NBC broadcasted the first ever televised sporting event on May 17, 1939. It took place at Andy Coakley Field where Columbia University’s baseball team took on Princeton’s baseball team. One camera was used to film the game. The camera man stood on a wooden platform looking over the field. This game was used as an experiment to see if a live game could be aired on live television. There were not many viewers because only about 400 televisions were owned at the time. The televisions only had a black and white picture. The experiment worked and Princeton won the game by a score of 2-1. Later in the year, a MLB game and college football game were aired live on television by NBC. This was the beginning of live sporting events on television.
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It’s fascinating how the 1st sports game to be broadcasted was a college game. This led to many changes not only in the sports industry but sciences and arts as well. In the early 1900’s the only way to watch a game was live or hearing it through the radio. In part we can thank the broadcaster’s ingenuity, and the networks stake in selling advertising slots and T.V. sets; American’s started buying more TV’s, many in order to watch the games. Although the original T.V. sets were in black and white, technology wasn’t far behind. It wasn’t until the 1950’s that color TV sets began to sell. The advancement in how sports was being broadcasted led to advances in the engineering field; they started creating color TV’s, smaller microphones for the broadcasters, and electronic score boards for the game. As for the arts, advances in Sports also called for cheerleaders and creative dances and cheers; the first recorded cheerleading was done in 1898’s at a University of Minnesota football game; as fans began cheering for their favorite teams, request for team apparel and garments increased. As a society we began enjoying another form of entertainment without leaving the home.
ReplyDeleteThis event depicts the beginning of a massive change in our society. Imagine how people felt when they were told that they no longer had to travel to see their favorite sport or favorite teams in action? The scientists who developed the television had to truly be amazed at what their creation was allowing society to do. The artists had to be exponentially excited, knowing that there was a chance that their work had the capability of being shown on televisions all across the country. Then again, some see the television as the bane of America. It is always brought up with the issue of obese and inactive children in our country. That, however, is an daunting subject on its own.
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