506 Archive:About
The 506 Archive is a historical listing of television and some radio sports broadcasts dating back to the beginning of the medium. It is a part of 506sports.com, which has published NFL broadcast maps and other listings since 2005. Most listings were initially compiled by members of the now-defunct 506sports.com message board in the late 2000s and 2010s, and they are being made available to the public here, without registration, for the first time. Sources include contemporary news articles, game broadcasts in collections or that have surfaced on Youtube, and editors' own personal memories. The focus is on United States and some Canadian broadcasts, but listings from elsewhere in the world are welcome as well.
As you may have already noticed, the 506 Archive runs on MediaWiki, the same software used by popular websites like Wikipedia – so if you're still confused about anything after reading the guide, Wikipedia may have a guide of its own that will help. Unlike Wikipedia, however, all new editors must register and be approved. Upon registration, tweet @506sports, e-mail webmaster@the506.com or post in the Archives section of the 506 Sports Discord with your username and tell us about your interest in sports broadcasting history.
Most of the initial information was copied and pasted directly from the message board before its shutdown in May 2022, so there are several formatting errors and issues that will be corrected in due course. Even for listings that may look complete, we are always looking for added information and context, as long as it is properly sourced.
The 506 Archive is still very much a work in progress, and any suggestions on new content or improvements are welcomed. Future plans may include Wikipedia-style biographies of each broadcaster, and historical local broadcast listings and maps as compiled from newspapers of the day.
The 506 Archive, like the Sports Broadcasting History section of the message board before it, is dedicated to the memory of the late John Moynihan (1941-2014) aka jtgrace1, whose tireless research work travelling to libraries across North America is responsible for so much of the information you see here. There are countless other members of the message board who had taken responsibility for compiling information for various league and sport seasons; their work is credited at the top of each relevant page.