Sports in the 1950’s

By Eric Crawford &

Ryan Youtzy

Bob Cousy Mickey Mantle

Basketball in the 50’s

• In the early 50’s one rule impacted the game of basketball, This was the shot clock

• The NBA first allowed African Americans to play in 1950

• Civil Rights impacted 3 players, Charles Cooper, Nat Clifton, and Earl Lloyd

The Beginning of a New Era

• Charles Cooper- First drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1950

• Nat “Sweet Water” Clifton- First signed by the New York Knickerbockers

• Earl Lloyd- He was the First African American to play in an NBA Game. He played on the Syracuse Nationals

Bob Cousy•He Played for the Celtics in 1950

• He was a 3 time All American and was the team Captain

• Bob was the MVP of the 1954 & 57 All Star Game

TV and Sports

• The TV was a major impact of sports in the 1950’s • Sports were cheap to produce at this time• Bert Bell proposed 1 commercial break per half

during Football games and also the 2 minute warning

• The games were changed to night to produce the largest audience possible

• In 1952 blackouts were issued

Bert Bell

• Founder and owner of the Philadelphia Eagles• Co- Owner of the Pittsburg Steelers• Responsible for commercial breaks and

blackouts• First person inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame

Consumerism and Sports

• Blackouts caused more ticket buying• 1954 SI’s first issue• Cover boy was Milwaukee Braves Eddie

Matthews• SI aimed at middle class Americans• 1950 Topps Sport cards came out• Competed with Bowman cards and eventually

caused Bowman to be bought out in 56

Fun Facts

• The New York Yankees won 7 World Series in the decade

• Some Topps sport cards came with a stick of gum

• Nat Clifton had highest salary of black basketball players, $10,000

Sourceshttp://blogs.lancasteronline.com/flashbacklancaster/2009/02/02/integrating-basketball/

http://www.nba.com/history/thegame_index.html

http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=sportsandte

http://sports.jrank.org/pages/382/Bell-Bert-Impact-Television.html

http://www.enotes.com/1950-sports-american-decades/birth-sports-illustrated

http://www.psacard.com/articles/article_view.chtml?artid=5071&universeid=314&type=1

http://www.cmgww.com/sports/cousy/