1959 Broadcasting Convention
November 19, 2009
The conversion has been a part of college football since the late 1950s and even back then people debated when was a good time to try such a conversion.
At a 1959 broadcasting convention in Las Vegas, my good friends Chris Schenkel and Bill Flemming of ABC were arguing about game strategy at one of the casinos. They wondered what to do, given the new-fangled conversion, when your team trailed by 15 points and scored.
A beautiful showgirl named Beatrice wandered by just as Chris said "I'd always prefer someone who would go for the extra point."
Beatrice put her arms around Chris and Bill, pointed to her derriere and said "not only wouldn't I mind an extra point, in fact I could really go for two".
Bill said "you don't even look big enough to play football".
Chris said "yeah, you're right, Bill, she probably couldn't even take a hit". The two of them went off to play craps.
Beatrice stood there, crestfallen at the rejection.
But she later sought comfort in the arms of a middle-aged Pitt SID and his friend, Little Beeno, who went for three with future starlet Bea Arthur. And now you know the rest of the story.