-
1550-1700
Introduction of outdoor entertainment including bowling, primitive amusement rides, music and dancing. -
1858
Fans paid to attend a baseball game between two teams in the New York City area at Fashion Rack Course in Queens. -
1906
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was officially formed to govern collegiate athletics. -
1919
Development of recording of sound on motion picture film. -
1920
First commercial radio stations with regularly scheduled broadcasts. -
1926
RCA established the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) -
1927(1)
The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) is founded. -
1927
Farnsworth transmits first electronic television picture; receives patent -
1929
The Stock Market Crash leads to the Great Depression closing nearly three-fourths of amusement parks. -
1934
Lou Gehrig appeared on a Wheaties box. -
1948
Televisions are in over one million homes. -
1939
First television is sold. -
1943
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was formed due to many Major League Baseball players serving in WWII. -
1949
Wilson Sporting Goods signed golfer Babe Didrickson Zaharias to an endorsement contract for $100,000 per year. -
1951
Color television is introduced. -
1955
Disneyland in Anaheim, California opens costing $17 million to build. -
1960
Over 100 million television sets are in homes around the world. -
1961
Six Flags opens in Texas
First regional theme park -
1964
Phil Knight opens Blue Ribbon Sports -
1971
The Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida opens costing $375 million the build -
1972(1)
Blue Ribbon sports becomes Nike. -
1972(2)
Title IX is enacted, mandating equal access to educational opportunities for men and women. -
1973
Rich Foods pays $60,000/year for the naming rights to the Buffalo Bills football stadium. -
1980
The US boycotts the Summer Olympics in Moscow. -
1980
CNN, the first all news network, is launched by Turner Cable Network -
1980(1)
Prince Charles and Diana Spencer are married on international television -
1981
First IBM Personal Computers are available for retail sales -
1981(1)
MTV debuts -
1982
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” sells -
1983
First compact disc is released -
1984
The Olympics becomes commercialized. Peter Ueberoth helps to make the Olympics profitable. -
1985
Nintendo home entertainment system is introduced -
1989
Time and Warner merge to become Time Warner Inc. -
1995
First television program delivered via the Internet (webcast) -
1996
Olympic Park in Atlanta, GA is bombed. -
1997
Princess Diana is killed in an automobile accident