[QuadList] OT-Early color era equipment on remotes--1960 Senior Bowl, Mobile, AL

Tue Dec 13 10:34:17 CST 2011

Hi, David, 

Thanks for the kind words and for looking into who the cameraman is.

It'd be interesting if you can get an ID and the gentleman is still alive. He might be able to tell us more about the truck and perhaps, the game. 

As time permits I'll try to get clarification about the "first color origination from Mobile." 

Ted

Sent from my iPhone
(530) 301-2931
Skype: tedlangdell
iChat: flashscan8us

On Dec 13, 2011, at 7:56 AM, David Crosthwait <david at dcvideo.com> wrote:

> Ted,
> 
> Nice color reproduction on that film. In regard to who this cameraman is, I will ask some NY and Burbank field guys and producers. Probably he was from NY field. 
> 
> 
> <NYfield.jpeg>
> 
> 
> 
> David Crosthwait
> DC Video
> www.dcvideo.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Dec 12, 2011, at 9:26 PM, Ted Langdell wrote:
> 
>> I had mentioned some months ago about transferring film that had RCA TK-41s and an early RCA color remote truck in use at the 1960 Senior Bowl Game in Mobile, Alabama.
>> 
>> Showcasing college football's best seniors and potential NFL draft picks coached by NFL staff, the 11th Annual version was held January 9, 1960 in Ladd Stadium.  The classic is played with "North" and "South" teams.
>> 
>> While a record 40-thousand fans watched from inside the stadium, NBC fed the game in color to 176 stations and an estimated 22 million fans, according to the film narration voiced by Lindsey Nelson. 
>> 
>> This was the third NBC telecast of the game.
>> <RCA-ColorTruck-2-1960-NBC-SeniorBowlGame-Mobile-AL.jpg>
>> This RCA trailer was used for the pickup, towed by a tractor from RCA Victor, Camden, NJ.
>> 
>> Nelson's narration says the origination "was the first color telecast from Mobile."  
>> 
>> Haven't been able to determine whether that was the first network color origination from Mobile, or first-ever color broadcast from the city, including any by local Mobile stations.
>> 
>> <Announcers-1960-NBC-SeniorBowlGame-Mobile-AL.jpg>
>> Nelson (L) announced the game live with Red Grange (R), with their voices picked up by RCA BK-1A (specs here) microphones elevated above the press box table by taping them to 4" x 4" wooden blocks.
>> 
>> Four TK-41s were used, and the press box cameras seem to have no markings except "RCA Color Television."
>> <RCA-TK-41-1960-NBC-SeniorBowlGame-Mobile-AL.jpg>
>> 
>> Who is the cameraman?
>> <TK-41 Cameraman-WhoIsHe.jpg>
>> 
>> The two TK41s visible in shots of the press box have Zoomar lenses:
>> <Two-TK41s-Pressbox-1060-NBC-SeniorBowlGame-Mobile-AL.jpg>
>> 
>> No other camera postiions were seen in the 1960 game film, 
>> but the 1966 NBC broadcast definitely had a sideline camera:
>> <Sidelin-TK41-1966-NBC-SeniorBowlGame-Mobile-AL.jpg>
>> 
>> It appears two microwave paths were in use to feed the game out of the stadium.
>> Two dishes are visible to the right of the man standing at upper left.
>> <PressBox-TK-41s-1960-NBC-SeniorBowlGame-Mobile-AL.jpg>
>> 
>> A lot has changed since this four-camera telecast in Ladd Stadium in 1960.
>> 
>> Tech issues, money loss and pressure to move to a bigger city:
>> In 2009, the aging stadium's inability to support modern television coverage's power needs without generators became an issue in contract negotiations between the stadium and the sponsoring non-profit. The size of the stadium and Mobile market were other issues.  There was a $150,000 operating loss for the 2009 game, while the 2008 game enabled the sponsors to distribute money to Mobile charities.
>> 
>> There was pressure from ESPN, the NFL Network and title sponsor Armour Under to move the game to a bigger city.  The Mobile Press-Register reported:
>> 
>> "The pressure has been, 'We love Mobile, Mobile's great, but we're paying you all we can pay you in a market the size of the city of Mobile. If you were in a different city, a larger media market, we could afford to pay you more money,'" said Lott, whose organization runs the game on a $2.5 million budget. "Our revenue sources are flat, maybe going down. ... Our expenses over the last three or four years are up almost 100 percent."
>> 
>> Mobillians worried that the game could move elsewhere, as a number of cities expressed "surprising" interest.
>> 
>> A three-year contract was approved in October, 2009 that gave both sides some breathing room.  
>> 
>> However, the stadium has ongoing issues that could come up after the 2012 game is finished in January.
>> 
>> According to the Press-Register, "The city-owned stadium, which houses the Senior Bowl, University of South Alabama football, and the GoDaddy.com Bowl, loses about $387,000 every year."
>> 
>> About the Game:
>> The Senior Bowl is presented each year by the Mobile Arts and Sports Association, Inc., as a charity fund-raiser for the benefit of the Mobile area.  The game and related events have raised almost $8-million since the game moved to Mobile in 1951 after the game's first year in the Jacksonville, Florida Gator Bowl.
>> 
>> The 2012 Senior Bowl will be played on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. Kickoff is at 3pm (CST).  The game will be televised by the NFL Network and practices will pop up on television as well.
>> 
>> About the Senior Bowl films:
>> The film thees stills were captured from was produced for the Mobile Arts and Sports Association by Film Processors, a local Mobile film lab. Prints of the game film were sent to teams, we understand from our client in Foley, Alabama where the films ended up.  For many years, the lab sent film shooters to local high school games with cameras and film to capture the action for coaching review.  
>> 
>> When the lab wanted to shut down, its last customer was Foley High School. It ended up giving a processor for Kodak's ME-4 Ektachrome films (such as  7242 newsfilm)  and black and white processor to the school, which operated the black and white machine until around 2004.
>> 
>> When the school picked up the processors, a number of other items were put in the truck, including a batch of prints from various Senior Bowls and the original materials and workprints from their post-production.
>> 
>> The transfers to 1920 x 1080 HD were some of the first to be run on Foley Middle School's 16mm flashtransfer VarioHD, where Coach Keith Smith (below) has been transferring some of Foley High's 400,000 feet of game film since June (2011).
>> 
>> <Foley-Vario-Smith.JPG>
>> 
>> Quarterback Kenney Stabler of University of Alabama, Oakland Raider and Houston Oiler fame is on reels from the 1960's.
>> 
>> The oldest film in the collection is from 1955, black and white negative film in remarkable shape given the age and uncontrolled storage conditions for 56 years.
>> 
>> Ted
>> 
>> Ted Langdell
>> Secretary
>> 
>> 
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