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The boy who put Bowral on the map has a lot to answer for. A generation of babies named Don; a litany of unbeaten, probably unbeatable records; a redefining of cultural conflict between Australia and England and a whole catalogue of Bradman literature devoured by cricket tragics the world over.
 With a test batting average of 99.94 and a profile bigger than Phar Lap, Sir Donald Bradman helped define the Australian identity — the sporting persona we would wish to be.
However, new analysis led by one of the nation’s leading economists has found that he delivered far more than just runs and test victories to Australian cricket. The Australian Cricket Board benefited to the tune of up to $35 million in additional gate receipts as a direct result of the man taking to the field.
An intriguing paper The Value of Don Bradman: Additional Revenue in Australian Ashes Tests by Professor Bruce Chapman (right) from the Economics Program of the Research School of Social Sciences, and Mr Julian Blackham (left), a visitor at the program, have found that while Bradman was not paid any extra for his performances, his brilliance drew bumper crowds — and bumper profits.
Tribute
The paper is more than a tribute to Sir Donald Bradman — it is the result of a serendipitous partnership. In 1894, Mr Blackham’s great-great uncle, John Blackham, and Professor Chapman’s great-great uncle, Syd Gregory, established the Ashes 9th wicket test batting partnership record of 154 (in Sydney) — the only 19th century batting partnership record that holds today.
“We described our paper as a sentimental tribute to our ancestors. It is really quite remarkable that Julian and I each shared cricketing heritage as well as an ongoing passion for the game in all its eras,” Professor Chapman says.
“I began to examine the earnings that Bradman had delivered to Australian cricket authorities a long time ago — in 1987, in fact. In part, this was to give my father (Jim) an interesting project in his retirement — he went to the National Library to get all the data (the venue, the daily crowd, the weather, the ticket prices, whether Bradman was batting on the day and much more) from the newspapers. He saved Australian taxpayers a bit, since the research assistance was free.
“Julian and I finished the project in 2004, following an invitation to publish the article in a special edition of an Australian economics journal Economic Papers, which looked at the economics of sport.
“Cricket officials of the day realised Bradman had pulling power and would advertise his appearances — but he did not receive any portion of the additional revenue that was generated,” Professor Chapman says.
In Sir Donald Bradman, A biography, author Irving Rosenwater writes: “As far as Australian crowds were concerned, the real objective was Bradman… (in 1936/37) it was discovered as a fact that if Bradman was dismissed cheaply in the morning, the expected receipts in the afternoon fell by some 2,000 pounds.”
Applying economic principles to assess the impact of Bradman on the crowd size (market), the two economists first had to devise a model, analysing the superstar effect in the context of a monopoly labour market — where Bradman could only play Test cricket for Australia.
Attraction
“A cricketer with outstanding attraction for the public had no option but to play by the rules and accept the rewards offered by his national supplier,” Mr Blackham and Professor Chapman note.
What is a star? The researchers had to identify the value of Bradman’s star quality before constructing a model which enabled them to evaluate the impact of Bradman in drawing crowds as opposed to other variables.
“The decision of whether or not to attend Test cricket depends in part on the expected quality per unit time of the entertainment,” the researchers state.
“This, presumably, is a function of player skill, excitement, opponent, weather, and ground facilities. Obviously, the presence of a player of exceptional talent, a super-star such as Don Bradman, increases consumers’ utility through the first two variables.”
Mr Blackham and Professor Chapman derived a complex formula to isolate the impact of Bradman in drawing crowds to Ashes tests. Bradman at the batting crease increased crowd size by about 25 per cent, which translates into just over 7,200 people for each day on which he batted.
After assessing changes in admission prices and actual crowd sizes, the researchers found that crowd revenue increased by just over $65,000 (per match in today’s terms) on average when Bradman was batting — which translates into a total of more than $2 million for his post-1930 period of Australian Ashes Tests. If it is assumed that the extra revenue would have been invested, with a rate of return of up to four per cent, the revenue stream would be valued at up to $35 million today.
Furthermore, if the same effect was assumed for Test matches Bradman played against other nations, this contribution may be doubled.
Intriguing
The paper provides an intriguing look at Sir Donald’s economic impact, and further evidence of his extraordinary contribution to Australian cricket. Importantly, though, it also provides an entertaining and thoughtful introduction to economic modelling for lay readers.
After reading an earlier version of the paper in 1988, Sir Donald wrote to Professor Chapman.
“Certainly the news that I was worth so much to the ABC (Australian Board of Control) reached me 50 years too late.
“Not that I would ever have pursued a professional sporting career — it was always against my instincts. I have no objection to professional sportsmen but I don’t think they derive the same pleasure from their exertions as the people who play sport primarily
for enjoyment.”
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