CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Before football became a premiere sport for television screens, it was broadcasted over radio, and the first football game to be enjoyed this way was a 1921 game between rivals West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh.
The game was played at Forbes Field and received play-by-play coverage on the world’s first commercial radio station, KDKA, and had Harold W. Arlin as the announcer, reportedly using a “makeshift microphone lined with felt to filter out the noises from the field,” according to a 1991 Pitt football media guide.
This meeting between school rivals would end in a Pitt victory over West Virginia, 21-13.
More information about the event can be found at www.pitt.edu.
