More footage of NBC's telecast of Super Bowl V surfaces?

[oldecapecod11]

Rupert Patrick » Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:17 am
"It would have had to have been somebody that worked at one of the network affiliates, as VCR's didn't exist back then..."

There were video recorders in the 1950s - quite dear but they existed. I believe Toshiba was one of the earlier manufacturers and sometimes it appears some of those componets are still in use in this damn laptop.

[MarbleEye]

This may strike people here as a totally ridiculous suggestion, but when what was known originally as a "VTR" machine (Video Tape Recorder") made by Sony, for taping television shows first became commercially available (early to mid-sixties), Hugh Hefner of Playboy fame popped for the then very astronomical cost of such equipment in quantity. He hired full-time engineers to operate the equipment (still has a staff devoted to that today from what I have read) and taped all sorts of programs for the benefit of his guests and the Bunny and Playmate guests that lived at the Playboy Mansion.

I don't know if he was or is an avid football fan and it's probably a REAL longshot at the very best, but who knows? Maybe he taped the early Super Bowls 1 thru 5 and still has them. Like I said, it's a shot in the dark, no one needs to point that out to me.

Or maybe some other very wealthy "early adopter" of technology has them. It wouldn't shock me if *Someone* out there had them and maybe doesn't even know it.

[Rupert Patrick]

This may strike people here as a totally ridiculous suggestion, but when what was known originally as a "VTR" machine (Video Tape Recorder") made by Sony, for taping television shows first became commercially available (early to mid-sixties), Hugh Hefner of Playboy fame popped for the then very astronomical cost of such equipment in quantity. He hired full-time engineers to operate the equipment (still has a staff devoted to that today from what I have read) and taped all sorts of programs for the benefit of his guests and the Bunny and Playmate guests that lived at the Playboy Mansion.

I don't know if he was or is an avid football fan and it's probably a REAL longshot at the very best, but who knows? Maybe he taped the early Super Bowls 1 thru 5 and still has them. Like I said, it's a shot in the dark, no one needs to point that out to me.

Or maybe some other very wealthy "early adopter" of technology has them. It wouldn't shock me if *Someone* out there had them and maybe doesn't even know it.

I don't know about Hefner, but I imagine he was more interested in taping other things besides football.

Elvis Presley was a huge football fan (his favorite team was the Cleveland Browns and his favorite player was Jim Brown) and he used to purchase film (which I am guessing was game film) from the NFL. When he lived in Hollywood in the 60's, Elvis and his Memphis Mafia set up a flag football team where they would play teams of Hollywood actors. The King's team had a few actors on their team, including Max Baer Jr., and I think Lee Majors also played on Elvis's team. Elvis would play QB, and would draw up his own plays, and they would rent local parks and play in the middle of the night to keep away the crowds of fans. Some of the plays he wrote up have sold at auction for a lot of money.

I found some pictures of Elvis playing football, looks like the late 50's:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTv16_Fd8es

Elvis was also one of the first private citizens in the US to own a VTR in the late 60's. If anybody would have taped football games back then, it would have been Elvis.

[SixtiesFan]

Getting back to Super Bowl V, does anyone here know the source of this recently uncovered footage? Was it kept under wraps all this time by NBC or, as with Super Bowl I, was it some individual who had the foresight to preserve much of the game?

It would have had to have been somebody that worked at one of the network affiliates, as VCR's didn't exist back then. Another source might have been somebody at the Armed Forces Network, as the games were recorded and sent to our soldiers overseas.

Yes, there are several pro and college games from that period available that possibly were on the Armed Forces Network.

[Veeshik_ya]

I've long heard that when it comes to NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl V, all that has survived is the second quarter, plus footage of Jim O'Brien's game-winning kick. Now I hear that not only do those parts of the game exist, but the pregame show, first quarter and third quarter as well.

Does anyone here know if this is indeed the case? If so, it would be a tremendous find, and mean that Super Bowl V is no longer the earliest Super Bowl to have most of its telecast missing. That dubious honor would go to Super Bowl II, which I believe has no surviving broadcast coverage.

Then again, if this rumor about Super Bowl V is true, perhaps there's still a chance some of CBS' coverage of Super Bowl II has survived. One can certainly hope that's the case.

I know where to get a copy of this game, described as follows:

"(THIS IS A NEW VERSION THAT CONTAINS PRE-GAME, COMMERCIALS AND HALFTIME. THE BROADCAST ENDS AFTER THE FIRST PLAY OF THE 4TH QUARTER WITH DALLAS LEADING 13-6. AFTER THE ORIGINAL BROADCAST ENDS THERE IS A FEW OF THE KEY PLAYS SHOWN FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES. THE MIKE CURTIS INTERCEPTION OF CRAIG MORTON IS SHOWN AS IS THE GAME WINNING FIELD GOAL, BUT BESIDES A FEW PLAYS ALMOST THE ENTIRE 4TH QUARTER IS MISSING)

NBC Announcers- Curt Gowdy and Kyle Rote.
This game contains Pre-Game, Commercials and Halftime coverage but does NOT include any Post-Game Coverage as the boradcast ends one play into the fourth quarter."

I'd post the link here, but I'm assuming the administrators would spank me if I did. Anyone interested can send me a private message.

[Ronfitch]

This may strike people here as a totally ridiculous suggestion, but when what was known originally as a "VTR" machine (Video Tape Recorder") made by Sony, for taping television shows first became commercially available (early to mid-sixties), Hugh Hefner of Playboy fame popped for the then very astronomical cost of such equipment in quantity. He hired full-time engineers to operate the equipment (still has a staff devoted to that today from what I have read) and taped all sorts of programs for the benefit of his guests and the Bunny and Playmate guests that lived at the Playboy Mansion.

I don't know if he was or is an avid football fan and it's probably a REAL longshot at the very best, but who knows? Maybe he taped the early Super Bowls 1 thru 5 and still has them. Like I said, it's a shot in the dark, no one needs to point that out to me.

Or maybe some other very wealthy "early adopter" of technology has them. It wouldn't shock me if *Someone* out there had them and maybe doesn't even know it.

I don't know about Hefner, but I imagine he was more interested in taping other things besides football.

Elvis Presley was a huge football fan (his favorite team was the Cleveland Browns and his favorite player was Jim Brown) and he used to purchase film (which I am guessing was game film) from the NFL. When he lived in Hollywood in the 60's, Elvis and his Memphis Mafia set up a flag football team where they would play teams of Hollywood actors. The King's team had a few actors on their team, including Max Baer Jr., and I think Lee Majors also played on Elvis's team. Elvis would play QB, and would draw up his own plays, and they would rent local parks and play in the middle of the night to keep away the crowds of fans. Some of the plays he wrote up have sold at auction for a lot of money.

I found some pictures of Elvis playing football, looks like the late 50's:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTv16_Fd8es

Elvis was also one of the first private citizens in the US to own a VTR in the late 60's. If anybody would have taped football games back then, it would have been Elvis.

I once worked at a small market TV station, so when I heard about the son of an affiliate station engineer finding tape of SB I, it did not surprise me at all. Those guys saved everything.

Found an old tape that you want transferred to digital? If anything older than VHS (home) or most anything pro format these day, odds are there is a retired TV engineer with a basement full of decks and tape that is your best shot.

And, regarding home collectors, don't forget the Bing Crosby story from a few years ago:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/sport ... .html?_r=0

Bing, Elvis, Hef ... certainly there are others.

I suspect we might start seeing a wave of this sort of thing, as that particular generation (grew up in the depression, entered local TV in the '50s) continues to age and their children start going through stuff. Plus the folks who worked for Armed Forces Network.

[JoeZagorski]

In response to those incredibly super blue jerseys and silver pants that the Cowboys wore in Super Bowl V, let's also say that the Colts visiting white jerseys with royal blue trim provided a beautiful contrast to the Dallas uniforms. Added to that, the Orange Bowl Poly-Turf was brand new in 1970, and it looked outstanding on the day of Super Bowl V. The Vince Lombardi Trophy at midfield was a nice touch too. To me, Super Bowls V and VI were the two most visually pleasing (in my opinion).

Joe Zagorski

[Bryan]

In response to those incredibly super blue jerseys and silver pants that the Cowboys wore in Super Bowl V, let's also say that the Colts visiting white jerseys with royal blue trim provided a beautiful contrast to the Dallas uniforms. Added to that, the Orange Bowl Poly-Turf was brand new in 1970, and it looked outstanding on the day of Super Bowl V. The Vince Lombardi Trophy at midfield was a nice touch too. To me, Super Bowls V and VI were the two most visually pleasing (in my opinion).

Joe Zagorski

Agree about Super Bowl V. It had a very crisp look, but since it was played outdoors during the day it avoided being "sterile".

[NFL500]

I must say I'm surprised that there's been no media coverage about this discovery. Granted this is not comparable to the finding of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series in Bing Crosby's wine cellar, but still, I thought locating an almost complete broadcast of an early Super Bowl, the first one that was competitive from beginning to end, would elicit some response from sports media reporters and the NFL. Press coverage of discoveries like this could spur searches for other presumably lost footage.

[BD Sullivan]

Rupert Patrick » Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:17 am
"It would have had to have been somebody that worked at one of the network affiliates, as VCR's didn't exist back then..."

There were video recorders in the 1950s - quite dear but they existed. I believe Toshiba was one of the earlier manufacturers and sometimes it appears some of those componets are still in use in this damn laptop.

If you look at Broadcasting magazine issues through the 50's and 60's, you can see that the average VTR was the size of a refrigerator, which is always the case with new technologies: ridiculously expensive and large when first starting out, followed by subsequent innovations that reduce it to what we have now.