NFL on DuMont

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The NFL on DuMont
Format Sports program
Created by DuMont Sports
Starring See announcers section below
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
Production
Running time 180 minutes or until game ends
Broadcast
Original channel DuMont
Original run 1951 – 1955

The NFL on DuMont was an American television program that broadcast National Football League games on the now defunct DuMont Television Network.[1] The program ran from 1951 to 1955.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] 1951-1952

On December 23, 1951, DuMont televised the first ever coast-to-coast professional football game, the NFL Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns. DuMont paid $75,000 for the rights to broadcast the game.[2]

In 1952, DuMont only aired New York Giants games before moving to a more national scope the following season.

See also: 1952 New York Giants (football) season

[edit] 1953-1954

During the 1953[3] and 1954 seasons, DuMont broadcast Saturday night NFL games. It was the first time that National Football League games were televised live, coast-to-coast, in prime time, for the entire season. This predated Monday Night Football on ABC by 17 years.[4] Nearly all the games in 1953 and 1954 originated in New York (Giants), Pittsburgh (Steelers), or Washington (Redskins). (All three of these cities had DuMont O&Os.)[5]

See also: 1953 New York Giants (football) season, 1953 Pittsburgh Steelers season, 1953 Washington Redskins season, 1954 New York Giants (football) season, 1954 Pittsburgh Steelers season, and 1954 Washington Redskins season

In 1954 (actually, January 1955), DuMont obtained rights from the Los Angeles Newspaper Charities to cover the Pro Bowl only one week before the game date. As they had trouble lining up affiliates to cover the game on such short notice, the telecast was cancelled.

See also: List of former DuMont Television Network affiliates and List of Pro Bowl broadcasters

[edit] 1955

In 1955, NBC replaced DuMont as the network for the NFL Championship Game, paying a rights fee of $100,000.[6]

DuMont ceased most entertainment programs (and a nightly newscast) in early April 1955. DuMont still broadcast some sports events (a Monday-night boxing show and the 1955 NFL season) until August 1956, when the network as a whole shut down for good.

[edit] Announcers

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The DuMont Television Network Historical Web Site
  2. ^ December 23, 1951 in History
  3. ^ Telecasts of complete professional games would not appear until 1953 on DuMont. NFL football on television, as we know it today, would have to wait for a decade, and the arrival of television-minded NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, before it made an impact on network television.
  4. ^ ABC wasn't the first network to try football in prime time. In the early 1950s, the now-defunct DuMont network broadcast pro football on Saturday nights, but a lack of affiliates and interest killed the concept (not to mention DuMont).
  5. ^ The DuMont Television Network: Channel Twelve: Feedback
  6. ^ NFL.com - NFL History (1955)

[edit] External links