ABC Sports
The publisher and the University of California Press Foundation gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Eric Papenfuse and Catherine Lawrence Endowment Fund in Film and Media Studies.
SPORT IN WORLD HISTORY
Edited by Susan Brownell, Robert Edelman, Wayne Wilson, and Christopher Young
This University of California Press series explores the story of modern sport from its recognized beginnings in the nineteenth century to the current day. The books present to a wide readership the best new scholarship connecting sport with broad trends in global history. The series delves into sport’s intriguing relationship with political and social power, while also capturing the enthusiasm for the subject that makes it so powerful.
1. Empire in Waves: A Political History of Surfing, by Scott Laderman
2. Country of Football: Soccer and the Making of Modern Brazil, by Roger Kittleson
3. Skiing into Modernity: A Cultural and Environmental History, by Andrew Denning
4. ABC Sports: The Rise and Fall of Network Sports Television, by Travis Vogan
5. The Sportsworld of the Hanshin Tigers: Professional Baseball in Modern Japan, by William W. Kelly
ABC Sports
THE RISE AND FALL OF NETWORK SPORTS TELEVISION
Travis Vogan
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2018 by Travis Vogan
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Vogan, Travis, author.
Title: ABC Sports : the rise and fall of network sports television / Travis Vogan.
Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2018017673 (print) | LCCN 2018021121 (ebook) | ISBN 9780520966260 (ebook) | ISBN 9780520292956 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780520292963 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: ABC Sports. | Television broadcasting of sports—United States—20th century.
Classification: LCC GV742.3 (ebook) | LCC GV742.3 .v6155 2018 (print) | DDC 070.449796—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018017673
27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Caitlin
Contents
Introduction: ABC Sports and Network Sports Television
1 •The “Almost Broadcasting Company” and the Birth of ABC Sports
2 •ABC’s Wide World of Sports: “The Seedbed of Modern Sports Television” and the Cold War
3 •“The Network of the Olympics”: Starring Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell
4 •Monday Night Football, Brian’s Song, and the Roots of the Prime-Time TV Event
5 •The News from Munich on the “Arledge Broadcasting Company”
6 •“What in the Wide, Wide World of Sports Is Going On Here?”: TrashSports and Scandal
7 •“No More Sacred Cows”: The End of ABC Sports’ Golden Age
Conclusion: From Wide World of Sports to the Worldwide Leader in Sports
Appendix 1: Wide World of Sports Inaugural Season Schedule, 1961
Appendix 2: ABC’s Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year
Appendix 3: Top Fifteen Television Audiences of All Time as of Roots’ Premiere
Appendix 4: Top Ten Most-Watched Wide World of Sports Episodes
Abbreviations
Notes
Index
Illustrations
1. New York Times advertisement for ABC’s coverage of the 1961 US-USSR track meet
2. LeRoy Neiman sketch of Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell, 1970
3. University of Buffalo marching band’s politically loaded halftime performance, 1970
4. University of Buffalo student protest against ABC, 1970
5. Burt Reynolds on a 1974 installment of Monday Night Football
6. LeRoy Neiman sketch of Mark Spitz drying his hair, 1972 Munich Olympics
7. LeRoy Neiman sketch of ABC cameras covering the 1972 Munich hostage crisis
8. A 1977 ABC Sports holiday card designed by LeRoy Neiman
9. LeRoy Neiman sketch of Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs prior to Battle of the Sexes
10. LeRoy Neiman sketch of Billie Jean King tending to her appearance before Battle of the Sexes
11. Monday Night Football–themed stamp issued by the US Postal Service, 1999
Acknowledgments
It is humbling to reflect on a years-long project—one that winds up as a book that displays only my name on the cover—and realize how many others contributed. Some pitched in directly and with very specific favors and tips; some asked good questions in the midst of chatting about other topics; and some were just encouraging. Despite the size and nature of these contributions, I can say with total confidence that I could not have completed this project entirely on my own. I appreciate the support and promise to pay it forward.
But I do want to single out some folks and organizations that took the time to help out. First of all, I have to give a giant thanks to sports broadcasting legend and model Hawkeye Ken Aagaard for connecting me with some of the sources who helped me piece together this history. The book would not be nearly as good without their memories and voices, and Ken got the ball rolling by vouching for me. Thanks to Jack Gallivan, Roger Goodman, Rick Kaplan, Dennis Lewin, Robert Lipsyte, Williams Liss, John Martin, Geoff Mason, Sean McManus,