Hockey

The first TV hockey broadcasts occurred in the late 1940s in New York and Detroit. At the time, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) was the only television network in Canada. In 1952, hockey’s Chicago Black Hawks began broadcasting their Saturday matinee games, which remained a Hawks tradition for years. CBC’s coverage of Games 3, 4 and 5 of the 1954 Stanley Cup Finals were joined in progress at 9:30 p.m. (approximately one hour after start time). Meanwhile, CBC joined Game 6 in at 10 p.m. (again, one hour after start time). Game 7 was carried Dominion wide (nationwide) from the opening face-off at 9 p.m. In 1955 Game 3 of the Detroit-Toronto playoff series and Game 5 of the Boston-Montreal series were televised nationally. CBS first broadcast National Hockey League games in the U.S. for four seasons from 1956–57 to 1959–60. CBS aired games on Saturday afternoon. No playoff games were televised during this period.