Looking back at this 1977 CBS promo, I’m reminded how different Saturday afternoon sports TV used to be. One edition of CBS Sports Spectacular gave us world championship boxing, NHRA drag racing, professional arm wrestling and The World’s Strongest Men — all on the same show.
The hot rods are what caught my attention. The footage came from the 1977 NHRA World Finals, a historic season that saw Shirley Muldowney become the first woman to win an NHRA world championship.
The arm wrestling has a story too. Promoter Steve Simons had formed the World Professional Armwrestling Association in 1974, hoping to move the sport out of bars and present it as a legitimate competition. By 1977, it had made its way onto national television through CBS.
And the strongman competition was brand new. This was the first year of World’s Strongest Man, won by Bruce Wilhelm. One of the competitors was Lou Ferrigno, right around the time America was getting to know him as The Incredible Hulk.
Even the boxing featured WBC welterweight champion Carlos Palomino.
That’s what I miss about shows like CBS Sports Spectacular. You might tune in for the drag racing and end up discovering boxing, arm wrestling or strongman competition.
Do you remember spending Saturday afternoons watching shows like this?