1,586
Views
49
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Place but not Date of Birth Influences the Development and Emergence of Athletic Talent in American Football

, , &
Pages 80-90 | Received 12 May 2007, Accepted 30 Jan 2008, Published online: 14 Jan 2009
 

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the birthplace and relative age effects in National Football League (NFL) players. The place and date of birth of NFL players in the United States were analyzed with Monte Carlo simulations to determine if either factor was predictive of the probability of reaching the elite level in this sport. Consistent with previous findings on professional North American athletes in baseball, ice hockey, basketball, and golf, players born in cities with populations of less than 500,000 were significantly over-represented in the NFL, whereas players born in cities with populations over 500,000 were significantly under-represented. Unlike many other sports, no relative age effects were found for the NFL. Small cities, in particular, appeared to possess characteristics that facilitate the development and/or emergence of athletic talent in American football. Possible psychosocial factors mediating the birthplace effect are discussed as are implications for the development of sporting expertise.

Support for this research came from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC Grant # 410-05-1949 and Grant # 767-2005-1625).

Notes

aDifference between % of 1980 U.S. population and % of National Football League players in each city.

bDetermined from Monte Carlo simulation.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 61.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 198.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.