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Period: Jan 1, 1550 to
Outdoor Recreation and Entertainment Games
Outdoor entertainment and recreational games are introduced, such as bowling, music and dancing -
Red Stockings First Salaried Sports Team
The Cincinnati Red Stockings become the first sports team in history to have each member of the team on salary -
sound and recording developed
Recording and sound on motion picture film is developed -
Regular Scheduled Radio Programming
The first radio stations begin airing regularly scheduled programming -
Gene Sarazen First Individual Player Endorsement
First known individual player endorsement deal between golfer Gene Sarazen and Wilson Sporting Goods -
Coke Sponsors Olympics
Coke teams up with the Olympics as an “official sponsor” of an athletic event -
NBC is Created
RCA establishes the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) -
First Major Female Endorsement
The first major female endorsement deal takes place with Wilson Sporting Goods agreeing to sponsor the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) -
White Sox Eddie Gaedel Publicity Ploy
Eccentric owner of the Chicago White Sox, Bill Veeck, sends 3’7” Eddie Gaedel to the plate in an official game as a publicity ploy as one of the most outrageous promotions seen in professional sports -
First Colored Television
The first color television sets are offered to consumers -
Disneyland Opens
Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California -
Six Flags Opens
The first regional theme park, Six Flags, opens in Texas -
ESPN Makes Debut
An all sports television network makes its debut on cable television as the world gets its first glimpse of ESPN -
First College Offers Naming Rights to a Facility
Evidence of the power of an alliance between corporations and sports is taken to a new level as Syracuse University becomes the first college to offer naming rights to a facility as they introduce the “Carrier Dome” -
CNN First News Network Launches
Turner Cable Network launches the first all news television network, CNN -
1st computers for sale
IBM makes the first personal computers available for consumers -
MTV Launches
Music Television (MTV) is launched -
First Compact Disc
The first compact disc is released -
Olympics Becomes Commercialized
The Olympics become commercialized, and made profitable for the first time under the leadership of Peter Ueberoth -
First Nintendo Gaming System
Nintendo introduces its home entertainment system for video games -
MP3 technology
German inventor Fraunhofer Gesellschaft receives a patent for MP3 technology -
First Professional Franchise Sells Naming Rights
The lucrative possibilities of naming rights reaches new heights as the Chicago Bears become the first professional franchise to sell the naming rights of their team as Bank One becomes the “presenting” sponsor and in all media the team is mentioned as “The Chicago Bears presented by Bank One” -
iTunes Released
Apple introduces iTunes, the first commercial online music service -
Wii Platform Launched
Nintendo launches the Wii platform, revolutionizing the video game industry with the introduction of motion sensor technology -
Kindle Launched
Amazon introduces a digital book “e-reader” device known as the Kindle -
50% of World Watches World Cup
FIFA (the governing body for soccer internationally) estimates that just over 3 billion people – nearly half of the world’s population – tunes in to watch the 2010 FIFA Men’s World Cup Final held in South Africa
