From the Pittsburgh Press:
University of Pennsylvania economists warn that major league baseball payrolls may triple in the near future, threatening every team with the "spectre of bankruptcy."
"Pressure will come from the non-superstars," said Jim Eshoff and Chris Ritz, economists for the university's prestigious Wharton School who say they are card-carrying baseball fans.
They said the salary glut will have dire effects on the health of major league franchises, even the healthiest.
"If competition is only a reality among a certain few teams," they said, "the fans and their dollars may go elsewhere.
"No team is immune to the spectre of bankruptcy," the economists said.
— April 20, 1977 —
Thank you for reading
This is a free article. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing to Baseball Prospectus. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment.
Subscribe now
Though, in effect, an economist with that kind of prediction will eventually be right because eventually every sport will go bankrupt, eventually every person will die, the universe will burn out, etc.
It's a pity Matt Swartz isn't still around since I believe UPenn is his neck of the woods and he has a degree (PhD?) in Economics.
Bond: "Do you expect me to talk?"
Goldfinger: "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!"
So long as fans value that experience as highly as they do, baseball is going to be just fine.
The Godfather
The Godfather II
Star Wars
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Chinatown
A Clockwork Orange
Annie Hall
Jaws
Network
Rocky
The Exorcist
Dog Day Afternoon
Animal House
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Blazing Saddles
Saturday Night Fever
Mean Streets
Cabaret
Nashville
Days of Heaven
Day For Night
The Candidate
And some damn fine porn: The Devil in Miss Jones
So yes, there were some movies worth watching. Repeatedly, in many cases.