December 18, 1978 – Good News In Dallas

Dallas, Texas – After a weekend of anticipation, I really had no idea of what to expect out of my meeting with Sammons Communications.

Jim Whitson, President, jumped right in with enthusiasm. “You,ve really got something here,” he said after I finished my now-standard pitch. I began to feel the “industry buzz” was beginning to have an impact. “We’ll have to look at our channel capacity in each of our systems,” he said, “but if you make it happen, you’ve got a customer.” Now that was the most positive response to date.

Buoyed by this Jim’s enthusiastic statement, I quickly reported to George Conner at Getty Headquarters and left for Atlanta.

You catch up on the opening months of ESPN’s life at https://sportsjunkiesrejoice.wordpress.com/

You can read the whole story in Sports Junkies Rejoice – The Birth of ESPN. Order today and get your 25% Christmas discount at http://espnfounder.com/sjr_discount2011.htm.

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December 15, 1978 – CPI Appointment Unilaterally Cancelled

Austin, Texas – Another city and another cable system to sell on the ’round the clock – 24/7 sports network. Upon landing, I checked with our office in Connecticut and found that George Conner wanted me to call ASAP.

I picked up the rental car and stopped at the nearest pay phone (yep, no cell phones then – just a pocket full of quarters for the nearest phone booth). I brought George up to date and on a hunch called Community Properties, Inc. (CPI) to confirm that I had arrived and would see Greg Liptak as scheduled.

Imagine my surprise when his secretary told me he was out of town and wouldn’t be back for the rest of the day. She added that she hoped this wouldn’t inconvenience me too much.

I guess it just depends on your interpretation of inconvenience. I had flown from Denver to Dallas to Austin and rented a car which I now returned with just four miles used to the car rental agency and flew back to Dallas. Obviously the stop in Austin hadn’t gone very well.

I spent the weekend at a Dallas/Fort Worth airport hotel wondering what Monday’s meeting with the President of Sammons Communications would bring.

Read all of the hectic day to day happenings during the birth of ESPN in Sports Junkies Rejoice – The Birth of ESPN available with an attractive 25% discount for the holidays. Go to http://espnfounder.com/sjr_discount2011.htm for you copy today.