List of NFL Championship Game broadcasters

The following is a list of the television networks and announcers that broadcast the National Football League Championship Game from the 1940s until the 1969 NFL season (after which the NFL merged with the American Football League). The National Football League first held a championship game in 1933, it took until 1948 before a championship game would be televised. The successor to the NFL Championship Game is the NFC Championship Game.

Television

Season Teams Network Play-by-play Color commentator(s) Sideline reporter(s)
1948 Chicago Cardinals at Philadelphia ABC Harry Wismer
1949 Philadelphia at Los Angeles No Network Telecast (game was played in Los Angeles, and at the time, there was no way to send live TV programs from the West Coast to the East Coast and vice versa)
1950 Los Angeles at Cleveland ABC Harry Wismer Red Grange and Joe Hasel
1951 Cleveland at Los Angeles DuMont (first NFL Championship Game to be televised live from coast-to-coast) Harry Wismer Earl Gillespie
1952 Detroit at Cleveland DuMont Harry Wismer
1953 Cleveland at Detroit DuMont Harry Wismer Red Grange
1954 Detroit at Cleveland DuMont Byrum Saam (first half) and Chuck Thompson (second half)
1955 Cleveland at Los Angeles NBC[1] Bob Kelley (first half) and Ken Coleman (second half) Bob Graham
1956 Chicago Bears at New York NBC Chris Schenkel (first half) and Jack Brickhouse (second half) Red Grange
1957 Cleveland at Detroit NBC Van Patrick (first half) and Ken Coleman (second half) Red Grange
1958 Baltimore at New York NBC Chris Schenkel (first half) and Chuck Thompson (second half)
1959 New York at Baltimore NBC Chuck Thompson (first half) and Chris Schenkel (second half)
1960 Green Bay at Philadelphia NBC Lindsey Nelson (first half) and Ray Scott (second half)
1961 New York Giants at Green Bay NBC Lindsey Nelson (first half) and Chris Schenkel (second half)
1962 Green Bay at New York Giants NBC Chris Schenkel (first half) and Ray Scott (second half)
1963 New York Giants at Chicago NBC Jack Brickhouse (first half) and Chris Schenkel (second half) George Connor
1964 Baltimore at Cleveland CBS Ken Coleman (first half) and Chuck Thompson (second half) Frank Gifford
1965 Cleveland at Green Bay CBS (first NFL Championship Game to be televised in color[2]) Ray Scott (first half) and Ken Coleman (second half) Pat Summerall
1966 Green Bay at Dallas CBS Jack Buck (first half) and Ray Scott (second half) Frank Gifford Pat Summerall
1967 Dallas at Green Bay CBS Ray Scott (first half) and Jack Buck (second half) Frank Gifford Tom Brookshier
1968 Baltimore at Cleveland CBS Jack Buck Pat Summerall Tom Brookshier
1969 Cleveland at Minnesota CBS Ray Scott Paul Christman Bruce Roberts

Radio

1960s

Season Teams Network Play-by-play Color commentator(s)
1964 Baltimore at Cleveland CBS Jack Drees Jim Morse
1965 Cleveland at Green Bay CBS Jack Drees Jim Morse
1966 Green Bay at Dallas CBS Jack Drees Jim Morse
1967 Dallas at Green Bay CBS Jack Drees Jim Morse

Local radio

1960s

Season Teams Network Play-by-play Color commentator(s)
1964 Baltimore at Cleveland WCBM-AM (Baltimore) Frank Messer John Steadman
WERE-AM (Cleveland) Gib Shanley Jim Graner
1965 Cleveland at Green Bay WERE-AM (Cleveland) Gib Shanley Jim Graner
WTMJ-AM (Green Bay) Ted Moore Blaine Walsh
1966 Green Bay at Dallas WTMJ-AM (Green Bay) Ted Moore Blaine Walsh
KLIF-AM (Dallas) Bill Mercer Blackie Sherrod
1967 Dallas at Green Bay KLIF-AM (Dallas) Bill Mercer Blackie Sherrod
WTMJ-AM (Green Bay) Ted Moore Chuck Johnson

References

  1. ^ "NBC purchases rights to 1955 NFL Championship Game". NBC Sports History Page.
  2. ^ "CBS TV audio from 1965 NFL Championship game". Classic TV Sports. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.

See also

NFL Championship
(1933–1969)[1]
AFL Championship
(1960–1969)[1]
AFL–NFL World
Championship Game
(1966–1969)[1][2]
  • 1966 (I)
  • 1967 (II)
  • 1968 (III)
  • 1969 (IV)
Super Bowl
(1970–present)[1][3]
  1. 1 – Dates in the list denote the season, not necessarily the calendar year in which the championship game was played. For instance, Super Bowl LIV was played in 2020, but was the championship for the 2019 season.
  2. 2 – From 1966 to 1969, the first four Super Bowls were "World Championship" games played between two independent professional football leagues, AFL and NFL, and when the league merged in 1970 the Super Bowl became the NFL Championship Game.
  3. 3 – Italics indicate future games.
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