ball Salaries Doubling in Two Years, "New York Times", 1974, Sunday, January 27.



17

more than $30,000 and only ten players receive $100,000 or more. Manyplayers have contracts with incentive clauses which boost potentialearnings in conjunction with deferred incomes and pension schemes. TheN.F.L. has an excellent, pension scheme which operates from the ageoi 55. As an example, a player with 15 years players experience in theleague receives a pension of $13,000.

The average player in the National Hockey League has a career whichlasts seven years and earns ~31,000 more than the league minimum of$15,000. Approximately forty five N.H.L. players earn over S100,OOO,:!4

BTinnai (1973) described professional soccer (in England) as:

&dquo;...a precarious career that rarely lasts more than eight years.&dquo; (p. 56) 23

Whereas top class players earn between §12,000 and ~j25.000, salariesdecrease according to whichever one of the four divisions the player’sclub is a member. In the third and fourth divisions salaries are usuallyas low as §5.000.

. Skills and E?i-tploy77ient Potential

The skills and requirements which the athlete possesses apply sospecifically to his sport that they cannot be utilized in his post-retirementcareer. This can be illustrated by quoting several of the factors whichBlitz (1973) considers important prerequisites for success in a footballcareer: &dquo;

&dquo;Generally. the requirement for running backs is 6 feet and 210 pounds; widereceivers, 6 feet and 190 pounds; tight ends, 6 feet 3 inches and 230 pounds; anddefensive linemen, G feet 4 inches and 250 pounds. According to the WashingtonRedskins’ tryout camp criteria, running backs must be able to run 40 yards i-nless than 5 seconds and linemen in 5.5 seconds or less.

Some ciualifications are important to certain positions, such as a strong arm fora quarterback or &dquo;good hands&dquo; for a receiver.&dquo; (p. 7)

Usually, in order to acquire these skills, the athlete serves a voluntaryapprenticeship from early adolescence. During this period the youngsterdoes not concern himself with the restrictive limits of his job market 26or the limited time span of the career he is entering.

24 Gordie Howe, former retired Detroit Red Wings hockey star has returnedfrom retirement to play for the Houston Aeros. He successfully bargained a $1.4million contract for his sons’ entrance into hockey and thus challenged the notionthat sport is an insecure profession for the young to pursue.

25 Vinnai’s estimation obviously takes the time when the player makes hisfirst team debut as its starting point. This could be three or four years after theathlete becomes a professional player. Even taking this into consideration eightyears is a pessimistic assessment.

26 The crippling economic situation is having such an effect on English soccerthat, "As many as one in 10 of the professional footballers now earning their

living in the Football League may be unemployed by the end of this (1974) sum-mer. See, A crisis players have to face, London, "Sunday Times", 1974, February 10,p. 22. See also Pawson Tony. op. cit., p. 203.



18

There are many indications, however, that once committed to a careerin sport, the athlete becomes aware of his predicament. Bobby Clarke,winner of the National Hockey League Most Valuable Player award in1973 commented :

&dquo;You wonder how the heck you’d make a living if you couldn’t play hockey anymore, but you can’t afford to worry about that every time you go on the ice.&dquo; 27

Eugene Hart, speaking of his career in boxing, says:&dquo;I know my job, I don’t have no other job so I better know this one.&dquo; ’-’s

Finally Roger Morgan, an English soccer player, seems to resign himselfto the dilemma produced by the specifity of his skills when he admitsthat:

’’I’d rather play for nothing and have an outside job, if I could get one, but there’snothing else I can do.&dquo; =9

In spite of these feelings of insecurity some athletes encourage theirchildren to follow them into a sporting career. Gordie Howe recentlynegotiated a financially attractive contract for his sons to play for theHouston Aeros (Ice Hockey) Club, but he also stipulated that they com-plete their educations:

&dquo;You see, hockey doesn’t prepare you to handle success. One day, you can’t playanymore. What then? I never had enough schooling. I want to see that mykids do.30

Tuckman and Lorge (1953) also found that this attitude existed amongsubjects in their study. These workers were of the general opinion thatthey would not recommend their children to follow them into the garmentindustry. Rather they would advise them to gain an education whichwould enable them to obtain more secure and less demanding jobs.

These attitudes usually affect the outlook of the player’s wife. Theopinion expressed by the wife of Ralph Coates, a player with TottenhamHotspurs Football (Soccer) Club, is:

&dquo;...the drawback about being a footballer is that logically, you can do nothing else.Because you have to be convinced you are going to make it, you ~never have anyinterest in anything else. You end up being unable to do anything else. You knowyou’re going to be a footballer, so everything else is poi~ntless.&dquo; 31

Hare (1971) expresses similar feelings about boxers when he states:

&dquo;Professional boxing fails to equip its graduates for other work. In fact, is tendsto prejudice them against it. Managers and trainers are opposed to having their

27 Reported in Philadelphia "Evening Bulletin", 1973, Monday, December 3.28 Reported in Philadelphia "Evening Bulletin", 1974, Wednesday, January 16.29 Quoted by Vinnai G., op. cit., p. 32.30 Reported in Philadelphia "Sunday Bulletin", ’’Discover", loc. cit.31 Quoted in Davies Hunter, op. cit., p. 32.



19

fighters learn other trades during their careers. They also feel that a fighter whohas no other means of support and no other skills will train harder. nnd when thegoing in the ring gets tough, fight harder.&dquo; (p. 8)

Occupational Casualty and Physical Stress

Occupational casualty and physical stress do not apply exclusively tobodily injury as this occurs in other dangerous professions besides sport.More specifically the terms refer to the cumulative damage which isinflicted upon the body by the demands of professional sport. Thisdamage need not necessarily be physical nor be sustained during thecourse of a game. In the case of Barry John, one of the greatest rugbyplayers of all-time, his retirement is 1972 was precipitated by publicadulation and the social commitments which his fame entailed. He said

that:

&dquo;But what began to depress me-and, in the end, to frighten me-was the in-tensifying public movement towards my own deification.&dquo; 32

Of course, old age is a more common cause of retirement amongathletes and the athlete’s reaction to the process of aging is particularlyrelevant to the present discussion. As Jerry Kramer (1969) has stated:

&dquo;There’ve been so many guys who told themselves after a bad season, I’ll justplay one more year, one more good year, and then I’ll get out. They were kiddingthemselves, they never regained their skills.&dquo; (p. 10)

Also any deterioration in stamina, speed or power can be seen as aportent of retirement. Recently Hank Aaron said:

&dquo;When you reach forty, you can’t do everything every day... The ball leaves myhand pretty fast, but it dies before it gets where it’s going.&dquo; 33

Gordie Hoive, long admired for his grace, speed and skill in hockey madethe quip that:

At 45, some nights I am poetry in slow motion.34 In a more seriousvein Roger Kahn (1971) quoted Carl Erskine, the former Brooklyn Dod-ger’s pitcher, as saying:&dquo;I could look back and say I should have pitched a few more years. My armdoesn’t hurt now ... But in 1959. I walked into the office of Buzzy Bavasi and toldhim I’d had enough. I was thirty-two years old and my arm was 110. It ached everyday. Some of the time I could barely reach the plate ... At 32, after 335 games,I’m worn out.&dquo; (p. 260)

32 See, Barry John, The Abdication of a Sporting King, London, "SundayTimes", 1974, January 20. p. 25.

33 Reported in Philadelphia "Inquirer", 1974, Tuesday, February 5, Section D,p. 4.

34 Philadelphia "Sunday Bulletin", "Discover", loc, cit.



20

Certainly no other profession demands as much of the human bodyas a career in sport. Excessive levels of training together with the psy-chological stress imposed by competition often result in the athlete test-ing his body to its ultimate psychological JiMitS.35 Thus, even minor con-sequences of aging assume critical importance for the professional athlete.Indeed, the assiduity with which the professional athlete views agingprompts Milhovilovic to say that the study of retirement in sport focuseson one of the many problems that are:

&dquo;...part of a broader trend of research on the social aspects of the process of aging,embracing phenomena connected with the change of generation, with adaptation,conflicts between generations etc.&dquo; (p. 73)

In certain sports the combination of advancing years and physicalstress can be particularly harmful. In their study of boxers, Weinbergand Arond (1952) said: -

&dquo;Many boxers persist in fighting when they have passed their prime and evenwhen they have been injured... One estimate is that 60% of boxers become mildlypunch drunk, and 5% become severely punch drunk, &dquo;a pathological condition reflect-ed in thickened or retarded speech, mental stereotypy, a general decline in effi-ciency, blindness and visual deficiency.&dquo; (p. 469)

Eventually the athlete has to accept that the decline in his physicalskills and stamina is due to the onset of aging. This is part of the nec-essary adjustment to the inevitability of retirement which the typicalworker has to face later. Therefore, the athlete is obliged to grow oldbefore his time and, although he is in the prime of his life, he carriesthe stigma of an old man in the eyes of the younger players.

Occupational Health an.d Life Style

Thirty four per cent of athletes retire while still in full command oftheir energies and skills; the remainder retire in the face of dwindlingabilities. (Milhovilovic, 1968). Even so, the retiring athlete can still beconsidered able-bodied, but whether he employs his physical abilities ordissipates them is questionable.

Success in an athletic career bestows upon the player a new statusin life. It is also possible that, in order to cope with the stresses associ-ated with retir ement, the retiree acquires a habit of drinking. Twenty-seven per cent of the retired boxers in the Weinberg and Arond (1952)study were attractively close to alcohol in their new &dquo;jobs&dquo; - they either&dquo;worked in, fronted for, or owned taverns.&dquo; Sixteen per cent of theathletes questioned by Milhovilovic (1968) reported increasing their intakeof alcoholic beverage upon retirement. For the individual who findsre-employment difficult or unacceptable, chronic alcoholism could lead

35 See Davies Hunter, op. cit., Chapter 4 entitled Mullery’s Injury, pp. 165—175.



21

to Skid Row. The problem of the able-bodied man in this situation hasbeen examined by Mayer (1972), but no documentation exists concerningthe number of retired athletes who populate such places.

POST-RETIREMENT OPPORTUNITIES

This section on post-retirement opportunities is presented from fourperspectives. It attempts to arrive at a better understanding of the pro-cess of social change by examining the improved conditions which sur-round the retired athlete. A brief look is taken at the legacy of mixedsuccess, opportunities for continuing in sport, the improving prospect forthe athlete, and options in entertainment. As will be shown later, post-retirement opportunities for athletes can be analysed by the Sussman(1971) Process Model.

The Legacy o f Mixed Success

Mention has already been made of the most common post-retirementopportunities which are available to former athletes. In spite of the factthat planning for retirement in any walk of life is less haphazard thanin the past, retired athletes span the gamut of fortunes from destitutionto affluence. The rags-to-riches story woven into the mythology of sport

, was clearly based on the success of a very few.

The brief overview of the spectrum of employment of former athletes(see the earlier section on Sport and Retirement) showed former Brook-lyn Dodgers in occupations as varied as construction work (Furillo) andvice president of special markets (Black). The sample of ex-baseballplayers used by Andreano (1973) also revealed diverse examples ofemployment :

&dquo;Some glimpse of employment opportunities was obtained by an analysis of theplaying rosters of the 1941 pennant winners, the New York Yankees and the

Brooklyn Dodgers. As of October 1963, out of a total of 47 eligible ball players,16 were still earning all their income from baseball, 13 were self-employed orworked in business outside of baseball, 9 had service-type jobs outside baseball,nothing was known about 7 players, and 2 were radio and TV announcers ofmajor league games.&dquo; (pp. 310-11)

With regard to boxers, Weinberg and Arond (1952) reported:

&dquo;Since boxing has been the vocational medium of status attainment and since theyhave no other skills to retain that status, many boxers experience a sharp declinein status in post-boxing careers. As an illustration, of ninety-five leading formerboxers (i.e., champions and leading contenders), each of whom earned more than~100,000 during hs ring career, eighteen were found to have remained in the sportas trainers or trainer-managers; two become wrestlers; twenty-six worked in,fronted for, or owned taverns; two were liquor salesmen; eighteen has unskilled



22

jobs, most commonly in the steel mills; six worked in the movies; five wereentertainers: two owned or worked in gas stations: three were cab drivers; three

had newstands; two were janitors; three were lool:ies; three were associated with

the racetracks (two in collecting bets and one as a starter), and two were in

business, one of them as a custom tailor.&dquo; (p. 469)

Commenting on this issue in a more general way, Hare (1971) said that:&dquo;...scientific boxers adjusted to post-career life slightly better than the sluggers.&dquo;(p. 8)

Opportunities f07- co;~.timu ing i~t sport

The athlete depends upon the professional organization to which he

belongs to act as a linking system in the provision of post-retirementcareers.’6 Typical linking systems have been identified as friendshipgroups, kinship networks, and marital, inheritance or work systems. Theathlete who finds post-retirement work in scouting, coaching, man-

agement or similar sport-related areas, has effectively employed thelinking systems of work37 and friendship.38 Weinberg and Arond (1952)state that promoters and managers are the most influential people ina boxer’s life-career, yet they remain &dquo;emotionally removed from thefighter.&dquo; This could be one reason why only 20% of all boxers remainin their sport as managers or trainers.

Obviously there are only a limited number of such sport-related jobsavailable. According to Blitz (1973) in the United States in 1972 therewere: 13.000 high school and 1.000 college coaches in baseball, 15,000high school and 700 college coaches in football, 19,000 high school and1,200 college coaches in basketball, and 570 high school and 110 collegecoaches in hockey. As only a small percentage of these position arevacant when the professional athlete retires, a career in coaching at highschool or college is often not a viable option.39

36 Liking systems may aid or constrain the individual in his selection ofoptions; being themselves optional, the individual can choose whether or not touse them (Sussman, 1971).

37 "Almost every general manager (in baseball and football) is someone whomade a favorable impression on some club owner. Baseball field managers comefrom two sources — minor League managing or service as a coach with a majorleague team. Assistant coaches in all sports are usually selected by the head coachor manager. They are, by and large, friends the manager has made on the wayup or in his playing days (and legitimately so, since trust and rapport are importantin the manager-assistant relationship); or else the assistants are holdovers froma previous regime, which means they were originally some other manager’s chosenfriends’’. Koppett Leonard, Blacks as Managers, "New York Times". 1973, Saturday,October 27.

38 Milhovilovic M. [21, pp. 74—96]. Also Pawson Tony, op. cit. p. 198, who says."When the manager changes they (coaches) are likely to go too, for the new manwill wish to work with people he knows."

39 Examining options available in professional sports, Blitz (1973) says thatapproximately 75% of minor league baseball coaches and managers are formermajor and minor league players; about half of the 26 coaches and virtually all of



23

The situation in professional soccer in England is equally as bleakand likely to deteriorate in the near future when clubs reduce the sizeof their playing staffs.4° Cliff Lloyd (Secretary of the Professional Foot-ballers (Soccer) Association) recently stated : 4i

&dquo;Professional footballers have approximately half their working life before themwhen they are forced to leave their profession as footballers and only a very smallpercentage are able to find a position in the game in some capacity or other whentheir playing days are over.&dquo;

Douglas (1973) is of the opinion that this &dquo;very small percentage&dquo; is nomore than 10 per cent.42

Generally, according to Loy’s (1970) theory of centrality, it is usuallyplayers in key positions who become managers as they have more know-ledge of team requirements. The fact that centrality of playing positionfacilitates the formation of friendship linking systems also increases thecentral player’s opportunity to obtain a post-retirement position in sport.

However, other factors affect a player’s chances of entering a sports-related career upon his retirement, Koppett (1973) noted that:

&dquo;Over the last 10 years, much less than one per cent of all minor league managers,coaches, and instructors have been black... There has never been a black majorleague manager or general manager. Of the 100 or so coaches in the majors, fewerthan 10 or so are black.&dquo; .1:1

These figures become all the more significant when one realize howmany black baseball players there are in the major leagues. One thirdof the players in the National Footbal League are black, yet there hasnever been a black manager or head coach, and only 12 out of 180assistant coaches are black. The picture is slightly different in basket-ball where about fifty per cent of the players are black. In the seventeenteams of the National Basketball Association there are four head coaches

and two general managers who are black.

The l,inp7-ovin,g Prospect for the Athlete

The modern athlete wants to know the exact details of pensionschemes, the possible outcomes of perspective business ventures and the

the 150 assistant coaches in the National Football League are former players. In

basketball, men with professional playing experience hold about 60% of headcoaching positions and 75% of assistant coaching positions.

40 See footnote 26. According to Douglas Peter in The Football Industry, since1961 the number of professional soccer players in England has declined from 3,022to 2,400 and in 1973 there were approximately 1,900 players with first teamexperience. Such a fall in the size of playing staffs leads to a concomitant re-duction in the number of coaches employed.

41 "Personal Communication", 1974, February 12.42 Douglas Peter, loc. cit., p. 119.43 See Koppett, loc. cit.



24

different career options which are open to him. More especially theathlete is mindful that his health insurance covers him in case of a re-

current illness or disability which is a legacy of his playing days. Ac-cording to Marvin Miller (legal counsel and labor advisor to the MajorLeague Baseball Players Association), it is only within the past decadethat players have shown this concern for their own welfare. Thuspensions are deferred payments were prominent issues in the threatenedplayers’ strikes in 1969 and 1972.

According to Durso (1971), the issue was one of economics :

&dquo;The players’ pension fund got 60R~ of the TV money from the World Series and95% from the All-Star Game. The money came from a $50,000,000 three-3·ear con-tract between baseball and the National Broadcasting Company. The share for

pensions totalled $1,400,000 a year - before the athletes banded together and de-cided ’not to return those contracts to owners like Gussie Busch. For a player,the pension meant he could collect if he spent five seasons in a major leagueuniform. If he elected to start collecting at the minimum age of fifty, his pensionwas worth 8250 per month. If he somehaw played twenty years and waited untilsixty five to start collectng, it was worth $1487 a month.&dquo; (p. 15)

Threatened strike action by football players of the (former) AFL andNFL produced similar pension benefits.

The various leagues and players associations have also begun tooperate schemes which help prepare the athlete for his post-retirementcareer. Referring to the efforts of the Prefessional Footballers (Soccer;Association in England, Cliff Lloyd recently wrote that:

&dquo;...the Management Committee of the Association appointed a Careers and Edu-cation Offices for the purpose of advising and assisting players to prepare them-selves for the time when they retire. Apart from advising players individually.Managers and Business Courses have been organized at various colleges throughoutthe Country and the Association is able to assist any player financially by makinggrants from the Education Fund to cover the costs involved. The scheme is provinghighly successful and many players are now able to face the future with con-fidence.&dquo; -1-1

Recently there has also been an increase in the involvement of legaladvisers or agents in the careers of athletes. This has happened on bothsides of the Atlantic.4e The role of the adviser is to ensure financial

security for his client on a life-time basis rather than simply during hisathletic career. The impact upon sport which this development has hadis given substantial coverage by Durso.4~

44 "Personal Communication", 1974, February 12.45 Douglas Peter, loc, cit., p. 121, who says, "Football agents started attracting

attention in the late sixties, and within a year or two it was almost impossible toto speak to a name player without the lad first consulting his agent".

46 Durso Joseph, The All American Dollar, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1971,pp. 224—233.



25

They might appear trite, but the words of Andreano are neverthelesstrue:

The modern ballplayer tends to be one who does indeed have something to relyon when his playing days are over. (p. 310)

_

Options in Entertainm-ent

In relation to retirement and sport, the concept of options in enter-tainment is just as valid as that of options in politics.47 The idea of sportas entertainment was first given substantive meaning by Denney whoproposed that entertainment was an industry of which sport was a part.The typical athlete is accustomed to performing in public and the transi-tion from one for m of the entertainment industry to another should beless arduous than a move into a completely different field.48 Referencesto support the notion that careers in entertainment are a viable optionfor the retiring athlete are legion. However, at present there is no in-formation concerning exactly how many athletes choose this option, orelse are successful in this type of career.

SOCIAL CLASS ORIGINS AND SOCIAL MOBILITY

The traditional view of success in sport is that it guarantees theathlete prestige and financial security, but it was suggested earlier thatthis dream is only realized by a very small minority. As Gregory Stone(1971) says:

&dquo;Not only are the athlete’s opportunities for mobility considerably restricted bythe intrinsic brevity of his career, but, once that brief career has ended, he leavesit whether he is successful or not.&dquo; (p. 50)

One should also view with caution the generally held belief thatathletes come from lower or lower-middle class backgrounds. Sportswhich are typically related to the upper classes, such as golf and tennis,draw their best exponents fr om the higher ranks of the social classes.At the other end of the spectr um, state Weinberg and Arond (1952):&dquo;Professional boxers are recruited from among the youth of the lower socio-economic levels ... fighting is an important road to increased social status.&dquo; (p. 460).

47 Referring to former athletes taking up careers in politics, William F. Buckleysaid, " ... trained athletes are cool under stress, know how to drive down the middleof the road, and avoid falling off bridges" quoted in Philadelphia "Evening Bul-letin", 1974, Wednesday, February 20.

48 See, for example, Bench Breaks In as Pop Singer, Philadelphia "Inquirer",1973, Sunday, November 11.



26

However , according to Andreano ( 1965). the scene is changing:

&dquo;...earlier baseball players were men from the semi-literate, poverty-stricken pocketsof the nation... But today it is rare when a star major league ball player risesfrom some rural or urban slum. Negroes and Latin American players are of course

exceptions.&dquo; (p. 309).

These &dquo;exceptions&dquo; are important in the analysis of athletes and theirsocial class origins. It has been shown that Southern California is the

predominant contributor of talent to the major leagues and that themajority of athletes from this area are Negroes and Latin Americans.4.()These two ethnic groups comprise more than one third of all professionalbaseball players - a number which is disproportionately high in com-parison to the group’s representation in the population as a whole. Hereinlies food for thought, for evidence was presented earlier to show thatminority groups are insufficiently represented in managerial and coach-ing ranks. It is worth speculating that during the forthcoming years, animprovement in retirement options for athletes, coupled with an in-crease in social mobility throughout society, will produce a radical changein the institutional organization of baseball-- and possibly other sports.

SUMMARY

The Relevance of f Sussman’s Process Model to the Study o f Retirementfrom Sport

Reference has been made at several points in this paper to Suss-man’s model for the sociological study of retirement.10 Although Suss-man’s analysis is intended to further understanding of retirement amongthe aged, it is evident that it is appropriate in the atypical instance ofretirement from sport.51

As in the work sector, retirement from sport has a negative con-notation and leads to a devaluation in status, a reduction in income, theneed for acquisition of new skills and resocialization into new roles.The retired athlete, like his older counterpart, faces a crisis brought

49 See Rooney John F. Jr., From Cabin Creek to Anaheim: A Geography ofAmerican Sport, Reading, Massachusetts, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1974; seealso Koppett, loc. cit.

50 Sussman, op. cit.

51 On two occasions Sussman (1972) cites examples from sport. He says, "Aclassic example of such constricting effects of the biologic forces is the professionalfootball player who is forced into retirement between the ages of 36 and 35. Heno longer has the stamina, agility or speed to compete with younger and more

vigorous aspirants who are bucking for his job." (p. 49). Also p. 57. loc. cit.



27



28

about by the damage inflicted upon his personal and social identity byretirement. Sussman (1972) notes that:

&dquo;The need to maintain self respect and the need to be socially responsible areselected as the two most critical (needs of societal members)...&dquo; (p. 40)

and because he is accustomed to living in the public eye, these needsare particularly crucial in the case of the athlete.

The fact that he has been a public figure increases the number of(career) options available to the athlete. This is not to imply that the worldis the retired athlete’s oyster. On the contrary, on his retirement the typi-cal athlete finds himself singularly unprepared to begin a new career.

Recently this problem has been identified and now the players, havingforced the leagues to initiate pension schemes, are urging their ownassociations to organize courses which will prepare them for retirement.This approach concurs with Sussman’s recommendation that retirementbe viewed as a process and not as a status.5?

An examination of various components of Sussman’s model (see Fig. 1)demonstrates its relevance to the study of retir ement from sport. Sit-uational and structural variables such as the circumstances surround-

ing he closing of a playing career, the social class of the athlete at thebeginning and end of his career, and the degres of preretir ement prepa-ration, all vary from player to player. Individual variables such as theathlete’s personality, motives, needs, habits and attitudes also merit at-tention as the govern his perception of retirement. These factors, togetherwith the various linking sy stems and the social and economic constraintswhich most retirees encounter, continue to influence the athlete in hisultimate choice of career.

Insufficient attention has been paid to these variables as they affectretirement from sport. Yet the manner in which the athleLe accomodatesthe stresses which accompany retirement influences the ultimate social

standing which he attains just as surely as does his career in sport. Inorder to compr ehend the relationship between sport and processes suchas social change, it is therefore imperative to develop a clearer under-standing of retirement from sport.

REFERENCES

1. Andreano R.. The Affluent Baseball Player, in Talamini J. T. and Page C. H.(eds), Sport and Society, Boston, Little, Brown Co., 1973.

2. Beisser A., The Madness in Sports, New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1967.3. Blitz H., The drive to win: careers in professional sports, "Occupational Outlook

Quarterly", 1973, Summer, pp. 3—16.4. Borkowski R., Towards the Study of Sports Folklore, "Sport Sociology Bulletin".

1974, Spring, 3 :1, pp. 24—34.

52 Sussman, op. cit., p. 43.



29

5. Bouton J., I’m Glad You Didnt Take It Personally. New York, Dell Publish-ing Co. Inc., 1971.

6. Davies H., The Glory Game, London, Sphere Books Ltd., 1973.7. Denney R., The Astonished Muse, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1957.8. Douglas P., The Football Industry, London, George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1973.9. Dunning E. (ed.), The Sociology of Sport: A Selection of Readings, London,

Frank Cass and Co. Ltd., 1971.10. Durso J., The All American Dollar: The Big Business of Sports, Boston,

Houghton Mifflin Co., 1971.11. Goffman E., Stigma, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1963.12. Hare N., The occupational culture of the black fighter, "The Black Scholar",

1971, November. pp. 2—9.13. Kahn R., The Boys of Summer, New York, Harper and Row, 1972.

14. Kane J. E., Mental and Personality Correlates of Motor Abilities, in Wall W. D.and Varma V. P. (eds), Advances in Educational Psychology, London, Universityof London Press. 1972.

15. Klukholm F. R. and Strodtheck F. L., Variations in value orientations. Evanston,Illinois, Row, Peterson. 1961.

16. Kramer J., Farewell to Football, New York, World Books, 1969.17. Loy J. W. and Kenyon G. S.. Sport. Culture and Society, New York. MacMillan

Co.. 1969.

18. Loy J. W., Racial Segregation in American Sport, "International Review of SportSociology", 1970, 5, pp. 5-23.

19. Mayer R., Social Planning and Social Change. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,Prentice Hall Inc., 1972.

20. Meggyesy D., Out of Their League, New York, Paperback Library, 1971.

21. Milhovilovic M. A.. The Status of Former Sportsmen, "International Review ofSport Sociology", 1968, 3. pp. 73—96.

22. Moore E. H., The nature of retirement, Streib G. F. (ed.), New York, MacMillanCo., 1959.

23. Parrish B., They Call It a Game, New York, The Dial Press, 1971.24. Pawson T., The Football Managers, London, Eyre-Methuen, 1973.25. Pietschmann R. J., Salaries in professional sports, "Mainliner", 1973. December,

pp. 18—22.

26. Pollock O., The Social Aspects of Retirement. Homewood, Illinois, Richard D.Irwin. Inc., 1956.

27. Polsky N., Hustlers, Beats, and Others, New York, Doubleday and Co. Inc., 1969.28. Shelter L.. The Jocks, New York, Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1969.29. Stone G., American Sports: Play and Display, in Dunning E. (ed.), The Sociology

of Sport: A Selection of Readings, London, Cass, 1971, pp. 47-65.30. Stone G., Games, Sport and Power, New Brunswick. New Jersey. Transaction

Books. 1972.

31. Sussman M. B., An Analytic Model for the Sociological Study of Retirement,"Retirement", Carp F. M. (ed.), New York, Behavioral Publications Inc., 1971.

32. Talamini J. T. and Page C. H.. Sport and Society, Boston. Little. Brown and Co.,1973.

33. Tuckman J. and Lorge I., Retirement and the Industrial Worker. New York.MacMillan Co., 1953.

34. Vinnai G., Football Mania, London, Orbach and Chambers. 1973.35. Weinberg K. and Arond H., The occupational culture of the boxer, "American

Journal of Sociology, 1952, LVII, pp. 460—469.36. Wolff K., The Biological, Sociological and Psychological Aspects of Aging,

Spriengfield, Illinois, Charles C. Thomas, 1959.



30

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31

DIE UNVERMEIDLICHE METATHESIS ZURUECKTRETENDER SPORTLER

Zusammenfassung

Das Zutreffen des Sussman’schen Verfahrensmodelis auf das Studium

uber das sich Zuruckziehen vom Sport

Es wurde in verschiedenen Punkten dieses Dokumentes auf das Sussman’scheModell fur soziologische Studien uber Rucktritt Bezug genommen. Obwohl dieSussman’sche Analyse dazu client. den Rücktritt vom Sport bei alteren Sportlernbesser zu verstehen, so ist es klar, dass es fur die ausserorclentlichen Falle desZurücktretens vom Sport ebenfalls zutrifft.

Wie im Sektor Arbeit, so hat auch das Zurücktreten vom Sport negative Ne-benerscheinungen und fiihrt zu einer Herabsetzung des Standes, einer Herabsetzungdes Einkommens, der Notwendig1œit, neue Qualifizierungen zu erobern und sichin neue Rollen zu resozialisieren. Der zuriicktretende Sportler, so wie sein ailtererPartner im Sektor Arbeit, steht Angesichts einer Krise die hervorgerufen wird durchden Schaden an seiner personlichen und sozialen Identitdt, als Folge des Riick-tritts, und Sussman (11972) stellt fest, dass:

die Notwendigkeit, Selbstachtung aufrechtzuerhalten, und die Notwendigkeit.gesellschaftlich vollverantwortlich zu sein, wurden als die zwei l:ritischesten(Bedtirfnisse der Mitglieder der Gesellschaft) ausgewählt... (S. 40),

und da er daran gew6hnt ist, in der Oeffentlichkeit zu leben. sind diese Bedurf-nisse ganz besonders entscheidend im Falle von Sportlern.

Die Tatsache, dass er ein Mensch der Oeffentlichkeit war, erhoht die Zahl derBerufsmoglichkeiten, die dem Sportler zur Verfugung stehen. Dies heisst aber nicht,dass die Welt fiir den zuriickgetretenen Sportler so leicht zu schlucken ist, wie eineAuster. Im Gegenteil, nach seinem Riicktritt stellt der typische Sportler fest, dasser dusserst unvorbereitet fiir den Beginn einer neuen Karriere ist.

Vor Kurzem wurde dieses Problem identifiziert, und nun Üben die Spieler aufihre Verbdnde Druck aus - nachdem sie die Liga zur Aufstellung von Pensions-planen gezwungen haben - damit Kurse organisiert werden, zur Hilfe fur dieRücktrittvorbereitung. Diese Auffassung stimmt mit Sussman’s Empfehlung uberein,dass der Riichtritt nicht als ein Zustand sondern als ein Prozess zu betrachten sei.

Ei’ne Prufung der verschiedenen Komponente des Sussman’schen Modells(Zeichnung 1) zeigt seine Zutrefflichkeit fur das Studium des Rucktrittes vomSport. Lagen- und strukturelle Variablen, wie die Umstande, die den Abschlusseiner Karriere umgeben, die gesellschaftliche Schicht des Sportlers am Anfang undam Ende seiner Karriere, wie auch der Grad der Vorbel’eitung auf den Rucktritt,all das ist verschieden von einem Sportler zum anderen. Individuelle Variablen.wie die Personlichl:eit des Sportlers, die Motive, die Bedurfnisse, die Gewohnheitenund die Eimstellung sollen auch betrachtet werden, da sie seine Auffassung desRücktritts leiten. Diese Faktoren, zusammen mit den verschiedenen Fuhrungs-systemen und den gesellschaftlichen und ökonomischen Zwangseinflussen, denendie meisten Zuruckgetretenen unterworfen sind, haben auf den Sportler standigenEinfluss bei der letzten Wahl seiner Karriere.

Diesen Variablen, die auf den Rücktritt vom Sport Einfluss haben, wurde un-genugende Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt. Und doch die Weise, auf die der Sportlerden Stress verkraftet, der den Ruclctritt vom Sport begleitet, hat Einfluss auf seineendgiiltige Stellung in der Gesellschaft, die er so sicher erreiche;1 kann, wie seineKarriere im Sport. Um die Verbindungen zwischen dem Sport und solchen Pro-zessen wie soziale Veränc1erungen zu vcrstehen, ist es ausserst angebracht einbesseres Verstandnis 1’ur den Rucktritt vom Sport zu entwickem.



32

LES REACTIONS INEVITABLES CHEZ LES SPORTIFS SE RETIRANT DU SPORT

Rdsum6

Liens entre le processus modele de Sussman et 1’etude sur la retraite du sport

Dans cette etude on a fait plusieurs revocations au modele de Sussman, con-cernant le problems sociologique de la retraite. Bien que l’analyse de Sussman soit

dirigee plut6t vers la comprehension de la retraite parmi les gens plus ages, il estevident qu’on peut en profiter pour analyser une retraite non-typique - la retraitedu sport.

Comme dans le secteur du travail, la retraite du sport a de mauvaises con-

sequences et elle m6i-ie a la devaluation du status, a la reduction des revenus, a lanecessite d’acquerir une nouvelle signification et a la resocialisation dans un rolenouveau. Le sportif se retirant, comme son correspondant plus age, se trouve enface d’une crise apportant des revers a sa personnalite sociale et a son individualite.Sussman (1972) remarque que:

Le besoin de maintenir le respect et le besoin d’etre socialement responsablesont definis comme deux les plus critiques... [besoins d’un membrc de la

soc18t£].et comme le sportif est habitu6 a vivre devant les yeux du public, ces besoinssont extrêmement critiques chez lui.

Le fait qu’il a ete une personnalite publique augmente le nombre des choix

possibles et importamts pour le sportif. Cela n’implique pas qu’il est facile de

s’adapter au monde. Au contraire, a la retraite, le sportif typique se trouve bien

inadapte a recommcncer sa nouvelle carriere. Ce probleme a ete discute derniere-ment et maintenant, les sportifs ayant force leurs clubs a l’introduction d’un plandes subventions, pressent les associations a organiser les cours qui les preparenta la retraite.

Cet essai concourt avec la recommendation de Sussman pour que la retraite

soit traitee en tant que le processus et non le status.. L’examen de divers components du modele de Sussman montre son rapport

avec 1’etude concernant la retraite du sport. Les variables situation~nelles et structu-rals telles que; circonstances de la fin de la carriere sportive, classe sociale du

sportif, commencement et fin de sa carriere, degre de la preparation d’avant laretraite - tout cela change chez de divers porsonnages. Les variables individuellestelles que: personnalite du sportif, motivations, besoins, habitudes, attitudes - me-ritent aussi d’être examin6es, etant donne qu6elles gouvernent sa perception de laretraite. Ces facteurs avec les variables lia~nt le systeme et les restrictions socialeset economiques, que recontre la majorite des retirants, influence le sportif dansson choix definitif de la carriprc.

L’attention pretee a ce sujet a ete jusqu’a present insuffisante. Maintena’j1t, lemoyen applique au sportif pour qu’il surmonte les stresses inevitables a sa retraitedu sport influe sur la position d6finitive c~u’il atteint, de meme que sa carriere

sportive. I

Pour mieux comprendre les liens entre le sport et le processus d’un tel chan-gement social, il est necessaire de developper les etudes sur la retraite du sport.


metathesis retiring - sage journals · 2016. 8. 16. · the professional footballer, like the...

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