Just in time for Super Bowl XLV: Super Bowl I video recording found

by Clutch16 on Feb 5, 2011 1:27 PM CST

This is absolutely stunning news: A man in North Carolina has finally made public the news that he possesses a video recording of the original broadcast of Super Bowl I between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs. It's not in perfect shape (it's missing halftime and a large part of the third quarter), but it's still the first video recording of the broadcast to have surfaced.

The Wall Street Journal has the full story.

On the downside, there are legal issues with the recording. The NFL has claimed copyright over the footage and had previously offered the owner $30,000 for a recording that could be worth $1,000,000. The man instead opted to donate the film to the Paley Center for Media in New York in exchange for having the footage restored. Hopefully, the Paley Center and the NFL can come to some kind of agreement on the footage, as I would love to see what's left of the tape air on the NFL Network.

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incredible find

Why does this stuff always manage to hit a mainstream headline when things are most dramatic? Regardless, this is a great discovery. I too would love to see the tape. It seems absurd that there are so many life-long Packer fans who have never seen anymore than 15 or 20 seconds worth of footage from SB I, myself included. Hopefully the copyright issues can be dealt with. Does anyone know if some type of copyright statute of limitations would ever apply? Would the NFL ever allow anything to become public domain? Seems highly unlikely.

The Corner Theorem: 38 + 21 = no fly zone

by Do the Math on Feb 5, 2011 5:57 PM CST reply actions

What?

I have this on DVD.

A.J. Hawk, B.J. Raji, C.J. Wilson, who's next, D.J. Shockley?

by Wiedmann on Feb 5, 2011 8:07 PM CST reply actions

DVD?

What are you, a dinosaur?

by Tepo6688 on Feb 5, 2011 8:08 PM CST up reply actions

Someday, I'll upgrade to LaserDisc or Beta

A.J. Hawk, B.J. Raji, C.J. Wilson, who's next, D.J. Shockley?

by Wiedmann on Feb 6, 2011 1:54 AM CST up reply actions

Hmm, just busted out my copy

This is what I have:
“All that survived of this broadcast is sideline footage shot by NFL Films and roughly 30 seconds of footage CBS included in a pre-game show for Super Bowl XXV”

but, it has announcers, maybe it’s spliced with a radio broadcast? It has all the plays, I believe, so this is not technically true:
“Unless they were one of the 61,946 people at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum that day, or one of the fans who watched it live on NBC or CBS, there’s one thing that all football fans have in common: They’ve never actually seen the game.”

They’ve never actually seen the broadcast, not the game.

Besides, I bet the NFL films footage is better than the stuff the network camera guys shot. It’d be sweet if they combined the broadcast & showed the NFL Films stuff as replays between the plays in real time.

A.J. Hawk, B.J. Raji, C.J. Wilson, who's next, D.J. Shockley?

by Wiedmann on Feb 5, 2011 8:22 PM CST up reply actions

Check out the mini-clips in the article and see if you still agree

"Who ever heard of the Cubs losing a game they had to have?" -Frank Chance
"If [Ruth] had [called his shot], I would have knocked him down with the next pitch." -Charlie Root

by Clutch16 on Feb 5, 2011 8:56 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah, that's clearly different than what I have

A.J. Hawk, B.J. Raji, C.J. Wilson, who's next, D.J. Shockley?

by Wiedmann on Feb 5, 2011 9:36 PM CST up reply actions

but still, I like the superiority I have over people by having seen SB I

even if it’s not as exclusive as having seen that specific tape.

A.J. Hawk, B.J. Raji, C.J. Wilson, who's next, D.J. Shockley?

by Wiedmann on Feb 5, 2011 9:41 PM CST up reply actions

Just saw your sig

The sad thing is that the next in line would be E.J. Henderson.

"Who ever heard of the Cubs losing a game they had to have?" -Frank Chance
"If [Ruth] had [called his shot], I would have knocked him down with the next pitch." -Charlie Root

by Clutch16 on Feb 5, 2011 9:53 PM CST up reply actions

I realized that, and that's why I stopped

A.J. Hawk, B.J. Raji, C.J. Wilson, who's next, D.J. Shockley?

by Wiedmann on Feb 5, 2011 11:06 PM CST up reply actions

Changed my language in the article to indicate that this is a recording of the broadcast

Not the only surviving recording of the game.

"Who ever heard of the Cubs losing a game they had to have?" -Frank Chance
"If [Ruth] had [called his shot], I would have knocked him down with the next pitch." -Charlie Root

by Clutch16 on Feb 5, 2011 10:36 PM CST up reply actions

The NFL offered this guy $30,000?

Talk about a rip-off of epic proportions. They should start their offer at $500,000, minimum.

I hope they give this guy the money he deserves.

Question: has anyone ever located the original broadcast of Super Bowl II (Packers vs. Raiders)?

I didn't believe it last August, but it turns out that love survives.

State high point count: 3/50

GREEN BAY PACKERS, 2010 NFC CHAMPIONS!

by Vermont Cubs Fan on Feb 5, 2011 10:13 PM CST reply actions

Also, didn't the recording come from a guy's attic in Pennsylvania?

I seem to remember seeing that in the WSJ article, too.

I didn't believe it last August, but it turns out that love survives.

State high point count: 3/50

GREEN BAY PACKERS, 2010 NFC CHAMPIONS!

by Vermont Cubs Fan on Feb 5, 2011 10:20 PM CST up reply actions

It was his family's old house

The fellow who found it lives in North Carolina and his lawyer is out of Virginia.

"Who ever heard of the Cubs losing a game they had to have?" -Frank Chance
"If [Ruth] had [called his shot], I would have knocked him down with the next pitch." -Charlie Root

by Clutch16 on Feb 5, 2011 10:34 PM CST up reply actions

How do you know that?

It’s never stated in the article where the tape’s owner lives, and I couldn’t find one occurrence of the word “North” (for “North Carolina”) in the article.