WGN Channel 9 - Chicago Bulls vs. Washington Bullets (First 26 Minutes, 2/28/1979) 🏀

Here's an example of Chicago Bulls basketball from long before Michael Jordan first hit the scene, in this case the first 26 minutes of the broadcast of their match against the Washington Bullets (now Wizards) at Capital Centre in Landover, MD, as telecast over WGN Channel 9, and called by Jack Fleming and Johnny "Red" Kerr.
(TECHNICAL NOTE: WGN was still using their mid-1970's "Chiron" system, with Helvetica Medium, News Gothic Bold and Doric Italic the main fonts; names of the players of each team were set in Vidifont [28 and 18 lines high] that was an early CG version of Rudi Bass' CBS News 36 and may have been used by the Bullets' originating station in DC, WDCA Channel 20.)
Includes:
WGN "Last Farewell" ID (voiceover by Clif Mercer)
Opening titles, with sponsor billboard for Datsun, Schlitz Light Natural Pilsner Beer, Amoco and McDonald's - Association of Chicagoland McDonald's Restaurants (voiceover by Jack Fleming)
Jack and Johnny, standing in the vicinity of the court, encapsulate the status of prior Bulls/Bullets matchups in the season, before Jack signals a commercial break and previews coming interview with Bulls head coach
Commmercial: New Front-Wheel Drive Datsun 310 - with features for driving in snowy weather - "We Are Driven"
Johnny interviews Bulls head coach Scotty Robertson, speaking about the Bulls' win over Detroit the previous night and the prospects for tonight's game; then he mentions the game will start after the next commercial break
Commercial: Rusty Jones Rust-Proof - "Hello Rusty Jones, Goodbye Rusty Cars"
Shot of players practicing on court as Jack states that this is being broadcast "with the express authority of the Chicago Bulls and the National Basketball Association," followed by Mormon Tabernacle Choir rendition of the National Anthem, and then introduction of Bulls players (Mark Landsberger - #54, Reggie Theus - #24, Mickey Johnson - #8, Artis Gilmore - #53 and Wilbur Holland - #12) and Bullets players (Tom Henderson - #14, Charlie Johnson - #15, Elvin Hayes - #11, Bob Dandridge - #10 and Wes Unseld - #41), and mention of teams' respective records at this point
1st quarter is then played; at 13:12 a promo for the February 24th game between Illinois and Michigan State in the "Big Ten BKB" (starting at 7pm) is shown on the screen; quarter is midway when time is called
Starting at 19:02 - Commercials for:
Schlitz Light - with James Coburn - after a mountain climbing - "Natural Pilsner Beer"
True Value Hardware Stores with Lee Phillip - Tru-Test E-Z Kare Latex Flat Enamel vs. 12 other brands subjected to a laboratory scrub test, with E-Z Kare the only one that didn't wear through - "The Scrubbable Interior Paint"
Continental Airlines - Sample Golden Dragon Service to Los Angeles (starting February 1st) - featuring Oriental meals - with Charlie Chan and Number One Son on board near the end (ending voiceover by Casey Kasem) (posted separately here: • Continental Airlines -... )
Play on 1st quarter resumes, first 5-1/2 minutes of this segment are shown before the tape runs out
This aired on local Chicago TV on Wednesday, February 28th 1979 during the 7:00pm to 7:26pm timeframe.
About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:
The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: [e-mail] Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to digital, please e-mail [e-mail] Thank you for your help!