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List of AFL Championship Game broadcasters

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The following is a list of television and radio networks and announcers that have broadcast the American Football League Championship Game, which was played from 1960–1969 prior to the American Football League's merger with the National Football League.

Television

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See also: American_Football_League § Television

On June 9, 1960, the league signed a five-year television contract with ABC, which brought in revenues of approximately $2.125 million per year for the entire league. On January 29, 1964, the AFL signed a lucrative $36 million television contract with NBC (beginning in the 1965 season), which gave the league money it needed to compete with the NFL for players.

Year Network Play-by-play Color commentator(s) Sideline reporter(s)
1969 NBC[1] Curt Gowdy[2] Kyle Rote Al DeRogatis
1968 NBC Curt Gowdy Kyle Rote Charlie Jones[3]
1967 NBC[4] Curt Gowdy Paul Christman
1966 NBC Curt Gowdy[5] Paul Christman[6] Pat Hernon
1965 NBC[7] Curt Gowdy[8] Paul Christman Charlie Jones
1964 ABC[9] Curt Gowdy[10] Paul Christman[11] George Ratterman
1963 ABC[12][13] Curt Gowdy Paul Christman
1962 ABC[14] Curt Gowdy Paul Christman Jack Buck[15][16]
1961 ABC[17] Jack Buck[18] George Ratterman[19] Bob Neal[20]
1960 ABC[21][22] Jack Buck[23][24] George Ratterman[25] Les Keiter

Notes

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  • 1965 – Because of the smaller venue, the attendance was nearly 10,000 lower than 1964, but the television money was increased with NBC.
  • 1964 – Held six days after the completion of the 1964 regular season, it was the only AFL title game not played on Sunday, as well as the final one televised in black-and-white. This was the last AFL game on ABC television; rights were sold in January 1964 to NBC for $36 million over five years, beginning with the 1965 season.[26][27] With the new television deal with NBC, the players' shares for the AFL title game nearly doubled in 1965.[28] 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.
  • 1960 – To preclude the possibility of having to compete with an NFL title game in close proximity for an audience, AFL owners initially agreed that its Western champions would host in even numbered years, with Eastern champions hosting in odd numbered years. Thus, the first game was originally scheduled to be played in the 103,000 capacity Los Angeles Coliseum. However, the Chargers had drawn less than 10,000 fans per home game. With the still-fledgling league fearing the prospect that ABC would pull its contract because of very poor ticket sales, the Chargers, the Oilers and the League mutually agreed to move the game [29] to the smaller Jeppesen Stadium in Houston, where it drew a near-capacity 32,183.

Radio

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Year Network Play-by-play Color commentator(s)
1968 NBC Jim Simpson Al DeRogatis
1965 NBC[30] Herb Carneal George Ratterman

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Gaver, Jack (January 2, 1970). "Television Highlights. - Page 5". The Dispatch. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  2. ^ "Chiefs, Raiders Clash In Third Meeting. Afl Crown. - Page 20". The Nevada Daily Mail. December 28, 1969. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  3. ^ "Exclusive Colorcast Of Afl Deciding Game. - Page 44". The Press-Courier. December 25, 1968. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  4. ^ "College, Pro Grid Post-Season Play. - Page 10". Toledo Blade. December 23, 1967. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  5. ^ "Sunday - Page 13". The Free Lance-Star. December 31, 1966. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  6. ^ "The Pittsburgh Press - Page 14". The Free Lance-Star. December 31, 1966. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  7. ^ Snider, Steve (December 13, 1965). "Don't Worry Gals, Tv Grid End Near By Steve Snider. - Page 13". Schenectady Gazette. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  8. ^ "100 GREAT NFL-NBC MOMENTS". NBC Sports. August 29, 2019.
  9. ^ Rathet, Mike (December 24, 1964). "Says Afl, Nfl Near Same Level. - Page 11". Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  10. ^ "Youngstown Vindicator - Page 2". Youngstown Vindicator. December 26, 1964. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  11. ^ "Youngstown Vindicator - Page 2". Youngstown Vindicator. December 26, 1964. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  12. ^ "Television - Page 16". Lewiston Morning Tribune. January 5, 1964. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  13. ^ "Patriots, Bills In First Afl Playoff Fray. - Page 7". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 28, 1963. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  14. ^ "Houston, Dallas Near Full Strength For Afl Showdown. - Page 7". The Lewiston Daily Sun. December 22, 1962. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  15. ^ Eisenberg, John (December 15, 2012). "A Football Interloper's First Gust of Success". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  16. ^ Dubow, Josh (August 23, 2019). "A look at iconic announcers in NFL history". The Washington Times. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  17. ^ "Abc To Televise Afl Title Contest. - Page 13". Lewiston Morning Tribune. December 13, 1961. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  18. ^ "Pivotal Pro Football Plays". Golden Rankings. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  19. ^ "Afl Champions Game Set Sunday. - Page 8". Gadsden Times. December 24, 1961. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  20. ^ Brulia, Timothy. "THE COFFIN CORNER: Vol. 26, No. 2 (2004)" (PDF). Pro Football Researchers. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  21. ^ Oviatt, Ray (December 29, 1960). "On The Hi-Fi In, Av. Fenady's Projects Flourish. - Page 17". Toledo Blade. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  22. ^ "Chargers Aim For Big Upset. Afl Title Tilt Scheduled Sunday. - Page 6". Times Daily. January 1, 1961. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  23. ^ McCurdy, Bill (December 30, 2010). "That First AFL Championship Game". The Pecan Park Eagle. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  24. ^ "Sacco Sez: A father-son Super Bowl connection". Denver Broncos. February 4, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  25. ^ Jones, Charlie (September 2, 1984). "RECALLING THE DAYS WHEN THE A.F.L. WAS YOUNG". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  26. ^ "AFL, NBC ink pact". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI reports. January 29, 1964. p. 3B.
  27. ^ "American Football League may be expanded in 1966". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). Associated Press. May 23, 1964. p. 8.
  28. ^ "Bills turn solid gold with $100 quarterback". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 27, 1965. p. 31.
  29. ^ "LA Times 1985-09-17 P46 Chargers History - Newspapers.com". The Los Angeles Times. September 17, 1985. p. 46. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  30. ^ "Championship Facts, Figures. - Page 12". Gadsden Times. December 26, 1965. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
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