Old Articles About Quiz Bowl

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AKKOLADE
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Old Articles About Quiz Bowl

Post by AKKOLADE »

I got a Newspapers.com account and am just looking at what I can find.

The earliest reference I can find to "quiz bowl" is from the March 1, 1938 issue of the Napa Journal of Napa, California. In the radio listings, it indicates that a show called "Quiz Bowl" would air on KLS at 5:30 p.m. that day. There's also listings for this show later the same month on KLS in issues of The San Francisco Examiner.

The February 28, 1941 issue of The Cincinnati Enquirer mentions a new radio show on WKRC, "Quiz Bowl," which had audience participation and was hosted by "quizmaster" Syd Cornell.

I randomly found this article about the Hanson Middle School Scholastic Team. This is from the May 22, 1985 edition of Madisonville, Kentucky's The Messenger.
Fred Morlan
University of Kentucky CoP, 2017
International Quiz Bowl Tournaments, CEO, co-owner
former PACE member, president, etc.
former hsqbrank manager, former NAQT writer & subject editor, former hsqb Administrator/Chief Administrator
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Mike Bentley
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Re: Old Articles About Quiz Bowl

Post by Mike Bentley »

I've also been exploring newspapers.com. I'm going to compile these into a longer blog post or QBWiki article or something when I get a chance. But a few amusing nuggets so far. (Note that newspapers.com doesn't seem to easily let you copy text, so this is OCR data which is why there are so many typos):

The Minnesota team's secret to victory on College Bowl: steak dinners.
COT.LVGF. It is
no accident that the University
. of Minnesota. last year's cham-
pion. has eight straight wins to
its credit this year and is still
going strong on "College Quiz
Bowi.ii heard at 7:30 p. m. Satur-
days on NBC-WIBA.
Dr. John B. Wolf, professor of
history at Minnesota. the team's
coach, says the whole approach
to the program is scientific.
For instance, there was nothing
arbitrary in the choosin of the
team. The top students rom the
College of Science. Literature and
Arts were put through gruelling
tests in which questions from last
year's "Colleee quiz Bowl" pro-
grams were used. The number Of
students who could withstand the
barrage of questions was quickly
reduced to eight and from these
four were chosen who were ex-
ceptionally brilliant in some spe-
cial field 'but were not lack-
ing in liberal arts knowledge.
Before each show, the team
meets for a few hours' discussion
of current events. Wolf clips the
New York Times each day for
stories and items that might be
the basis for "College Quiz Row',:"
questions. Just prior to broadcast
time. the team has dinner at the
faculty's Campus club, where the
, chef serves them steaks that are
three ounces heavier and one
grade better than those served
the football team.
College Bowl Allen Ludden wrote advice books for teens. There's also a biography of him I might read some day.

The 1949 ABC radio show Quick as a Flash had six contestants playing with a buzzer. This is among the earliest such shows I found:
BUT LET'S head for greener
pastures in the form of an agree-
able little quiz session called
"Quick as
4:30 to 5
m. Sundays over Mutual.
ere are •a couple of gimmicks
on this show that take it out Of
the run-of-the-mill class. and I
think you'll have just about as
good a time listening as the con.
testants have raking in the cash.
As the title implies, this one
puts a premium on speed. Con-
testants clutch buzzers which
they ring the second they think
they know the answer to what-
ever's being thrown at them.
Wrong answer, though. elimi-
nates you for that round. but
you sit in again for the next
question, and so on. •
Mike Bentley
Treasurer, Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence
Adviser, Quizbowl Team at University of Washington
University of Maryland, Class of 2008
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