Sociology of Sport: Development, Present State, and Prospects

Abstract

This review addresses questions of institutionalization and integration in the sociology of sport before it proceeds to an analysis of the methodology and the substantive contributions. The review raises questions concerning (a) the unique contribution of sociology of sport to the discipline at large and (b) the practical implications for sport itself. Sport is an institution or social behavior the core of which is competition based on skill and strategy. The specific behavior ranges from games of children to the contests of professional athletes. The institution of sport extends into economics, education, and the mass media; it has been studied by anthropologists, historians, economists, political scientists, social psychologists, and researchers in physical education. Within sociology there are early acknowledgments of sport as a legitimate object of sociological analysis. Herbert Spencer (1861:235-309) in his treatment of referred to physical aspects, but he discussed ''physical education in terms of biological factors and the distinction between the sexes. Max Weber mentions the Puritan's interest in sport in contrast to the generally held belief of their opposition to it (1920), and he provided an insightful analysis of the setting and consequent meaning of the rules in the game of Skat (1922:305ff). Georg Simmel exemplified sociation through play and saw sport as struggle (Kampfspiel) displaying the unifying elements in conflict (1908). George H. Mead addressed the problem of role-taking in the games of children and