American Football League (AFL) on ABC is a
television programA television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
that broadcast
professional footballIn the United States and Canada, the term professional football includes the professional forms of American and Canadian gridiron football. In common usage, it refers to former and existing major football leagues in either country...
games of the then fledging (when compared to the more established
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
)
American Football LeagueThe American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
on the
American Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
(ABC). ABC broadcast AFL games from the leagues very first season in
1960The 1960 American Football League season was the inaugural regular season of the American Football League.The season ended when the Houston Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in the inaugural AFL Championship game.-Division races:...
until
1964The 1964 American Football League season was the fifth regular season of the American Football League.The season ended when the Buffalo Bills defeated the San Diego Chargers in the AFL Championship game...
, when
NBCNFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
took over as the league's primary
network televisionA television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
broadcaster.
Terms of the deal
On June 9, 1960, the league signed a five-year television contract with ABC, which brought in revenues of approximately
$The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
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 would were typically broadcast regionally on 15 consecutive Sundays and on Thanksgiving Day. This became the first ever cooperative television plan for
professional footballIn the United States and Canada, the term professional football includes the professional forms of American and Canadian gridiron football. In common usage, it refers to former and existing major football leagues in either country...
, in which the proceeds of the contract were divided equally among member clubs.
Innovations
ABC and the AFL also introduced moving, on-field cameras (as opposed to the fixed midfield cameras of
CBSThe NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
and the NFL), and were the first to have players "miked" during broadcast games.
List of commentators
Pat Hernon hosted ABC's national postgame show was out of
New YorkNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. 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
- Charlie Brockman
Charles T. "Charlie" Brockman was an American broadcaster and was a former president of the United States Auto Club from 1969-1972....
(1964)
- Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...
(1960-1963)
- John Ferguson (1960)
- Bill Flemming
William Norman "Bill" Flemming was an American television sports journalist who was one of the original announcers for the ABC Sports show Wide World of Sports.-Early life:...
(1964)
- Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...
(1962-1964)
- Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson is an American sportscaster, known for his long career with ABC Sports , his coverage of college football , his style of folksy, down-to-earth commentary, and his distinctive voice, with its deep cadence, and operatic tone considered "like Edward R...
(1964)
- Charlie Jones
Charlie Jones was an American Emmy Award-winning sportscaster for NBC and ABC.-Education:Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Jones earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California and a law degree at the University of Arkansas.-American Football League/National Football...
(1960-1964)
- Les Keiter
Les Keiter , also known as the "General", was a newscaster and sports director of Honolulu, Hawaii television station KHON-TV. Keiter, who also lived in New York and San Francisco, also called some of the biggest fights in the history of boxing.- Early career :Keiter was raised in Seattle and...
(1960)
- Bob Neal
Bob Neal was an American sportscaster who worked primarily in Cleveland, Ohio. He broadcast the Cleveland Indians on radio 1957–1961 and 1965–1972, and on television 1952–1953 and 1962–1964. He was also the original broadcaster for Cleveland Browns football games on radio and television starting...
(1961)
Color commentary
- Elmer Angsman
Elmer Angsman was an American football running back in the NFL.He was born on the south side of Chicago in 1925, the son of Elmer and Helen Angsman...
(1960; 1964)
- Fred Benners
Frederick Hagamann Benners is a former American football player. He played the 1952 NFL season for the New York Giants. Benners also played at Southern Methodist University and is considered one of the greatest Mustang players of all time....
(1960)
- Paul Christman
Paul Joseph Christman was an American football player and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He played college football for the University of Missouri and professionally for the Chicago Cardinals and Green Bay Packers.-Collegiate career:A St...
(1962-1964)
- Dick Danehe (1960)
- Bill Dudley
William McGarvey "Bullet Bill" Dudley was a professional American football player in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, and Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966.-Early life:Dudley was born in Bluefield, Virginia and...
(1960)
- Lee Giroux (1961)
- Johnny Lujack
John Christopher Lujack Jr. is a former American football quarterback and 1947 Heisman Trophy winner.Lujack was born on January 4, 1925, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame, and professionally for the Chicago Bears. Lujack was the first of...
(1964)
- Paul Mannaseh (1960)
- Jim McKay
James Kenneth McManus , better known by his professional name of Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist....
(1961)
- George Ratterman
George William Ratterman was an American Football player in the All-America Football Conference and the National Football League.-Early life:...
(1960-1964)