National Basketball Association (NBA) Game Programs Collection

Collection

Identifier: BKP_610

Staff Only
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Scope and Contents

This collection contains nearly 1,000 programs and scorecards issued for National Basketball Association games. Teams, arenas, and other vendors published programs and scorecards for purchase by fans attending the games. The programs and scorecards usually contain at a minimum roster and lineup information and space for attendees to keep score of the game. The programs tend to become larger, longer, and more substantial over the years and sometimes contain additional information about the teams, players, coaches, and other subjects. Many programs also include advertisements. Most of the programs in the collection date from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with scattered examples from earlier and later years.

In earlier years, NBA teams would frequently host double-headers that featured a second game either before or after the NBA contest that saw high school, amateur, college, semi-pro, barnstorming, or other types of basketball teams in action. When a program is for a doubleheader the second non-NBA game is noted in the scope and contents note.

In some years, teams issued substantially the same program or scorecard for every game of the season, merely swapping out team rosters and statistics depending on the opponent. In other years, leagues printed magazine-style programs that teams adapted for their games. Some programs do not contain a specific date and only indicate the season of competition.

Other features that may characterize individual programs - autographs, for example, or ephemera like ticket stubs - are present as noted.

Formats include programs and scorecards.

Dates

Creation: 1948-1984

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical / Historical

Scorecards and programs for athletics events were first printed in the late nineteenth century for fans to keep track of the game and for teams to publicize their games and their players. Scorecards included space for fans to keep score, and many scorecards featured pre-printed lineups. Through the years, scorecards became more substantial and sometimes evolved into the multi-page published game programs that were common in the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century.

The National Basketball Association was founded in 1949 with the merger of two professional leagues, the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America.