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- #WORST MNF GAME EVER SIMPSONS PROFESSIONAL#
- #WORST MNF GAME EVER SIMPSONS SERIES#
- #WORST MNF GAME EVER SIMPSONS TV#
Monday Night Football first aired on ABC on September 21, 1970, with a game between the New York Jets and the Browns in Cleveland. However, Gifford suggested former Dallas Cowboy quarterback Don Meredith, setting the stage for years of fireworks between the often-pompous Cosell and the laid-back Meredith. Arledge's original choice for the third member of the trio, Frank Gifford, was unavailable since he was still under contract to CBS Sports. Jack Buck was also considered, but when Arledge assistant Chuck Howard telephoned Buck with the job offer, Buck refused to respond due to anger at his treatment by ABC during an earlier stint with the network. Arledge had tried to lure Curt Gowdy and then Vin Scully to ABC for the MNF play-by-play role, but settled for Jackson after they proved unable to break existing contracts with NBC Sports and the Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively. Looking for a lightning rod to garner attention, Arledge hired controversial New York sportscaster Howard Cosell as a commentator, along with veteran football play-by-play man Keith Jackson. From 1974– 77, a Saturday night game was scheduled for Week 14 and televised live by ABC in lieu of a Monday night game. Prior to 1978, Monday night games were not scheduled in the final week (Week 14) of the regular season. Arledge also ordered twice the usual number of cameras to cover the game, expanded the regular two-man broadcasting booth to three and used extensive graphic design within the show as well as " instant replay." Setting out to create an entertainment "spectacle" as much as a simple sports broadcast, Arledge hired Chet Forte, who would serve as director of the program for over 22 years. See also: Monday Night Football results (1970–1989)Īfter the final contract for Monday Night Football was signed, ABC Sports producer Roone Arledge immediately saw possibilities for the new show. Speculation was that had Rozelle signed with Hughes, many ABC affiliates would have pre-empted the network's Monday lineup in favor of the games, severely damaging potential ratings. Only after Rozelle used the threat of signing with the independent Hughes Sports Network, an entity bankrolled by reclusive businessman Howard Hughes, did ABC sign a contract for the scheduled games. After sensing reluctance from both NBC and CBS in disturbing their regular programming schedules, Rozelle spoke with ABC.ĭespite the network's status as the lowest- rated network, ABC was also reluctant to enter the risky venture. NBC followed suit in 19 with games involving American Football League teams.ĭuring subsequent negotiations on a new television contract that would begin in 1970 (coinciding with a merger between the NFL and AFL), Rozelle concentrated on signing a weekly Monday night deal with one of the three major networks. Two years later, Rozelle would build on this success as the NFL began a four-year experiment of playing on Monday night, scheduling one game in prime time on CBS during the 19 seasons, and two contests during each of the next two years.
#WORST MNF GAME EVER SIMPSONS PROFESSIONAL#
While the game was not televised, it drew a sellout crowd of 59,203 to Tiger Stadium, the largest crowd ever to watch a professional football game in Detroit up to that point. Undaunted, Rozelle decided to experiment with the concept of playing on Monday night, scheduling the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions for a game on September 28, 1964.
#WORST MNF GAME EVER SIMPSONS SERIES#
(While the NFL had scheduled Saturday night games on the DuMont network in 1953- 1954, poor ratings and the dissolution of DuMont led to the series being eliminated by the time CBS took over the rights in 1956.) An early bid in 1964 to play on Friday nights was soundly defeated, with critics charging that such telecasts would damage the attendance at high school games.
#WORST MNF GAME EVER SIMPSONS TV#
Main article: Monday night National Football League games prior to 1970ĭuring the early 1960s, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle envisioned the possibility of playing at least one game weekly during prime time for a greater TV audience.