Quiz Ball
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Current revision as of 17:35, 16 July 2024
Contents |
Host
David Vine (1966-8)
Barry Davies (1970)
Stuart Hall (1970-2)
Frank Skinner (non-broadcast pilot)
Co-hosts
Announcer: John Witty (1966-8)
Broadcast
BBC1, 22 December 1966 to 23 December 1972 (64 episodes in 8 series)
as Champions' Quiz Ball: 24 July to 11 September 1970 (8 episodes in 1 series)
Synopsis
Two teams consisting of players from a top flight football club and a celebrity supporter have a football match in the form of a general knowledge quiz. Teams chose whether to take four easy questions, three medium questions, two hard questions or one tough question to score a goal. (The one-question route was known as "Route One" - a description which soon found its way into real-life football terminology, giving the show a surprisingly long-lasting cultural legacy.) The opposition can opt to take a tackle question a limited number of times in order to block the run, but a wrong answer meant conceding a goal. Whoever had the most goals at the end of the show was the winner.
Champions
| 1966-67 | Arsenal |
| 1967-68 | West Bromwich Albion |
| 1970 | Celtic |
| 1970-71 | Derby County |
| 1971 | Dunfermline Athletic |
We do not know the winner of two "Home Nations" series shown in 1972.
Champions' Quiz Ball
Celtic
Inventor
George Woolley
Theme music
Tony Hatch
Trivia
The first three series of Quiz Ball were straight knockout tournaments contested by 16 clubs. The next three series were contested by 8 clubs. A group phase between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland confused everyone in series 7; series 8 was a straight knockout between these sides.
TV Brain tells us that nearly all of the episodes have been wiped from the archives with only 6 of them surviving. These are the episodes that survived:
Series 1: Episode 1 (which can be viewed on the BBC iPlayer)
Series 2: Episode 11
Series 3: Episode 6
The 1970 Challenge Match
Series 5: Episode 5
Series 8: Episode 4
Web links
BBC programme page, which includes a 1966 episode as part of a game show collection.
Fan page giving every show result via archive.org
See also
Weaver's Week review of the very first episode
