On this day, October the 22nd, in the year of 1939, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) aired the first televised professional football game.

The contest, which was held between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Eagles in front of just over 13,000 spectators in Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, saw a 23-14 Brooklyn victory.

The game was broadcasted to the few New Yorkers who then owned a television (less than 1,000 people), though many others saw it later at displays at the New York World’s fair. 

For those who saw the broadcast, the picture would simply disappear as the game went on due to the position of the sun compared to the camera, as the equipment of the time wouldn’t be able to film such a field (Professional Football Hall of Fame).