Roone Arledge papers, 1953-2002

Roone Arledge papers, 1953-2002

Summary Information

Abstract

This collection documents the professional career of television executive, Roone Arledge, during his time as President of the News and Sports divisions of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#1423
Bib ID:
6297800 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Arledge, Roone
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
21 linear feet (39 boxes 1 large index card box 1 flat box)
Language(s):
English .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Description

Summary

The Roone Arledge Papers consist primarily of office material generated from his time as President of ABC News and ABC Sports. The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence, both internal to the corporation and external. Letters were exchanged between Arledge and other top management during all phases of a show: the creation, production, and maintenance. There are also topical files related to the management of the two divisions, such as financial records, program development documents, rating and industry reports, legal records, and trip itineraries for numerous business trips to Europe and Asia.

On a broader level, there are records concerning Arledge's overall career at ABC. These consist of various awards and honors he received, research material on other television networks and stations, articles, and papers from professional organizations that he had been involved with.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in six series.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Roone Arledge papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Gigi Shaw Arledge on March 11, 2003. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--11 March 2003.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Papers processed Lea Osborne 2007.

Finding Aid wiritten Lea Osborne September 2007.

Revision Description

2008-11-07 File created.

2009-01-12 xml document instance created by Patrick Lawlor

2009-04-22 Revised by Lea Osborne

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Biographical / Historical

Roone Pinckney Arledge Jr. was born on July 8, 1931 in Forest Hill,s Queens. His father was a lawyer for equitable Life Insurance and his mother, Gertrude, was a housewife. The family moved to Merrick, Long Island where Arledge attended Mepham High School. Arledge went to Columbia College where he majored in Foreign Affairs, Politics and Government, and the Humanities. During his undergraduate years, he was a member, and eventually president, of Phi Gamma Delta, a member of the Class Steering Committee, and received Gold and Silver King's Crowns for extracurricular leadership. He was also editor of both the Columbian (the yearbook) and The Spectator (the campus newspaper). Arledge attended Columbia from 1948 to 1952; however, he officially graduated in 1954. Arledge also pursued graduate work at the School of International Affairs, Columbia University. He specialized in the Near and Middle East, but did not complete the program.

Arledge first started working in television in December 1952 for the DuMont Television Network. He was the assistant to the Associate Director of Programming and Production. His duties included managing the budget for select shows, paying talent, and general administrative work.

In March of 1953, Arledge was conscripted to the United States Army. There he served as Chief of the Radio and Television Section of the Public Information Office at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. In this role, Arledge distributed information with regard to the United States Army Ordnance Corps, its weapons, training and other relevant issues to local radio stations and television networks. He also produced, directed, and wrote a thrice-weekly radio program. Arledge received a Good Conduct medal in December of 1954 and a National Defense Service Medal. During this time, Arledge married his first wife, Joan Dorothy Heise. They would go on to have four children together: Roone Pinckney, Patricia Lu, Elizabeth Ann, and Susan Lee.

Arledge was hired by NBC in 1954. Shortly after, he was transferred to the Army Reserve. At NBC, Arledge held a variety of positions. He was a stage manager, then unit Supervisor, and finally a staff producer/director. In this last position he produced a children's show entitled Hi Mom, Christmas at Rockefeller Center (featuring Dick Button who was later a commentator for Ice Skating at the ABC covered Olympics), Sunday's Schedule, election night coverage, and travel shows.

Arledge also wrote several shows. Masterpiece dramatized stories on the creation of "high art" such as the Sistine Chapel. A second concept, For Men Only, would feature jazz music and present male-oriented topics. While both shows were unsuccessful, the latter caught the eye of Edgar J. Scherick who ran the sports division for ABC.

In 1960 Arledge joined ABC Sports as a producer of NCAA football games. ABC was in financial trouble and, in terms of ratings, the weakest of the three major stations: ABC, CBS, and NBC. This was an opportune moment to enact change at ABC and throughout his career, Arledge did simply that. One year after being hired, Arledge created ABC's Wide World of Sports, one of the highest rated sports shows in television history. In 1968, Arledge became president of ABC Sports. Under his guidance, ABC Sports grew one of the most well-known and respected broadcasting organizations in the world. Arledge promoted the use of innovative camera techniques such as slow motion, freeze frame, instant replay, split-screen, incorporated underwater cameras during swimming competitions and utilized endzone cameras during football coverage.

In addition to Wide World of Sports, Arledge brought football to primetime, a move that no one had attempted. With NFL Monday Night Football, a new era in sports broadcasting was opened. A key aspect of Arledge's impact was his use of commentators for sporting events. Previously, leagues had the right to approve announcers. Arledge ignored this trend and decided to use Howard Cosell against the views of the league. Along with Cosell, Jim McKay and Frank Gifford became household names as sports announcers. This technique, of using "star" personalities came into play when Arledge moved over to ABC News as well.

Arledge and ABC Sports also presented major golf tournaments, Major League Baseball, championship boxing, the Indianapolis 500, racing, including the Kentucky Derby and ten Olympic Games. He was president of that division until 1986. While at ABC Sports, Arledge divorced his first wife and married Ann Fowler, a former Miss Alabama, in 1976.

On June 1, 1977, in a wave of more unprecedented action, Arledge was named President of ABC News in addition to ABC Sports. In this role, he created the top shows World News Tonight, 20/20, Closeup, and Nightline. He was instrumental in building a team of top journalists and aggressively pursued anchors from other networks. Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Peter Jennings, David Brinkley, and Ted Koppell all worked for Arledge. ABC News represented big names as well as big salaries, another first in the industry. Roone Arledge kept this position for almost ten years and maintained his role as President of ABC News for twenty.

In 1997, David Westin was named President of ABC News and Arledge became Chair. Almost all of Arledge's news shows had received awards and the network itself had received the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for the overall commitment of excellence, the first time a news organization had been honored in that way. Arledge had won 37 Emmys, including the first life-time achievement Emmy ever granted, the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Journalism Alumni Association, the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for live television broadcasting, and the Silver Medal of the Olympic Order from the International Olympic Committee. He was quoted as saying his most treasured award was a George Foster Peabody Award--he received a total of four of these awards--given for coverage of the 1972 Olympics in Munich where eleven Israeli athletes were taken hostage and killed. ABC was the only network able to transmit their broadcast out of Germany and link the rest of the world to the tragedy.

Arledge had battled prostate cancer in the last years of his life, conducting business mainly by phone, but nevertheless, staying in the thick of work. He died on November 5, 2002.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Awards
Character dolls
Correspondence
Name
ABC News
ABC Sports
Arledge, Roone
Philip Morris Incorporated
Subject
Broadcast journalism
Legal documents
Olympics
Television -- Production and direction
Television and sports
Television journalists -- United States

Series I: General, 1953-2002

This small series contains records with regard to Roone Arledge's career in the television industry as a whole. Within this series are articles about Roone Arledge, ABC NEWS, and ABC Sports, various awards Arledge received for his contributions to the field of broadcasting, personal records, such as his diploma from Columbia College and his military records, and speeches that he gave. There are also records pertaining to other news organizations in the United States, Europe, England, and Japan. Arledge was a board member of ESPN and A & E Television Networks and documents concerning his work for them may be found here as well.


Articles


Box 1 Folder 1 to 2

1976, (2 Folders)


Box 1 Folder 3

1977


Box 1 Folder 4 to 5

1978, (2 Folders)


Box 1 Folder 6

1979


Box 1 Folder 7

1980


Box 2 Folder 1

1981-2001


Awards


Box 2 Folder 2

Alexander Hamilton Medal, 1998 November 18


Box 2 Folder 3

Boston University Honorary Degree, 1991


Box 2 Folder 4

Center for Communication, Inc., 1996-1997


Mapcase 14-O-1

George Foster Peabody Broadcasting Award, 1976, 1984, 1976, 1984


Box 2 Folder 5

International Radio and Television Society, 1983


Box 2 Folder 6

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Emmy Awards), 1979-2002


Box 2 Folder 7

National Press Foundation, 1990-1991


Box 2 Folder 8

The New York State Broadcasters Association, Inc., 2001


Box 2 Folder 9

News World Lifetime Achievement Award, 1998


Box 2 Folder 10

Olympics, 1980-1988


Box 2 Folder 11

Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, 2001


Box 2 Folder 12

The Radio and Television News Directors Foundation, 1998


Box 2 Folder 13

The Television Academy Hall of Fame, 1989


Box 2 Folder 14

Walter Cronkite Award, 1997


Box 2 Folder 15

Canadian Embassy Dinner, [1983]


Box 2 Folder 16

Carter, Jimmy, 1993-2002


Mapcase 14-O-1

Certificates, 1969-1977


Box 2 Folder 17

Columbia University Diploma, 1954 February 24


Council on Foreign Relations


Box 3 Folder 1 to 4

General, 2000-2002, (4 Folders)


Box 3 Folder 5

Committee on Corporate Affairs and Development, 2000-2002


Box 3 Folder 6

Committee on Meetings and Media Projects, 1997-2002


Box 4 Folder 1

Delegation to Turkey and Israel, 1999


Box 4 Folder 2

International Advisory Board, 1998-2000


Box 4 Folder 3

House Sub-Committee on Telecommunications Testimony, 1987-1989


Box 4 Folder 4

Interviews, undated, 1999


Box 4 Folder 5 to 7

John Kennedy School of Government, 1998-2002, (3 Folders)


Box 5 Folder 1

Memoirs, 1984-2002


Box 5 Folder 2

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1987-2000


Box 5 Folder 3

Military Records, 1953-1955


Box 5 Folder 4

The Museum of Television and Radio, 1993-1994


News Organizations


Box 5 Folder 5 to 8

BBC--General, 1993-2001, (4 Folders)


Box 6 Folder 1

BBC--Employees, 1997


Box 6 Folder 2 to 3

British Sky Broadcasting, 1991-1994


Box 6 Folder 4

Canal Plus, 1991-1993


Box 6 Folder 5

CNN, 1996-1998


Box 6 Folder 6

Fox Broadcasting, 1991-1994


Box 6 Folder 7

Fujisankei Communications International, Inc., 1999-2000


Box 6 Folder 8

Independent Television News Ltd., 1992-1999


Box 6 Folder 9

Nine Network Australia Limited, 1991-1994


Box 6 Folder 10

Nippon Hoso Kyokai, 1991-1995


Box 7 Folder 1

Reuters, 1993-1996


Box 7 Folder 2 to 3

Non-ABC Professional Work--A & E Television Networks Management Committee, 1998-2002, (2 Folders)


Box 7 Folder 4 to 5

Non-ABC Professional Work--ESPN, 2001-2002, (2 Folders)


Box 7 Folder 6

Resume, 1954-1960


Speeches


Box 7

General, 1996-2001


Box 8 Folder 1

Wake Forest University, 1988


Box 8 Folder 14-O-1

Wake Forest University--Poster, 1988 September 8


Trips


Box 8 Folder 2

German Television, 1992-2001


Box 8 Folder 3

Nicklaus/Flick Golf School, 1995-1996


Box 8 Folder 4

Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, 1991-1999


Box 8 Folder 5

Washington Press Club Dinner, 1995

Series II: Correspondence, 1954-2002

Series II is the largest of the collection. The letters held here date from Roone Arledge's time at ABC as head of both the sports and news division. In general, the correspondence, while large in bulk, is limited in content. The letters consist primarily of the type of letters an executive would be professionally obligated to send, such as congratulatory notes to colleagues within and outside of the company, thank you letters for corporate gifts, letters of inquiry from individuals wanting to work at ABC, and complaints from all manners of citizens. This series is divided into two subseries: Topical and Chronological. Please note that individuals listed in Subseries II.1 may be found in Subseries II.2.


Subseries II.1: Alphabetical, 1982-2001

Subseries II.1 is arranged alphabetical by an individual's last name or by topic. Letters listed by a name may be correspondence exchanged to and from that person or about that person. These individuals are mainly other ABC senior executives and administrative staff as well as numerous anchors. Notable individuals include Peter Jennings, Barbara Walter, Diane Sawyer, Ted Koppel, and Robert Iger.


Box 8 Folder 6

Baker, Barry, 1997 July


Box 8 Folder 7

Cosell, Howard, 1982 December-1985 April


Box 8 Folder 8

Downs, Hugh, 1992 August-1998 January


Box 8 Folder 9

Friedman, Paul, 1991 August-1993 October


Box 8 Folder 10

Goodman, Roger, 1990 March-1994 July


Box 8 Folder 11

Granum, Rex, 1995 September-1996 December


Box 8 Folder 12

Iger, Robert, 1994 March-1998 August


Box 8 Folder 13

International Radio and Television Society Award, 1982 November-1983 March


Box 8 Folder 14

Jennings, Peter, 1991 September-2001 February


Box 9 Folder 1

Kipper, Judith, 1991 July-1998 February


Box 9 Folder 2

Koppel, Ted, 1988 August-1996 April


Box 9 Folder 3

Nine Sundays , 1991 September


Box 9 Folder 4

O'Neil, Terry, 1994 August-1996 February


Box 9 Folder 5

Patterson, Neil, 1997 September-1999 May


Box 9 Folder 6 to 7

Personal, 1981 August-1994 January, (2 Folders)


Box 9 Folder 8

Sawyer, Diane, 1989 February-2000 March


Box 9 Folder 9

Sawyer, Forrest, 1993 February-1997 August


Box 9 Folder 10

Sias, John, 1990 December-1991 February


Box 10 Folder 1

Stossel, John, 1992 June-1995 February


Box 10 Folder 2

Temple, Bill, 1996 January-1997 March


Box 10 Folder 3 to 4

Wald, Richard, 1993 December-1999 November, (2 Folders)


Box 10 Folder 5

Walters, Barbara, 1987 March-1999 January


Box 10 Folder 6

Westin, David, 1994 October-2000 August


Box 10 Folder 7

Zucker, John, 1994 October-1997 July


Subseries II.2: Chronological, 1954-2002

The correspondence contained in this subseries is primarily external. The majority of the letters are requests for Arledge to research certain topics for potential inclusion in one of ABC's news shows, attend fundraising functions, accept ideas for new shows, or participate in a conference or lecture series. There are also complaints from viewers and, to a lesser extent, complimentary letters. The interoffice correspondence consists of lengthy memos, many of which have multiple notes written on them from different senior executives.


Incoming


Box 11 Folder 1

1976 February-1981 December


Box 11 Folder 2 to 3

1984 January-December, (2 Folders)


1985


Box 11 Folder 4

January-March


Box 11 Folder 5

March-May


Box 11 Folder 6

June-September


Box 11 Folder 7

September-December


Box 12 Folder 1

1986 January-September


Box 12 Folder 2

1986 April-1987 May


Box 12 Folder 3

1986 July-December


Box 12 Folder 4

1988 January-July


Box 12 Folder 5

1988 August-December


Box 13 Folder 1

Memos, 1989 January-September


Box 13 Folder 2

Memos, 1989 October-December


Box 13 Folder 3

1989 January-September


Box 13 Folder 4

1989 October-December


Box 13 Folder 5

Memos, 1990 January-June


Box 13 Folder 6

Memos, 1990 July-December


1990


Box 14 Folder 1

January-February


Box 14 Folder 2

March-April


Box 14 Folder 3

June-September


Box 14 Folder 4

October-December


Box 14 Folder 5

Memos, 1991 January-May


Box 14 Folder 6

Memos, 1991 July-September


Box 15 Folder 1

1991 January-June


Box 15 Folder 2

1991 October-December


Box 15 Folder 3

Memos, 1992 February-September


Box 15 Folder 4

1992 January-June


Box 15 Folder 5

1992 July-November


Box 15 Folder 6

Memos, 1993-1998


Box 15 Folder 7

1993 January-November


Box 16 Folder 1

1994 January-December


Box 16 Folder 2

1995 January-August


Box 16 Folder 3

1995 September-December


Outgoing


Box 16 Folder 4

1954 January-1961 June


Box 16 Folder 5

Memos, 1978 October-1983 June


Box 16 Folder 6

Memos, 1984 February-1987 December


Box 16 Folder 7

1984 January-May


Box 17 Folder 1

1984 June-August


Box 17 Folder 2

1984 September-December


Box 17 Folder 3

1985 January-April


Box 17 Folder 4

1985 Mary-September, 1985


Box 17 Folder 5

1985 October-December


Box 17 Folder 6

1986 January-June


Box 17 Folder 7

1986 July-December


Box 18 Folder 1

1987 January-June


Box 18 Folder 2

1987 July-December


Box 18 Folder 3

Memos, 1988 June-December


Box 18 Folder 4

1988 February-July


Box 18 Folder 5

1988 August-November


Box 18 Folder 6

Memos, 1989 January-December


Box 18 Folder 7

1989 July-October


Box 18 Folder 8

Memos, 1990 April-August


Box 18 Folder 9

1990 May-December


Box 19 Folder 1

Memos, 1991 April-June


Box 19 Folder 2

1991 January-July


Box 19 Folder 3

1991 August-December


Box 19 Folder 4

Memos, 1992 January-December


Box 19 Folder 5

1992 January-April


Box 19 Folder 6

1992 June-December


Box 19 Folder 7

1993 January-December


Box 19 Folder 8

1994 January-September


Box 20 Folder 1

1994 October-December


Box 20 Folder 2

1995 January-December


Box 20 Folder 3

1996 January-June


Box 20 Folder 4

1996 July-December


Box 20 Folder 5

Memos, 1997-2000


Box 20 Folder 6

1997 January-December


Box 21 Folder 1

1998 January-1999 February


Box 21 Folder 2 to 3

Incoming and Outgoing, 1997 January-1999 November, (2 Folders)


Box 21 Folder 4 to 5

Incoming and Outgoing, 2000 January-2002 August, (2 Folders)

Series III: ABC News, 1977-2002

Series III is comprised of topical files documenting Roone Arledge's time as President of ABC News. Included are financial records, such as operating budgets and long range plans, program development for potential news shows, legal documents from several lawsuits, concerning predominantly the Food Lion and Philip Morris cases, and documents in regards to various trips Arledge conducted. Of note are Arledge's appointment books that were maintained by his personal assistant. These books contain Arledge's numerous appointments, meetings, trips and other activities related to his work at ABC. Often, names of individuals who participated in these activities are listed as well. The notebooks provide insight into how Arledge organized his time as well as show the amount of coordination involved in being President of ABC News.


Box 21 Folder 6

ABC Affiliate News Director Advisory Board, 1994-1998


Box 21 Folder 7

Anchors, 1988-2000


Box 22 Folder 1

AOL Merger, 1996-1997


Appointment Books


Box 22 Folder 2

1977


Box 22 Folder 3

1978


Box 22 Folder 4

1979


Box 22 Folder 5

1980


Box 22 Folder 6

1981


Box 22 Folder 7

1982


Box 23 Folder 1

1983


Box 23 Folder 2

1983


Box 23 Folder 3

1984


Box 23 Folder 4

1985


Box 23 Folder 5

1986


Box 23 Folder 6

1987


Box 24 Folder 1

1988


Box 24 Folder 2

1988


Box 24 Folder 3

1989


Box 24 Folder 4

1990


Box 24 Folder 5

1991


Box 24 Folder 6

1992


Box 25 Folder 1

1993


Box 25 Folder 2

1993


Box 25 Folder 3

1994


Box 25 Folder 4

1995


Box 25 Folder 6

1996


Box 25 Folder 7

1997


Box 26 Folder 1

1998


Box 26 Folder 2

1999


Box 26 Folder 3

2000


Box 26 Folder 4

2001


Box 26 Folder 5

2002


Finances


Box 26 Folder 6

5-Year Plan, 1996


Box 26 Folder 7

Forecast, 1998


Box 27 Folder 1

Forecast, 1999


Box 27 Folder 2

Long Range Plan, 1995-1996


Box 27 Folder 3

Long Range Plan, 1998


Box 27 Folder 4

Operating Budget, 1998


Box 27 Folder 5

Operating Budget, 1999


Box 27 Folder 6

Government, 1979-1980


Box 28 Folder 1

Gulf War, 1991


Box 28 Folder 2

Investigative Team, 1998


Lawsuits


Box 28 Folder 3

General, 1994-1995


Box 28 Folder 4

Food Lion, 1996-1997


Philip Morris


Box 28 Folder 5

Articles


Call Registers


Box 28 Folder 6

1992 August 12


Box 28 Folder 7

1992 October-December


Box 28 Folder 8

1992 December-1993 February


Box 29 Folder 1

1992 December-1994 January


Box 29 Folder 2

1993 February-April


Box 29 Folder 3

1993 April-June


Box 29 Folder 4

1993 June-August


Box 29 Folder 5

1993 August-October


Box 29 Folder 6

1993 November-1994 January


Box 29 Folder 7

1994 January-1995 January


Box 29 Folder 8

1994 January-March


Box 29 Folder 9

1994 March-May


Box 30 Folder 1

1994 May-July


Box 30 Folder 2

Undated


Box 30 Folder 3

Correspondence, 1994 August-1995 August


Box 30 Folder 4

Press Releases, 1995


Box 30 Folder 5

Transcripts


Box 30 Folder 6

National Town Meeting, 1991-1993


Box 30 Folder 7

NewsOne, 1986-1994


Box 30 Folder 8

NewsWorld, 1999-2000


Box 30 Folder 9

Notebooks, undated


Box 31 Folder 1 to 2

Political Coverage--General, 1978-1992, (2 Folders)


Box 31 Folder 3

Political Coverage--Cheney, Dick, 1991


Program Development


Box 31 Folder 4 to 5

General, 1987-1992, (2 Folders)


Box 31 Folder 6 to 7

24-Hour News, 1996, (2 Folders)


Box 32 Folder 1

Moments of Crisis, 1992-1993


Box 32 Folder 2

Saturday Shows, 1997-1998


Box 32 Folder 3

Seven Days , 1996


Box 32 Folder 4

Turning Point , 1993-1994


Shows


Box 32 Folder 5

20/20 , 1985-1990


Box 32 Folder 6

Good Morning America , 1996-1998


Box 32 Folder 7

Nightline , 1993-2002


Box 33 Folder 1

Sunday Morning Show , 1997-1998


Box 33 Folder 2

World News Tonight , 1993-1997


Trips


Box 33 Folder 3

ABC Dinner, 1994-1997


Box 33 Folder 4

Affiliate Stations, 1996


Box 33 Folder 5

Berlin, 1995


Box 33 Folder 6

China, 1979-1995


Box 33 Folder 7

Cuba, 1997


Box 33 Folder 8

Ireland, 1989-1996


Box 33 Folder 9

Jerusalem Conference, 1985


Box 33 Folder 10 to 11

Moscow, 1985-1998, (2 Folders)


Box 34 Folder 1

Worldwide Television News, 1998-2002


Box 34 Folder 2

Washington D.C. Bureau, 1996-1998

Series IV: ABC Sports, 1961-2001

This small series holds topical files in regards to ABC Sports. General administrative records, records pertaining to the NFL, Monday Night Football, Wide World of Sports, and the network coverage of the Goodwill Games, championship boxing, and Major League Baseball are found in this series. There is also documentation of the many Olympic Games that were covered including Calgary, Seoul, Los Angeles, and Sarajevo. The Olympic records illustrate the amount of synchronization and planning that Roone Arledge and his team were required to do in order to cover the multiple competitions occurring at the event. Additionally, there are transcripts of testimonies by Howard Cosell and Roone Arledge, correspondence, and accompanying documents concerning the Subcommittee on Communications' review of the Communications Act of 1934, particularly with regard to in particular how television networks (and, in this case, sports divisions) obtained programming


Box 34 Folder 3

General Administrative Records, 1977-1986


Box 34 Folder 4

Articles, 1986-1988


Box 34 Folder 5

Baseball, 1983-1989


Box 34 Folder 6

Boxing, 1977-1983


Box 34 Folder 7

Contract, 1966 September 1


Box 34 Folder 8

Cosell, Howard, 1995


Box 34 Folder 9

Goodwill Games, 1984-1988


Box 34 Folder 10

Hall of Fame Dinner, 1985


Box 34 Folder 11

Korea, 1982-1987


NFL


Box 34 Folder 12 to 13

General, 1967-1971, (2 Folders)


Box 35 Folder 1

Correspondence, 1980 February-1984 June


Box 35 Folder 2

Rozelle Meetings, 1985


Olympics


Box 35 Folder 3

General, 1976-1984


Box 35 Folder 4

Baden, 1981-1988


Box 35 Folder 5

Barcelona, 1984-1992


Box 35 Folder 6 to 8

Calgary, 1982-1988, (3 Folders)


Box 36 Folder 1

Hall of Fame, 1982-1989


Box 36 Folder 2

Innsbruck, 1973-1976


Box 36 Folder 3

Los Angeles, 1983-1984


Box 36 Folder 4

Meetings, 1984-1985


Box 36 Folder 5

Olympic Moments, 1985-1987


Box 36 Folder 6 to 7

Sarajevo, 1980-1984


Box 36 Folder 8

Seoul, 1984-1985


Box 37 Folder 1

Skycam, 1983-1985


Box 37 Folder 2 to 4

Subcommittee Hearings, 1976-1978, (3 Folders)


Folder 5 to 6

United States Football League (USFL)--General, 1982-1986, (2 Folders)


Box 37 Folder 7

Court Transcripts, 1986 June 11


Box 38 Folder 1

USFL--Court Transcripts, 1986 June 12


Box 38 Folder 2

Wide World of Sports, 1961-2001

Series V: Photographs, 1984-1994

There are a small number of photographs within this collection. Most were taken while Arledge was receiving some type of recognition, such as his honorary degree from Boston University. There are also photographs from his visit to the White House and the meeting with executives from the Japan-based television network, Nippon Hoso Kyokai.


Box 38 Folder 3

1984-1986


Box 38 Folder 4

1991-1994

Series VI: Memorabilia and Realia, 1989-1998

This series is composed of several objects such as commemorative stamps and an award given by the Wrestling Hall of Fame. Of particular interest are several sets of Russian nesting dolls acquired in one of Roone Arledge's many trips to Moscow. These matreshka " depict political leaders who have had an impact on Russia's cultural and political history. Examples include Mikhail Gorbachev and his cabinet members, Stalin, chief prosecutors (with the names of those that were killed during their time), and the successive heads of numerous secret police organizations leading up to the KGB.


Box 38 Folder 5

Nobel Peace Prize Stamps, 1989 March 17


Box 39

Russian Nesting Dolls, 1980s


Box 40

Wrestling Hall of Fame, 1992


Box 41

Harvard College. Award of the David Mahoney Prize for Public Education in Nueroscience to Roon Arledge, 1998


Box 41

Happy Holidays from the Harlem Globetrotters, 1988

Inscribed from Earl Duryea to Roone Arledge,