Author Topic: 'Sports Challenge' back on ESPN Classic (Read 4094 times)

ChrisLambert! · « **on:** June 01, 2009, 10:30:44 PM »

Just noticed that starting 6/2 and most-but-not-all weekdays, It'll be airing at 2 pm Eastern.

kenbob_clarker · « **Reply #1 on:** June 01, 2009, 11:52:45 PM »

Sweet!

ESPN Classic's been throwing us a lot of bones here lately. If they'd put SC @ 3:00, there'd be a 2-hour block of game shows on the weekdays.

jw2001 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 02, 2009, 01:24:59 AM »

Now if they'd just bring back Cheap Seats...

JIANORAN · « **Reply #3 on:** June 02, 2009, 08:23:45 AM »

What About Super Bowl of Sports Trivia, maybe it will appear on the schedule as well, and maybe during marathons on a theme with a College Team along with College Sports Action.

MikeK · « **Reply #4 on:** June 02, 2009, 04:51:07 PM »

Did they start at the beginning, with Bob Feller as the Bonus Biography?

/Met Bob last week at a book signing. I wish I could be 1/10th as sharp as him when I'm 90.
//His recollections of Sports Challenge were very small. Yes, I asked him about his appearances on Sports Challenge.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #5 on:** June 02, 2009, 06:47:53 PM »

Yes. Yankees vs. Dodgers.

davemackey · « **Reply #6 on:** June 09, 2009, 08:10:04 AM »

Is ESPN still not showing the closing credits? They'd always fade out after Dick's goodbye.

/If you look long enough on the Internet you can find all of Pat Williams' albums from the late 60's to early 70's. Pat's arrangement of "Get Back" was the theme to "Sports Challenge" and also the source of its bumpers. Great late 60's big band cheese from the master. (Advt.)

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #7 on:** June 09, 2009, 09:39:48 AM »

No credits on the show I saw, plus there was a constant sports ticker with the same info repeated over and over on the bottom of the screen so the solaris were partially covered.

Jay Temple · « **Reply #8 on:** June 09, 2009, 10:47:58 AM »

^^ What did they do, hire displaced GSN techs?

irismason42 · « **Reply #9 on:** June 09, 2009, 11:34:30 AM »

[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'217582\' date=\'Jun 9 2009, 08:10 AM\']Is ESPN still not showing the closing credits? They'd always fade out after Dick's goodbye.

/If you look long enough on the Internet you can find all of Pat Williams' albums from the late 60's to early 70's. Pat's arrangement of "Get Back" was the theme to "Sports Challenge" and also the source of its bumpers. Great late 60's big band cheese from the master. (Advt.)[/quote]
AFAIK, there were closing credits on the series debut but if you've been watching the Sports Challenge reruns in the past, ESPN Classic chose not to show the closing credits until they head to the 1974-75 season but they seem to edit something else when they got to the '74-'75 season, they edited out the which youth groups the teams were playing for the episode.

gamed121683 · « **Reply #10 on:** June 09, 2009, 11:41:25 AM »

If I recall, I don't believe the early episodes had closing credits.

UPDATE: And here's proof...

1984Gameshowsfan · « **Reply #11 on:** June 09, 2009, 11:53:31 AM »

[quote name=\'JIANORAN\' post=\'217131\' date=\'Jun 2 2009, 05:23 AM\']What About Super Bowl of Sports Trivia, maybe it will appear on the schedule as well, and maybe during marathons on a theme with a College Team along with College Sports Action.[/quote]

Because ESPN Classic has old Sportscenter's in their vaults, old games from from ESPN and ABC as well as miscellaneous other things, why can't ESPN rerun some of their old game show like Sports on Tap and one of my favorites from childhood: Dream League. If you're not familiar with the show just search for it on Google and that should give information; along with USA Network's game show block and Classic Concentration(our cable system didn't get the Family Channel until it became Fox Family), those were some of my early game show memories and ESPN should definetely rerun these shows.

Chief-O · « **Reply #12 on:** June 09, 2009, 12:10:15 PM »

[quote name=\'gamed121683\' post=\'217600\' date=\'Jun 9 2009, 10:41 AM\']If I recall, I don't believe the early episodes had closing credits.[/quote]

The later episodes---starting in '76-77[?] [I couldn't tell you what season an ep. was, unless it was '78-79], had credits.

My assumption was that the lack of credits on the earlier shows would almost have to have been an ESPN Classic edit.

BTW, I hate to steer this a little off-topic, but a certain not-necessarily-100%-reliable source says SC was taped [at some point] in Studio 33. I'm very close to reverting this edit. Could anyone confirm or deny this? [ETA: I've put a message on the TVC talk page.] [ETA: Nick M. took care of it....]

BrandonFG · « **Reply #13 on:** June 09, 2009, 01:56:06 PM »

[quote name=\'Chief-O\' post=\'217608\' date=\'Jun 9 2009, 12:10 PM\']The later episodes---starting in '76-77[?] [I couldn't tell you what season an ep. was, unless it was '78-79], had credits.[/quote]
I remember two or three sets in later episodes...

-One featured the credits rolling over old black and white clips of sports stars.
-Another was simply the credits rolling as the athletes conversed with Dick Enberg. For some reason, I remember them using a different theme song for this version, a more upbeat theme instead of the brassy Patrick Williams tune more often used.
-The final season one featured the same thing, w/a copyright. I remember the font on this one being a yellow Helvetica font, and usually a jump cut.

NickintheATL · « **Reply #14 on:** June 09, 2009, 02:31:41 PM »

Can someone give me a recap of the episodes seen so far? It might be just me, but it seems as if a couple of episodes might have been skipped.

/Hoping I'm wrong...