Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Here's a question for all the old-timers who remember that horrible weekend....

Were the NFL games that were played on the Sunday (Nov. 24, 1963) following President Kennedy's assassination televised? I'm old enough to remember most of that weekend, but I don't have a clear memory of the Lions-Minnesota game being on local TV (on CBS) here in Detroit. It seems to me that all 3 networks devoted their entire programming to coverage of JFK laying in state at the Capitol, but I could be wrong. And of course, even if the game was being carried on CBS, they would've cut away early in the game because Oswald was shot on live TV around 1:30 EST.

I haven't been able to get a definitive answer in any of the local papers.

RichardBak wrote:Here's a question for all the old-timers who remember that horrible weekend....

Were the NFL games that were played on the Sunday (Nov. 24, 1963) following President Kennedy's assassination televised? I'm old enough to remember most of that weekend, but I don't have a clear memory of the Lions-Minnesota game being on local TV (on CBS) here in Detroit. It seems to me that all 3 networks devoted their entire programming to coverage of JFK laying in state at the Capitol, but I could be wrong. And of course, even if the game was being carried on CBS, they would've cut away early in the game because Oswald was shot on live TV around 1:30 EST.

I haven't been able to get a definitive answer in any of the local papers.

According to The 506 Forums, no NFL games were televised on November 24, 1963.

The 506 Forums is a great resource. You'll have to register a free account to access the site:

https://506forums.com/

- Click the Sports Broadcasting History link
- Click the Historic NFL Announcer Crews Index
- Click the 1963 link

Great find! Thanks

Since posting that question, I was able to find a brief mention that a one-hour recap of the Lions-Vikes game was broadcast two days later (Tues. evening). Since the team didn't ordinarily have hi-lite films on local TV during the season, I'm assuming this was a one-off to make up for the game not being televised. Wonder if that held true for other NFL teams.

Retro Rider wrote:The 506 Forums is a great resource.

It's a fantastic resource!

Helped me win an argument on who all the ABC/ESPN/2 NHL announcers were in 03/04 a while ago.

The Networks were more focused on creating a narrative of a lone nutjob assassin killing the president than football games. Meanwhile, the president's body was flown out of Dallas medical and law enforcement's jurisdiction ...

Thanks for the tip on this. I just signed up.

Is there a thread for the best go-to resources? We should start one if there isn't.

I was a football fan in 1963. The games weren't televised that Sunday because the networks were covering the assassination aftermath and nothing else.

The week before, on November 17, the Bears-Packer game was the "national" game of the week. It received a tremendous buildup because the game would decide the Western Division champion. As I've said over the years, pre-1967 you didn't "make the playoffs," but "won the division."

SixtiesFan wrote: As I've said over the years, pre-1967 you didn't "make the playoffs," but "won the division."

Yes, dem wuz the days.

Interesting enough the AFL called off all their games for that Sunday. Pete Rozelle later said not doing the same was his biggest regret during his tenure as NFL Commissioner.

One thing I remember (may have been from the brilliant 1994 75 Seasons documentary) was that during that week while traveling to Cleveland, there was such contempt for the team because they hailed from the city that killed Kennedy, the players were told to keep their helmets on when when on the sidelines at all times just in case some crazed person with a gun decided to take retribution against Dallas in the aftermath