It all began with the NFL Championship in 1962 when Ed Sabol bought the rights to film the game for Blair Motion Pictures. Two years later, the NFL purchased Blair Motion Pictures and it became NFL Films with the task to preserve all games on film and it has done that diligently ever since.
Sabol along with his son, Steve, brought Hollywood film values to NFL Films. As a family business, NFL Films brought fans closer to the game with innovative angles. The Sabols brought super slo-motion, extreme close-ups, field microphones, miked players and coaches, player profiles, humor and other innovative ideas to their films. There was the popular Follies series that showcased some of the funnier moments of the game.
During his tenure as President and Chairman, NFL Films won almost 100 Emmy Awards. He retired in 1995 leaving the day-to-day operations to Steve. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
The popularity of the NFL can be attributed to NFL Films and how the Sabols presented the game. In its pinnacle, NFL Films syndicated programs like “This is the NFL,” “NFL Films Presents,” “This Week in Pro Football,” and “The NFL Game of the Week” to local stations which would often run them before the network pregames.
Here’s the intro to This Week in Pro Football co-hosted by Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier:
And here’s a complete edition of “NFL Game of the Week” from 1969 featuring the San Francisco 49ers at the New Orleans Saints as narrated by Jack Whitaker:
NFL Films continues to provide programming today, but now to ESPN, Fox Sports 1, HBO, NBCSN, NFL Network, Showtime and content to all of the NFL’s TV partners.
And while NFL Films was the model for MLB Productions, NBA Entertainment and NHL Productions, the other league-owned production arms have to take a bow to the Sabols.
Steve passed away in 2012 after a battle with a brain tumor, but luckily he was able see his dad get inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame. Now Ed is gone and we no longer have the Sabols to hear from on the history of the game.
Luckily, NFL Films lives on and their legacy is a long chronicle of the game’s history and a look back to a more innocent time.
