This was Television on April 29
1961: Wide World of Sports debuts
ABC’s sports anthology series, hosted by Jim McKay, ran until 1998, with additional sports-related broadcasts airing under that banner until 2006. It covered huge spectrum of global sports, with an emphasis on events—such as badminton, curling, jai-alai, and surfing—not normally covered by American television prior to the advent of ESPN. Wide World also featured the first national broadcasts of events including Wimbledon, the British Open, and the Little League World Series in 1961; the Daytona 500, NCAA men’s basketball tournament, and U.S. Figure Skating Championship in 1962; and the X-Games (1994). -A.D.
Today’s Birthdays: Paul Adelstein, doctor (44); Nora Dunn, SNLer (61); Tom Ewell, cop (d. 1994); Celeste Holm, character actress (d. 2012); Leslie Jordan, character actor (58); Kate Mulgrew, Starfleet captain (58); Eve Plumb, middle child (55); Jerry Seinfeld, stand-up comedian (59); Lane Smith, editor (d. 2005).
This Was Television 
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