How the first Super Bowl was saved from being forgotten forever
nypost.comscreen for the first time on February 10 as part of its “Beyond the Big Game” exhibit, which runs through March 3. The showcase, created with help from the NFL and Pro Football Hall of Fame, features more than 150 iconic photos, a treasure trove of memorabilia and viral commercials culled from nearly 60 years of play.But, the broadcast of the first Super Bowl is particularly special.“It is indeed the first public screening of the Super Bowl,” Simon said of the upcoming event, characterizing the footage as the “holy grail” of sports broadcasts.It was captured by pure happenstance.
In 1967, Martin Haupt was a Pennsylvania engineer who wasn’t involved in the game’s broadcast. But the technician, who repaired and managed television equipment, had the gadgetry and expertise to record the game on 2-inch tapes.In the late 1960s, recording any program or live event on television was “very difficult” for the average viewer, Simon said. “You needed professional technology.
We’re very fortunate that an engineer in Scranton who took care of 2-inch tapes decided to make a copy of it.”The extraordinary recording by Haupt, who died in 1977, sat undisturbed for decades in an attic of the family’s home in Shamokin, Pennsylvania.
In 2016, Haupt’s son, Troy, publicly announced he had inherited the footage and donated the tapes to the museum.It’s unclear why Haupt recorded the broadcast.“We don’t know much about him,” Simon said. “His son was willed these tapes, it was an inheritance and they were kept in the attic.
Read more on nypost.com
