The widespread belief that sports participation can serve as a stepping stone to later occupational succes was investigated. The athletes studied consisted of the entire population (N=160) of senior males from the three San Francisco Bay state universities. A comparison group (N=450) of senior male nonathletes were randomly selected from the same institutions. Data was gathered via mailed questionnaires. Multiple regression was used to analyze the effect of the test variable "athletic status" on the dependent variables "occupational prestige" and "earnings". Control variables included the respondents' education, age, ethnicity, academic average, years of work experience and father's occupational prestige. The analysis indicated that athletic status had no significant effect (p < .05) on the dependent variables. It was furthermore determined that there were no significant differences in terms of occupational attainment between athletes who are members of ethnic minorities and minority nonathletes, white athletes and white nonathletes. It was concluded that, for the type of athletes investigated, little support can be given the belief that sports serves as a stepping stone to later occupational success.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Andreano R., The Affluent Baseball Player, in: J. T. Talamini and C. H. Page, Sport and Society, Boston, Little, Brown and Co., 1973.
2.
Annarino A., The Contributions of Athletics to Social Mobility, Fifty-Sixth Annual Proceedings of the College Physical Association, N. Y., 1953.
3.
Berger J. et al., Status Characteristics and Expectation States, in: J. Berger et al. (eds.) Sociological Theories in Progress, Vol. I, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1966 .
4.
Berger J. et al., Status Characteristics and Social Interaction, " American Sociological Review", 1972, 37 (3), pp. 241-255.
5.
Blau P.M. and Duncan O.D., The American Occupational Structure, N. Y., John Wiley and Sons, 1967.
6.
Bowlus W.C., How Well Do Our College Athletes Fare?, "Journal of Physical Education and Recreation", 1975, 46 (6), pp. 25.
7.
Browne R. B. et al. (eds.), Heroes of Popular Culture, Bowling Green, Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1972.
8.
Charnofsky H. , The Major League Professional Baseball Player: Self-Conception Versus the Popular Image, "International Review of Sport Sociology", 1968, 3, pp. 39—71.
9.
Clarke H. H. (ed.), Athletes: Their Academic Achievement and Personal-Social Status, "Physical Fitness Research Digest", 1975, 5 (3).
10.
Coleman J.S., The Adolescent Society, N. Y., Free Press, 1961.
11.
Cummings R., The Superbowl Society, in: R. B. Browne et al. (eds), Heroes of Popular Culture, Bowling Green, Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1972.
12.
Dillman D.A., Increasing Mail Questionnaire Response in Large Samples of the General Public "The Public Opinion Quarterly", 1972, 36, pp. 254—257.
13.
Dillman D.A. and Cristenson J.A., Increasing Mail Questionnaire Response: A Four State Comparison, "American Sociological Review", 1974, 39, pp. 744-756.
14.
Dillman D.A. and Frey J.H., Contribution of Personalization on Mail Questionnaire Response as an Element of a Previously Tested Method, "Journal of Applied Psychology" 1974a, 59 (3), pp. 297-301.
15.
Edwards H., Revolt of the Black Athlete, N. Y., Free Press, 1969.
16.
Edwards H., Sociology of Sport, Homewood, Ill., Dorsey Press, 1973.
17.
Featherman D. and Hauser R., Changes in the Socioeconomic Stratification of the Races, 1962-1973, Working Paper 75-26, Center for Demography and Ecology, The University of Wisconsin ( Madison), 1975.
18.
Forbes, Superstars! Supermoney!, Vol. 110, 1972, September 15, pp. 25—32.
19.
Haerle R., Education, Athletic Scholarships and the Occupational Career of the Professional Athlete, "Sociology of Work and Occupations", 1975, 4 (2), pp. 373-403.
20.
Hill P. and Lowe B., The Inevitable Metathesis of the Retiring Athlete. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Eastern District Association of the A.A.H.P.E.R, N. Y., 1974.
21.
Litchfield E.H. and Cope M., Saturday's Hero is Doing Fine, " Sports Illustrated" 1962, 17 (5), pp. 66-78.
22.
Loy J., Social Origins and Occupational Mobility Patterns of a Selected Sample of American Athletes, "International Review of Sport Sociology ", 1972, 7, pp. 5-25.
23.
Loy J. and McElvogue J., Racial Segregation in American Sport, "International Review of Sport Sociology", 1970, 5, pp. 5-24.
24.
Luschen G., Social Stratification and Social Mobility Among Young Sportsmen, in: J. W. Loy and G. Kenyon (eds.), Sport, Culture and Society, N. Y., Macmillan, 1969.
25.
Miller D.M. and Russel K. R. E., Sport: A. ContemporaryView, Philadelphia , Lea and Febiger, 1971.
26.
N. H. B., Round Table Discussion: The Negro in American Sport, "Negro History Bulletin", 1960, 24 (2), pp. 27-31.
27.
N. O. R. C., National Data Program for the Social Sciences: Spring 1973 General Social Survey, An Arbor, Mich., Inter-University Consortium for Political Research, 1973.
28.
Ogilvie B., Psychological Consistencies Within The Personality of High-level Competitors , in: A. Craig Fisher (ed.), Psychology of Sport, Palo Alto, May-field, 1976.
29.
PageCh. H., Introduction: The World of Sport and Its Study, in: John Talamini and Charles Page, Sport and Society: An Anthology, Boston, Little, Brown, 1973.
30.
Rehberg R. and Schafer W., Participation in Interscholastic Athletics and College Expectations, "American Journal of Sociology", 1968, 73 (6), pp. 232—240.
31.
Rosenblatt A. , Negroes in Baseball: The Failure of Success , "Transaction", 1967, 4 (9), pp. 51-53.
32.
Schafer W. and Armer J.M., On Scholarship and Interscholastic Athletics, in: Eric Dunning (ed.), Sport: Readings From a Sociological Perspective, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1972.
33.
Spady W., Lament for the Letterman: Effects of Peer Status and Extracurricular Activities on Goals and Achievement, "American Journal of Sociology", 1970, 75 (4, part 2), pp. 119—132.
34.
Stevenson C.L. and Nixon J.E., A Conceptual Scheme of the Social Functions of Sport, "Sportwissenschaft", 1972, 2 (2), pp. 119—132.
35.
Thisted M.N. , A Study of the Relationship Between Participation in College Athletics and Vocational Success, "Research Quarterly ", 1933, 4 (3), pp. 5—20.
36.
Ulrich C., The Social Matrix of Physical Education, Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice-Hall, 1968.
37.
Williams J.F. , The Principles of Physical Education, Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Co., 1964.
38.
Yetman N. and Eitzen D.S., Black Americans in Sports: Unequal Opportunity for Equal Ability, "Civil Rights Digest", 19725 (2), pp. 20-34.
