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Early Sports TV Moments (pre-1970)

BostonNit

BostonNit

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The other thread on being an athlete for a day made me think about this in a different light...

What do you consider some of the earliest (BEFORE 1970) epic TV moments related to sports?

Here are a few that come to mind...

Any video of Babe Ruth doing his HR trot with his arms in tight to his chest and spindly legs carrying that big body šŸ˜„
Lou Gehrig farewell speech
Bobby Thompson "The Giants Win the Pennant!"
Willie Mays' basket catch and throw
Maz's HR

What are some others? Need some non-baseball moments.
 
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MtNittany

MtNittany

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Golf:

Bobby Jones ticker tape parade in NYC after winning everything of meaning that year.

Ben Hogan's 1953 season where he won 5 of the 6 tournaments he played in after recovering from being hit head-on by a bus.

Jack vs. Arnold at Oakmont in 1962 changed everything.
 
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Bob78

Bob78

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The Baltimore Colts beating the NY Giants in OT (then called Sudden Death) the 1958 NFL Championship game paved the way for the explosion of NFL popularity. That led to NFL expansion over the next few years, starting with Dallas and Minnesota in 1960, later New Orleans and Atlanta ('65 or '66), and also to the creation of the AFL, which kicked off in 1960.

Not long after that dramatic Colts win, the NFL named young, visionary Pete Rozelle as Commissioner, and they eventually supplanted MLB as the nation's top spectator sport.
 
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HarrisburgDave

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60s memories -

Bob Gibson striking out 17 Tigers in the first game of the 1968 World Series (Gibson was incredible, better than Koufax, at his best)

Bart Starr scoring a last second TD to beat the Cowboys in the Ice Bowl in 1967. (Starr had the highest quarterback rating of all time when he retired, he was and is underrated)

Billy Mills wins the 10,000 meters at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in a gigantic upset (Every kid in America with access to a track duplicated that last lap and threw up their arms crossing the finish line)

Jim Bunning perfect game (A man with 9 children is perfect on Father's Day in 1964. My favorite player of all time, he served as a US Senator from Kentucky)

Seeing Willie Mays live at Connie Mack Stadium. (It was like being in the presence of God)

My Dad and my Uncle attending the 1965 Big 33 Football Classic, PA vs Texas, and having their picture in the newspaper (I still have that Patriot News edition in my collection)

Jim Brown and the Cleveland Browns win the 1964 NFL Championship (Back then football on TV was not what it became. I remember a pregame show of 30 minutes and then a game where the Colts could do nothing against the Browns. Jim Brown was and still is the greatest football player I have ever seen.)
 
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Bob78

Bob78

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HarrisburgDave said:
60s memories -

Jim Brown and the Cleveland Browns win the 1964 NFL Championship (Back then football on TV was not what it became. I remember a pregame show of 30 minutes and then a game where the Colts could do nothing against the Browns. Jim Brown was and still is the greatest football player I have ever seen.)
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I grew up outside of Harrisburg in Mechanicsburg. That was Colts country, for sure, as good ol' CBS Channel 21 carried all their games. That 1964 27-0 loss to the Browns, after a 0-0 halftime score, was tough for this then-8 year old to take! Little did I know that Super Bowll III would be even tougher, just 4 seasons later.

Btw, back on topic --- Super Bowl III, with the Jets upsetting the heavily favored Colts, has to be on the list of the biggest TV moments pre-1970. (Sad to say, for me).
 
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JohnJumba

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Seeing Clemente knowing he couldn't get the runner out, smacking him in the back with a spike.
 
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MrTailgate

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The weekly Wide World of Sports and the MLB Game of the week.

The Olympics were also a great experience at that time. I can still distinctly remember where I was when Beamon set the long jump record and when Olga Korbut burst onto the stage.
 
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FHSPSU67

FHSPSU67

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Miracle on Ice
Ignore: 1980-- Where's that damn "delete" button!
 
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MrTailgate

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LionJim said:
Pete Maravich 69 points against Alabama, the first time I saw him play.
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I still regret not seeing Murphy against any of the Big 5 teams? Did you see any of the Murphy games? I saw Marvin Barnes and a bunch of other great visiting players but i didn't see any of the games against Niagara.
 
Tom McAndrew

Tom McAndrew

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MrTailgate said:
I still regret not seeing Murphy against any of the Big 5 teams? Did you see any of the Murphy games? I saw Marvin Barnes and a bunch of other great visiting players but i didn't see any of the games against Niagara.
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I seem to remember watching him on TV against one of the Big 5 teams -- just can't remember which team, and/or whether it was multiple teams.

I went to sports-reference.com to look up Niagra stats for the years Murphy played:

'69-'70 season:
@ Villanova (L) (played at Villanova Field House)
@ LaSalle (L) (played at the Spectrum)
NCAAs -- played Penn (W; played at Jadwin Gymnasium) and Nova (L; played at Carolina Coliseum)

'68-'69 season:
@ LaSalle (L) (played at the Spectrum)
Villanova (L)

'67-'68 season:
@LaSalle (W) (played at the Spectrum)
Villanova (L) (played at Gallagher Center)
@Villanova (W) (played at Villanova Field House)

It's kind of hard to believe (assuming the aforementioned source is correct) that he never played at the Palestra.

Also, it's no surprise if you think about the years listed above, but the stats indicate the conference the opposing team played in, and 85-90% of their opponents were independents. In that regard, things certainly have changed.
 
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MrTailgate

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Tom McAndrew said:
I seem to remember watching him on TV against one of the Big 5 teams -- just can't remember which team, and/or whether it was multiple teams.

I went to sports-reference.com to look up Niagra stats for the years Murphy played:

'69-'70 season:
@ Villanova (L) (played at Villanova Field House)
@ LaSalle (L) (played at the Spectrum)
NCAAs -- played Penn (W; played at Jadwin Gymnasium) and Nova (L; played at Carolina Coliseum)

'68-'69 season:
@ LaSalle (L) (played at the Spectrum)
Villanova (L)

'67-'68 season:
@LaSalle (W) (played at the Spectrum)
Villanova (L) (played at Gallagher Center)
@Villanova (W) (played at Villanova Field House)

It's kind of hard to believe (assuming the aforementioned source is correct) that he never played at the Palestra.

Also, it's no surprise if you think about the years listed above, but the stats indicate the conference the opposing team played in, and 85-90% of their opponents were independents. In that regard, things certainly have changed.
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Maybe Iā€™m dreaming but I thought Murphy had and still holds the record for visiting player scoring in a single game at the Palestra. I never was at the Nova Fieldhouse but can remember those games.
 
Tom McAndrew

Tom McAndrew

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MrTailgate said:
Maybe Iā€™m dreaming but I thought Murphy had and still holds the record for visiting player scoring in a single game at the Palestra. I never was at the Nova Fieldhouse but can remember those games.
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I thought the same, and was somewhat doubtful of the locations of games played that was listed sport-reference.com.

I checked different sources, and the '68 LaSalle game was played at the Palestra, and Murphy scored 52 points.
 
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BVSt.Paul

BVSt.Paul

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LionJim said:
I must have watched 100 Met games on NY Channel 9 that year. That was the most fun season of any sport for me, ever.
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The Amazing Mets! My dad took a buddy and me (we were 11) to a game at Shea in September that season, and wouldnā€™t you know, Bob Moose of the Pirates tosses a no hitter.
 
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LionJim

LionJim

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BVSt.Paul said:
The Amazing Mets! My dad took a buddy and me (we were 11) to a game at Shea in September that season, and wouldnā€™t you know, Bob Moose of the Pirates tosses a no hitter.
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I have zero recollection of that game, or about the Mets being no-hit in 1969. Weird.

www.baseball-reference.com

Pittsburgh Pirates vs New York Mets Box Score: September 20, 1969 | Baseball-Reference.com

Pittsburgh Pirates beat New York Mets (4-0). Sep 20, 1969, Attendance: 38784, Time of Game: 2:08. Visit Baseball-Reference.com for the complete box score, play-by-play, and win probability
www.baseball-reference.com www.baseball-reference.com
 
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BVSt.Paul

BVSt.Paul

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LionJim said:
I have zero recollection of that game, or about the Mets being no-hit in 1969. Weird.

www.baseball-reference.com

Pittsburgh Pirates vs New York Mets Box Score: September 20, 1969 | Baseball-Reference.com

Pittsburgh Pirates beat New York Mets (4-0). Sep 20, 1969, Attendance: 38784, Time of Game: 2:08. Visit Baseball-Reference.com for the complete box score, play-by-play, and win probability
www.baseball-reference.com www.baseball-reference.com
Click to expand...
Pretty sure Clemente made a great catch against the wall but I could be making that up. It was only 56 years ago.
 
razpsu

razpsu

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Is this a Penn state site or what?
1749706512503.jpeg
www.psucollegian.com

Looking back 1969

Lions make the wrong choice, attend Orange and finish 2nd again(Editor's note: This article is the final article in a six-part series focusing on Penn State's 1969 Penn State football
www.psucollegian.com www.psucollegian.com
 
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