American Football League on ABC

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "American Football League on ABC" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

1960 American TV series or program

American Football League on ABC

Also known as| AFL on ABC
Genre| AFL game telecasts
Presented by| See list of commentators
Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
No. of seasons| 5
Production
Production locations| Various AFL stadiums (game telecasts)
Camera setup| Multi-camera
Running time| 210 minutes or until game ends
Production company| ABC Sports
Original release
Network| ABC
Release| September 11, 1960 (1960-09-11) –
January 16, 1965 (1965-01-16)
Related

* American Football League on NBC
* NFL on ABC

American Football League (AFL) on ABC is a television program that broadcast professional football games of the then fledgling (when compared to the more established National Football League) American Football League on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), then itself a less established player in American network television. ABC broadcast AFL games from the league's first season in 1960[1] until the 1964 season, when NBC took over as the league's primary network television broadcaster.

## Broadcast history

[edit]

### Terms of the deal

[edit]

On June 9, 1960, the league signed a five-year television contract with ABC, which brought in revenues of approximately $2,125,000 per year for the entire league. The deal called for ABC to broadcast approximately 37 regular season games, the AFL Championship Game and the AFL All-Star Game. These games were typically broadcast regionally on 15 consecutive Sundays and on Thanksgiving Day. This became the first ever cooperative television plan for professional football, in which the proceeds of the contract were divided equally among member clubs; the National Football League would follow suit in 1961, a move that required Congress to pass the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to accommodate such collective broadcasting contracts.

### Innovations

[edit]

ABC and the AFL also introduced moving, on-field cameras (as opposed to the fixed midfield cameras of CBS and the NFL), and were the first to have players "miked" during broadcast games. As the AFL also had players' names stitched on their jerseys, it was easier for both TV viewers and people at the games to tell who was who.

### The end of ABC's involvement

[edit]

The last AFL game on ABC television was the All-Star Game on January 16, 1965; rights were sold in January 1964 to NBC for $36 million over five years, beginning with the 1965 season.[2][3] This infusion of cash helped spur a bidding war for talent with the NFL, which led to the AFL–NFL merger agreement in June 1966. With the exception of the 1966 Continental Football League championship, ABC did not carry pro football again until after the completion of the merger and the subsequent creation of Monday Night Football for the 1970 season.

## List of commentators

[edit]

Pat Hernon hosted ABC's national postgame show out of New York. While ABC did show scores and updates from both the AFL and NFL, seldom if ever did viewers see any actual AFL highlights except from the game that had just been broadcast in their region, or nationally. They however, never showed any actual NFL highlights whatsoever.

### Play-by-play

[edit]

* Charlie Brockman (1964)
* Jack Buck[4] (1960-1963)
* John Ferguson[5] (1960)
* Bill Flemming (1964)
* Curt Gowdy[6] (1962-1964)
* Keith Jackson[7] (1964)
* Charlie Jones[8] (1960-1964)
* Les Keiter[9] (1960)
* Bob Neal[10] (1961)

### Color commentary

[edit]

* Elmer Angsman[11] (1960; 1964)
* Fred Benners[12] (1960)
* Paul Christman (1962-1964)
* Dick Danehe[13] (1960)
* Bill Dudley (1960)
* Lee Giroux (1961)
* Johnny Lujack (1964)
* Paul Mannaseh (1960)
* Jim McKay (1961)
* George Ratterman[14] (1960-1964)

## See also

[edit]

* NFL on ABC
* History of the NFL on television
* NFL on American television

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Brulia, Tim. "A CHRONOLOGY OF PRO FOOTBALL ON TELEVISION: Part 1" (PDF). Pro Football Researchers.
2. ^ "AFL, NBC ink pact". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI reports. January 29, 1964. p. 3B.
3. ^ "American Football League may be expanded in 1966". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). Associated Press. May 23, 1964. p. 8.
4. ^ "St. Petersburg Times - Page 100". St. Petersburg Times. September 10, 1961. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
5. ^ "Longtime 'Voice of the Tigers' Ferguson Dies at 86". LSU Sports. December 18, 2005. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
6. ^ "Curl Gowdy Has Done Them All. - Page 35". Lewiston Evening Journal. November 1, 1962. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
7. ^ "Keith Jackson, legendary college football announcer, dies at 89". NFL.com. January 13, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
8. ^ "Fort Smith's Charlie Jones to be inducted Arkansas Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame". River Valley Democrat-Gazette. June 23, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
9. ^ Halberstam, David J. (April 26, 2019). "Remembering a legend: Les Keiter, born 100 years ago, called big events and coined colorful phrases". Retrieved December 14, 2024.
10. ^ "Afl Title Game On... - Page 15". Lodi News-Sentinel. December 16, 1961. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
11. ^ "CHARLIE JONES – A Voice For All Seasons". Tales from the American Football League. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
12. ^ Stewart, Stewart (September 19, 1986). "Charlie Jones Opens 27th Season Sunday With 41st Analyst". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
13. ^ "Richard Danehe Obituary (1920 - 2018) - Los Angeles, CA". Legacy.com. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
14. ^ "Sports Events. - Page 12". Warsaw Times - Union. September 8, 1962. Retrieved December 14, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* AFL on ABC at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

American Football League

Eastern Division|

* Boston Patriots
* Buffalo Bills
* Houston Oilers
* Miami Dolphins
* New York Titans/Jets

Western Division|

* Cincinnati Bengals
* Denver Broncos
* Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs
* Oakland Raiders
* Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers

General|

* Seasons
* Playoffs
* All-League Teams
* All-Star game
* AFL Draft
* All-Time Team
* AFL–NFL merger
* NFL
* Thanksgiving Day games
* Players
* Officials
* Ten-year AFL patch

Broadcasters|

* ABC
* 1960s
* AFL All-Star Game
* AFL Championship Game
* Boston Patriots
* Buffalo Bills
* Cincinnati Bengals
* Denver Broncos
* Houston Oilers
* NBC
* Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs
* Miami Dolphins
* New York Titans/Jets
* Oakland Raiders
* Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers
* Super Bowl

Commissioners|

* Joe Foss
* Al Davis
* Milt Woodard (President)

* v
* t
* e

NFL on ABC

Related programs|

* Monday Night Football
* ESPN Sunday Night Football
* American Football League on ABC
* Pro Football Highlights
* Wide World of Sports

| Non-NFL programs|

* College Football on ABC
* USFL on ABC
* World League of American Football on ABC

|

Related articles|

* History of Monday Night Football
* NFL on television (history)
* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2020s
* Monday Night Mayhem (film)
* ABC Monday Night Football (video game)
* Super Bowl TV ratings (lead-out programs)

| Chicago Bears (home games)|

* 1953
* 1954
* 1955

|

Chicago Cardinals (home games)|

* 1953
* 1954
* 1955

Los Angeles Rams (Pacific Time Zone affiliates)|

* 1955

San Francisco 49ers (Pacific Time Zone affiliates)|

* 1955

Washington Redskins (home games)|

* 1954

Commentators|

* AFL All-Star Game
* American Bowl
* NFL draft

| Postseason commentators|

* AFL Championship Game
* NFL Championship Game
* Super Bowl

|

Lore televised by ABC|

* "Body Bag Game"
* Death of John Lennon
* Favre's Dad Game
* "Monday Night Miracle"
* Montana outduels Elway
* "Snowball Game"
* Joe Theismann's career-ending sack
* "The Night That Courage Wore Orange"
* World Bowl '91
* Collapse of Damar Hamlin

| Postseason lore|

* "Music City Miracle"
* "One Yard Short"
* "The Star-Spangled Banner" (Whitney Houston recording)
* "Wide Right"

|

Music|

* Charles Fox
* Edd Kalehoff
* Johnny Pearson
* Hank Williams Jr.

| Songs|

* "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night"
* "Heavy Action"
* "The Party's Over"

|

NFL Championship|

* 1948
* 1950

Super Bowl|

* XIX (1984)
* XXII (1987)
* XXV (1990)
* XXIX (1994)
* XXXIV (1999)
* XXXVII (2002)
* XL (2005)
* LXI (2026)
* LXV (2030)

Pro Bowl|

* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* ~~2021~~
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

AFL Championship|

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964

Results and standings|

| Yearly results|

* 1970–2005

|

NFL draft|

* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021

NFL Honors|

* 2022

* v
* t
* e

NFL on television and radio

Broadcast
partners|

* ABC
* CBS
* ESPN
* Fox
* NBC
* Sky Sports

Former partners
DuMont
Sports Network
TNT

Streaming coverage|

* ESPN+
* Netflix
* NFL+
* Paramount+ (CBS Sports)
* Peacock (NBC Sports)
* Prime Video

Monday Night
Football|

* History
* Monday Night Countdown

Results
1970–2005
2006–2019
2020–present
2015–present (ABC)

Sunday Night
Football|

* ESPN
* NBC
* TNT

Results
ESPN
NBC
TNT

Pregame shows|

* CBS
* The NFL Today
* Fox
* Fox NFL Kickoff
* Fox NFL Sunday
* ESPN
* Sunday NFL Countdown
* Monday Night Countdown
* NBC
* The NFL on NBC pregame show
* Football Night in America

NFL Network|

* List of programs
* NFL AM
* NFL Classics
* NFL GameDay
* NFL Replay
* NFL Total Access
* The Timeline
* Finding Giants

Thursday Night Football
Results (2006–present)
2007 New England Patriots–New York Giants game
Miracle in Motown

NFL Network Exclusive Game Series

NFL Films|

* America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions
* Football Follies
* A Football Life
* Hard Knocks
* Inside the NFL
* NFL Dream Season
* NFL Films Game of the Week
* NFL Matchup
* NFL Top 10
* NFL Top 100
* The Perfect 10
* Quarterback

Other programs|

* DuMont
* Football Sidelines
* Football This Week
* Pro Football Highlights
* ESPN
* NFL Live
* NFL Primetime
* Nickelodeon
* NFL on Nickelodeon
* NFL Slimetime
* Super Bowl programming
* Prime Video
* NFL on Prime Video
* ITV
* The NFL Show
* Sky
* NFL on Sky Sports

Radio broadcast
partners|

* Compass Media
* ESPN
* Sports USA
* Westwood One

| Defunct networks|

* Mutual
* NBC

|

Secondary partners|

* Absolute Radio 90s (UK)
* NFL+
* Sirius XM
* TSN Radio (Canada)

Local broadcasters|

* Buffalo Bills Radio Network
* Cincinnati Bengals Radio Network
* Cleveland Browns Radio Network
* Dallas Cowboys Radio Network
* Denver Broncos Radio Network
* Detroit Lions Radio Network
* Packers Radio Network
* Jaguars Radio Network
* Las Vegas Raiders Radio Network
* New England Patriots Radio Network
* New York Giants Radio Network
* New York Jets broadcasters
* Pittsburgh Steelers Radio Network
* Titans Radio Network

Broadcasters
by event|

* NFL draft

| Pre-AFL–NFL merger|

* AFL All-Star Game
* NFL Championship Game
* Playoff Bowl

|

Postseason events|

* Super Bowl (lead-out programs)

TV technology|

* 1st & Ten
* FoxBox
* Instant replay
* NFL Sunday Ticket
* Telestrator

Other|

* Announcerless game
* Muppet Night Football
* Canadian broadcasts
* History
* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s
* 2020s
* Doubleheader (television)
* Super Bowl TV ratings (lead-out programs)
* Timeline of American Football on UK television

| TV markets|

* 1994–1996 U.S. TV realignment
* List of American and Canadian cities by number of major professional sports franchises
* Cable TV NFL over-the-air affiliates

|

Broadcast policies|

* Blackout policies
* Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961

Network|

* ABC/ESPN
* CBS
* Fox
* NBC
* NFL Network
* Westwood One

* v
* t
* e

Sports properties of ESPN on ABC

Current|

* College Basketball on ABC
* College Football on ABC
* Saturday Night Football
* NFL on ABC
* Monday Night Football
* Bundesliga on ABC
* La Liga on ABC
* Formula One
* NBA on ABC
* WNBA on ABC
* NHL on ABC
* NHL Game of the Week
* Little League World Series
* X Games
* Major League Baseball on ABC
* history
* UFL on ABC

Former|

* American Football League on ABC
* Arena Football League on ABC
* USFL
* World League of American Football
* Major League Baseball on ABC
* Monday Night Baseball
* Sunday Afternoon Baseball
* Thursday Night Baseball
* Baseball Night in America
* MLS on ABC
* NASCAR on ESPN
* NBA Inside Stuff
* NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad
* Olympics
* PGA Tour on ABC
* Monday Night Golf
* Kentucky Derby
* Preakness Stakes
* Belmont Stakes
* Breeders Cup
* ABC's Wide World of Sports
* FIFA World Cup on ABC
* NASL
* The American Sportsman
* Scripps National Spelling Bee
* Superstars
* Battle of the Network Stars
* ESPN Sports Saturday
* Indianapolis 500
* IndyCar Series
* Boxing on ABC
* Premier Boxing Champions
* Pan American Games
* Tour de France

See also|

* History
* United States sports broadcasting lists

* v
* t
* e

Wide World of Sports

Baseball|

* Major League Baseball
* announcers
* Little League World Series

Basketball|

* National Basketball Association
* announcers
* All-Star Game
* NBA Finals
* College Basketball
* NCAA Men's Final Four

Football|

* American Football League
* All-Star Game
* Championship Game
* Arena Football League

Golf|

* History
* Announcers
* Open Championship
* PGA Championship
* U.S. Open

Motorsports|

* IndyCar Series
* Indianapolis 500
* NASCAR
* History
* 1960s
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* Daytona 500

Soccer|

* FIFA World Cup
* North American Soccer League
* Soccer Bowl
* Major League Soccer
* History
* All-Star Game
* MLS Cup

Thoroughbred Racing|

* History
* Belmont Stakes
* Kentucky Derby
* Preakness Stakes

Other|

* Boxing
* The Super Fight
* Video game
* Cycling
* Grey Cup
* Pan American Games
* commentators
* Tennis
* Wimbledon
* X Games

Related articles|

* Events
* Key personnel
* The American Sportsman
* Battle of the Network Stars
* Vinko Bogataj
* ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
* Evel Knievel
* "Nadia's Theme"
* Superstars
* List of longest-running United States television series
* History of ABC Sports

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template