January 20, 1968 UCLA vs. Houston - Men's Basketball
- 6 years ago
RIP Dick Enberg. This was his breakout performance on national television and it belongs online. This is not the entire game, but it's a remarkably intact recording from late in the first half to the finish.
Billed as the "Game of the Century", the January 20, 1968 men's basketball game between UCLA and Houston was a landmark event in the history of television in several ways, including introducing Enberg to a national audience.
Visionary television executive Eddie Einhorn put up $27,000 for the television rights for a UCLA vs. Houston rematch from the previous season's NCAA Championship Game, and for the first time ever, a college basketball game was broadcast on national TV in prime time.
Einhorn was able to sell it to 150 stations in almost every major U.S. television market. It was such a success that it led NBC to spend more than $500,000 to buy the TV rights to the 1969 NCAA Championship game, and from there it was off to the races.
Billed as the "Game of the Century", the January 20, 1968 men's basketball game between UCLA and Houston was a landmark event in the history of television in several ways, including introducing Enberg to a national audience.
Visionary television executive Eddie Einhorn put up $27,000 for the television rights for a UCLA vs. Houston rematch from the previous season's NCAA Championship Game, and for the first time ever, a college basketball game was broadcast on national TV in prime time.
Einhorn was able to sell it to 150 stations in almost every major U.S. television market. It was such a success that it led NBC to spend more than $500,000 to buy the TV rights to the 1969 NCAA Championship game, and from there it was off to the races.