January 4, 1959: "GE College Bowl" comes to
television on CBS. The show, originally titled
"College Quiz Bowl," had aired on NBC radio from
1953 to 1955, with Allen Ludden as host; a TV
pilot had been made in 1955 but hadn't gotten
on the air. (General Electric, to my knowledge,
did not sponsor the radio show.)
As on radio, Ludden was the host and (until
the fall of 1960) was broadcast from the campuses
of the participating schools (each team was in a
studio at its own school, with cheering sections that
made the show seem like a sports event). In October
1960 the show began originating from a single studio
in New York.
Ludden left the show in 1962; "College Bowl" aired
on CBS at 5:30 (ET) on Sundays, while the nighttime
version of Ludden's other hit, "Password," aired at 6:30.
CBS president Jim Aubrey didn't like the idea of Ludden's
being on two shows scheduled so close together that he
forced him to choose one or the other. Since "Password"
also aired five days a week at 2 PM, and thus paid more,
and since Ludden needed money to pay his late first wife's
medical bills, he opted to go with "Password." GE employee
Robert Earle replaced him, and I think we all know the story
of how he got the job by splicing himself into Ludden's place
on a tape of the show, sending it to GE, and being invited to
host a practice game in which he demonstrated a chemistry
with the players. (He also looked like Ludden's brother, which
didn't hurt, either). Earle remained with the show when it
moved to NBC in 1963 and all the way to its cancellation in
1970.
On the first show, a team from Brown and Pembroke (Rhode
Island) defeated Northwestern. Perhaps the most dramatic
moment in the show's run was in April 1966. Agnes Scott
College, an all-female school in Atlanta, was matched against
Princeton. With 50 seconds left, Agnes Scott was down by
55 points, but then went on a run which brought them to five
points down with two seconds to go, and one Agnes Scott
team member buzzed in with the right answer to a toss-up
just as time ran out. Final score: Agnes Scott 220, Princeton
215. (They returned but lost the following week.) What was
most dramatic is that the woman who gave the winning answer
was blind and had no idea how much time was left when she
buzzed in.
"College Bowl" has aired in other versions: on CBS radio in
the early '80s, hosted by Art Fleming (the original host of
"Jeopardy!"); on the Disney Channel with Dick Cavett; in
several specials; and as BET's "Campus All-Star Challenge."
It has also inspired shows featuring high-school teams such
as "It's Academic."
I'd love to have "College Bowl" back on a regular basis.
I do wonder, based on my experience as a college teacher,
how many of today's students could answer the questions
the show used to ask.
television on CBS. The show, originally titled
"College Quiz Bowl," had aired on NBC radio from
1953 to 1955, with Allen Ludden as host; a TV
pilot had been made in 1955 but hadn't gotten
on the air. (General Electric, to my knowledge,
did not sponsor the radio show.)
As on radio, Ludden was the host and (until
the fall of 1960) was broadcast from the campuses
of the participating schools (each team was in a
studio at its own school, with cheering sections that
made the show seem like a sports event). In October
1960 the show began originating from a single studio
in New York.
Ludden left the show in 1962; "College Bowl" aired
on CBS at 5:30 (ET) on Sundays, while the nighttime
version of Ludden's other hit, "Password," aired at 6:30.
CBS president Jim Aubrey didn't like the idea of Ludden's
being on two shows scheduled so close together that he
forced him to choose one or the other. Since "Password"
also aired five days a week at 2 PM, and thus paid more,
and since Ludden needed money to pay his late first wife's
medical bills, he opted to go with "Password." GE employee
Robert Earle replaced him, and I think we all know the story
of how he got the job by splicing himself into Ludden's place
on a tape of the show, sending it to GE, and being invited to
host a practice game in which he demonstrated a chemistry
with the players. (He also looked like Ludden's brother, which
didn't hurt, either). Earle remained with the show when it
moved to NBC in 1963 and all the way to its cancellation in
1970.
On the first show, a team from Brown and Pembroke (Rhode
Island) defeated Northwestern. Perhaps the most dramatic
moment in the show's run was in April 1966. Agnes Scott
College, an all-female school in Atlanta, was matched against
Princeton. With 50 seconds left, Agnes Scott was down by
55 points, but then went on a run which brought them to five
points down with two seconds to go, and one Agnes Scott
team member buzzed in with the right answer to a toss-up
just as time ran out. Final score: Agnes Scott 220, Princeton
215. (They returned but lost the following week.) What was
most dramatic is that the woman who gave the winning answer
was blind and had no idea how much time was left when she
buzzed in.
"College Bowl" has aired in other versions: on CBS radio in
the early '80s, hosted by Art Fleming (the original host of
"Jeopardy!"); on the Disney Channel with Dick Cavett; in
several specials; and as BET's "Campus All-Star Challenge."
It has also inspired shows featuring high-school teams such
as "It's Academic."
I'd love to have "College Bowl" back on a regular basis.
I do wonder, based on my experience as a college teacher,
how many of today's students could answer the questions
the show used to ask.
