Several NBC execs attempted to tell the switchboard manager to delay the start of Heidi, but the vast number of phone calls demanding that the game go on or requesting Heidi to air instead prevented them from getting through.ĭick Cline, the broadcast operator who pulled the switch on the football game, was watching the clock attentively.
It had just turned 7 o'clock and NBC had prior arrangements to air the movie regardless of the score. In the middle of what was Oakland's go-ahead drive, NBC suddenly switched to the television adaptation of Heidi - the story of a young, orphaned Swiss girl. As millions of viewers anxiously anticipated the conclusion of the two heated rivals, something unimaginable happened. It was close throughout, and Jim Turner had just kicked a 26-yard field goal to give the Jets a 32-29 lead. A minute and five seconds remained in the fourth quarter between the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders.
(Daryle Lamonica lines up towards the end of the game.