The Anatomy of Competition in Sports

The Struggle for Success in Major US Professional Leagues

Christopher B. Doob

Thousands of children across the United States dream of becoming professional athletes, yet less than one in a thousand high school seniors will go on to play in a major pro league. Of those select few, many will find that after a childhood of full-time commitment to their sport, their professional careers will likely be brief and injury-ridden. Within each of the top professional leagues in the U.S., the competition is fierce to not only get into the league, but to stay there—the average career in the National Basketball Association lasts less than five years, and in the National Football League only three and a half.

The Anatomy of Competition in Sports: The Struggle for Success in Major U.S. Professional Leagues examines the role competition plays in each of the major sports leagues in the United States: Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Soccer (MLS). In order to provide a comprehensive review of competition within each sport, Christopher B. Doob scrutinizes the challenges faced at the youth level, opposition encountered by individuals competing to join a pro league, the obstacles pros must overcome throughout their careers, and the history of each league. Furthermore, Doob dissects competition across the sports by looking at such common influences as family, school, colleges, the draft process, coaches, and the playing conditions within the professional leagues. An additional chapter examines so-called “atypical pros”—such as disabled athletes, gay and lesbian players, and two-sport pros—who must face competitive challenges beyond the average athlete. A final chapter discusses life after the pros, including the legacy of debilitating injuries many former players face and the prospects of post-retirement jobs, such as coaching, managing, and broadcasting.

Highlighting the struggles many athletes must face, The Anatomy of Competition in Sports features vignettes about current and past professionals, including Mariano Rivera, Earl Campbell, Candace Parker, and Sidney Crosby. Drawing on diverse sources such as histories of each league, research studies, newspaper accounts, and personal narratives, this book is simultaneously thought-provoking and accessible for all sports fans.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 314 • Trim: 6½ x 9¼

978-1-4422-5060-4 • Hardback • June 2015 • $56.00 • (£43.00)

978-1-4422-5061-1 • eBook • June 2015 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

Subjects: Sports & Recreation / Sociology of Sports, Sports & Recreation / Baseball / General, Sports & Recreation / Basketball, Sports & Recreation / Football, Sports & Recreation / Hockey

The Anatomy of Competition in Sports

The Struggle for Success in Major US Professional Leagues

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Thousands of children across the United States dream of becoming professional athletes, yet less than one in a thousand high school seniors will go on to play in a major pro league. Of those select few, many will find that after a childhood of full-time commitment to their sport, their professional careers will likely be brief and injury-ridden. Within each of the top professional leagues in the U.S., the competition is fierce to not only get into the league, but to stay there—the average career in the National Basketball Association lasts less than five years, and in the National Football League only three and a half.

The Anatomy of Competition in Sports: The Struggle for Success in Major U.S. Professional Leagues examines the role competition plays in each of the major sports leagues in the United States: Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Soccer (MLS). In order to provide a comprehensive review of competition within each sport, Christopher B. Doob scrutinizes the challenges faced at the youth level, opposition encountered by individuals competing to join a pro league, the obstacles pros must overcome throughout their careers, and the history of each league. Furthermore, Doob dissects competition across the sports by looking at such common influences as family, school, colleges, the draft process, coaches, and the playing conditions within the professional leagues. An additional chapter examines so-called “atypical pros”—such as disabled athletes, gay and lesbian players, and two-sport pros—who must face competitive challenges beyond the average athlete. A final chapter discusses life after the pros, including the legacy of debilitating injuries many former players face and the prospects of post-retirement jobs, such as coaching, managing, and broadcasting.

Highlighting the struggles many athletes must face, The Anatomy of Competition in Sports features vignettes about current and past professionals, including Mariano Rivera, Earl Campbell, Candace Parker, and Sidney Crosby. Drawing on diverse sources such as histories of each league, research studies, newspaper accounts, and personal narratives, this book is simultaneously thought-provoking and accessible for all sports fans.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 314 • Trim: 6½ x 9¼

978-1-4422-5060-4 • Hardback • June 2015 • $56.00 • (£43.00)

978-1-4422-5061-1 • eBook • June 2015 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

Subjects: Sports & Recreation / Sociology of Sports, Sports & Recreation / Baseball / General, Sports & Recreation / Basketball, Sports & Recreation / Football, Sports & Recreation / Hockey

Author

Christopher B. Doob is professor emeritus of sociology at Southern Connecticut State University. He is the author of a number of books, including Racism: An American Cauldron (1998), Sociology: An Introduction (1999), and Social Inequality and the Social Stratification in US Society (2013).

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction - Pro Athletes’ Uncommon Careers
The Advent of Pro Team Sports’ Affluent Age
Players’ Challenges
Pro Players’ Uncommon Experiences
Chapter 1 - MLB: Separation Anxiety
From The Beginning
The Campaign for MLB Diversity
The Journey and Its Challenges
The Draft
Joining a Minor-League Team
Moving Up
Pitfalls
Shooting Down the Competition
Players Caught in the Media Circus
Outside the Lagoon
Players’ Performance
Hitting
Pitching
Fielding
Closing the Career
Chapter 2 - NFL: A Collision Cocktail Spiked With Size, Strength, Speed, And Skill
The Organization of a Highly Organized Game
African Americans’ Integration of the NFL
Factors Contributing To Young Footballers’ Development
Zeroing In On Going Pro
Preparing For the Upcoming Campaign
Experiencing Competition in the NFL
The Day of the Game
Rugged Realities of NFL Games
Casualties of a Collision Sport
Destructive Psychological Impacts of A Pressure-Ridden Game
Positions and Personalities
Leaving the Game
Chapter 3 - NBA & WNBA: Trees In Blossom
The Development and Growth of a Pair of Modern Leagues
From All White to a Decisive Black Majority
The Background for Making the NBA
College as One and Done or Close To It
The Draft and Surrounding Events
Too Many Candidates for Too Few Slots
Playing In the NBA
Key Elements of the Game
Scoring and Its Contribution to the Team
The Discreet Decline of Rebounding
The Impact of Assists
Defenses: Their Understated Value
The WNBA and Its Achievements
The Development of WNBA Players
The End of the Line
Chapter 4 - NHL: Intricacy on Ice
The Birth of the National Hockey League
Mobilizing Boys toward the NHL
College or the Pros?
On The NHL’s Doorstep
Important Challenges on Joining a NHL Team
Effectiveness in Training Camp
Unrelenting Performance Demands
Team Expectations
Need To Satisfy Team Trust
On-Going Controversy about Fighting in the NHL
Deploying the Combatants
The Front Line
The Defense
A Final Comment
Chapter 5 - MLS: New Kid on the Global Pitch
The Down-And-Slowly-Up History of American Pro Soccer
The Measured Development of Elite American Soccer Players
A Look at MLS Academies’ Foreign Competition
The Combine and Draft
MLS and Its Stringent Agenda
The MLS Preseason and Its Challenges
Various Difficult Issues: Salaries, Foreign Players, Injuries
MLS and Ranging Incomes
The League’s Imports
Performance Interrupters: Injury and Illicit Drugs
The Impact of Concussions
Additional Injuries and Responses To Them
PED Use in MLS: Making Too Much Out Of It?
The Divided Pitch
Forwards, Especially Strikers
Men in the Middle
The Deep Defenders
The Long Road Ahead
Chapter 6 - Atypical Pros and Their Competitive Reality
Disabled Athletes in Pro Sports
Modern White Players in the NBA
Gays and Lesbians in the Pros
The Lonely Life of NFL Kickers
Two-Sport Pros
A Final Commentary
Chapter 7 - Life after Game Days: A Wrenching Experience?
Wrapping Up
The Brutal Aftermath
Work after Play
Former Point Guards and Catchers and Other Would-Be Coaches and Managers
Sports Jocks on the Tube and Elsewhere
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
About The Author

Reviews

The Anatomy of Competition in Sports: The Struggle for Success in Major US Professional Leagues . . . [is] filled with interesting facts about major American sports, the text also includes a multiplicity of clichés offered by athletes about their sports. Doob's book is a great introduction for the sports neophyte. Even those experienced in the field will find something of value in this work. Some may find the book an inspiration to explore some of the issues presented in more depth.
— New York Journal of Books

You should get a copy especially if you have a youngster . . . or if you’re just curious to learn more about what makes pros take the anatomy of competition in sports.
— ESPN Radio

It’s a fascinating book in talking about youth sports. . . . The book is The Anatomy of Competition in Sports. So many great things to talk about! Pick up a book, you’ll pick it up and you’re not going to put it down until you’ve gone through it and read everything. There’s so many relatable stories. . . . This is an excellent book. . . . Christopher, I love the book!
— This Week in America with Ric Bratton

I love this book . . . After reading various books I’ve never seen anyone that wrote exactly what it takes to be a professional athlete. . . .If you’re a sports fan, you should get this book. If you’re just someone who wants to read about history, I would get this book also. . . .This is really a great book.
— BlogTalkRadio: The Root and Roots Show

In this really interesting book, the author Christopher Doob examines what life is like in the arenas of various major league enterprises . . . It is a most intriguing look at what life is like in the upper echelons of these particular team sports. . . .[This] is a fascinating book from start to finish and I am so glad that we’ve had the chance to explore it.
— WGTD-The Morning Show

It is a compelling read that delves into the nature of competition within the nation’s major sports, all six of them, and the long journey to the pros.
— The Big E Sports Show with Elissa Walker Campbell

Please, read the book. Go to order it on line.
— The Sports Corner

One of the most intriguing books that I’ve read in a long long time that takes a look at sports, takes a look at people who rise to play in the sports, and actually gives you a real good foothold into what goes in the minds of the executives in these sports when they start looking at professional talent. . . .Get a copy of this book The Anatomy of Competition in Sports. [It's]a great read. Rowman & Littlefield is the publisher and they don’t publish anything but great stuff.
— WHEN-AM: Spadora on Sports with Pete Spadora

Chris is the author of a new book entitled The Anatomy of Competition in Sports. It is a fascinating read, and it gets into many of the major sports in this country. . . .This book surprised me in many, many ways. It is much deeper, it delves into issues that are critical, that are far beyond the negatives. . . .This is an amazing book. It was a quick read. In its own way, it was a page turner. I really, really want people to read Chapter 7, which is titled 'Life after Game Days: A Wrenching Experience?' So many different treasure troves in this book entitled The Anatomy of Competition in Sports, and I couldn’t recommend it enough. I’m just thrilled, Christopher Doob, that you could make the time to be with us this morning. . . .A very special book, a special segment. It explores issues that we don’t normally talk about. I’m glad that we could have this conversation.
— Tony Trupiano: The Voice of the People

The Anatomy of Competition in Sport is a sports book for the sports fan, but fortunately it pushes beyond that limit and delves into something much deeper — struggle. Why is it that we marvel at these humans? Yes, they are seemingly superhuman, but human nonetheless. Why is it that the comeback is so much more compelling than the blowout? For us, it’s the struggle. It’s knowing what some people are willing to endure to succeed, and the lengths they will go to win. How does you go about understanding competition? Well, this book is a good start.
— RotoRob