1945 College Football Season
From tvnut and ku528808:
Television
The year network television broadcasts of college football began – with one game:
Dec. 1: No. 1 Army vs. No. 2 Navy, at Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia (NBC), 1:30 p.m. ET (preceded by pre-game at about 12:30 p.m.). Red Barber reporting. (Army won, 32-13, finishing 9-0 and winning the national championship)
Seen on a three-station network: WNBT-1, New York; WPTZ-3, Philadelphia; WRGB-3, Schenectady.
This first network college football telecast is important for a few other reasons. It was the first network telecast of a No. 1-No. 2 matchup, and the second including local (see below). On the pre-game telecast, President Truman was seen on television for the first time, reviewing the entrance of the Cadets and Midshipmen into the stadium. It was reported to be the first use of the RCA Image Orthicon camera tube (replacing the less sensitive Iconoscope) on a network broadcast. The tube was developed by RCA during the war but used only for military operations.
It was not the first interconnection between either New York and Philadelphia (1940) or New York and Schenectady. Rather, it was the preview for the interconnection that became standard in 1946.
Additionally, WNBT and WPTZ televised college football locally, each with an eight-game schedule.
WNBT New York, with Red Barber, no known sponsor.
Sept. 29: Lafayette at Columbia, 2 p.m.
Oct. 6: Syracuse at Columbia, 2 p.m.
Oct. 13: Michigan vs. Army, at Yankee Stadium.
Oct. 20: Colgate at Columbia, 2 p.m.
Oct. 27: Duke vs. Army, at Polo Grounds.
Nov. 3: Cornell at Columbia, 2 p.m.
Nov. 10: No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Army, at Yankee Stadium, 2 p.m. The first No. 1-No. 2 telecast.
Nov. 24: Dartmouth at Columbia, 2 p.m.
WPTZ Philadelphia, sponsored by Atlantic Refining for the sixth straight season. (WPTZ began televising Penn football in 1940, and did so for a decade, winning an award from the American Television Society for its coverage in 1944).
Sept. 29: Brown at Pennsylvania.
Oct. 6: Dartmouth at Pennsylvania.
Oct. 13: North Carolina at Pennsylvania.
Oct. 27: Navy at Pennsylvania.
Nov. 3: Princeton at Pennsylvania.
Nov. 10: Columbia at Pennsylvania.
Nov. 17: Army at Pennsylvania.
Nov. 24: Cornell at Pennsylvania.
That was the entire Penn schedule. The Quakers played no road games in 1945.
Given that WPTZ could pick up WNBT off the air, the guess is someone in central New Jersey with a television receiver and a proper antenna (and someone with a TV set in 1945 would have a proper antenna, though perhaps not a rotor) would have been able to pick up both stations, and could have seen every telecast.
Thanks to mbelter (and the Army FB media guide) for Army home game site correction. Ideally, NBC's truck headed to the right stadium each week!
Radio
NBC BIll stern
September 22 Pittsburgh Illinois
September 29 Indiana Northwestern
October 6 Georgia Tech Notre Dame
October 13 Army Michigan at New York
October 20 Alabama Tennessee
October 27 Ohio State Minnesota
November 3 Navy Notre Dame at Cleveland
November 10 Notre Dame Army at Yankee Stadium
November 17 Wisconsin Navy
November 24 Purdue Indiana
December 1 Army Navy
Rose Bowl Alabama USC Bill Stern
CBS Radio Ted Husing and Jimmy Dolan
September 22 Indiana Michigan
September 29 Illinois Notre Dame
October 6 Ohio State Illinois
October 13 Penn State Navy
October 20 Purdue Ohio State
October 27 Duke Army
November 3 Navy Notre Dame
November 10 Navy Michigan in Baltimore
November 17 Columbia Princeton
November 24 Cornell Penn
December 1 Notre Dame Great Lakes
Cotton Bowl Missouri vs Texas Husing Dolan
ABC Radio with Harry Wismer and Joe Hasel
September 22 Marquette Purdue
September 29 Illinois Notre Dame
October 6 Wake Forest Army
October 13 Army Michigan
October 20 Purdue Ohio State
October 27 Georgia Alabama
November 3 Navy Notre Dame
November 10 Navy Michigan
November 17 Northwestern Notre Dame
November 24 Rice TCU
Sugar Bowl Oklahoma A&M St Mary's
Mutual with Russ Hodges and Tom Slater
September 22 Missouri Minnesota
September 29 Illinois Notre Dame
October 6 Wake Forest Army
October 13 Army Michigan
October 20 Purdue Ohio State
October 27 Purdue Northwestern
November 3 Northwestern Ohio State
November 10 Wisconsin Minnesota
November 17 Army Penn
November 24 Ohio State Michigan
December 1 Mississippi State Alabama
December 29 Blue Gray game Russ Hodges Tom Slater
January 1 East West Shrine Game Ernie Smith, Mel Venter