The Beginnings

In 1998, Phil Tuckett ran across an unprocessed negative from the 1964 preseason. Knowing he had a time capsule in his hands, Phil Tuckett suggested to NFL Films president Steve Sabol that they could produce an entire series filled with nothing but unused NFL Films footage. Thus Steve Sabol re-traces the beginning years of NFL Films (originally Blair Motion Pictures). Ed Sabol, Steve's (and NFL Films') father, recalls the drudgery of his first project: the 1962 NFL Championship. Despite several spoiled reels, he and Dan Endy were able to produce a 28-minute highlight film that impressed NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle immensely. With that, Ed and the rest of his camera crew were ready to shoot every game for every team, starting in 1964. Players from the mid-1960s are profiled, among them ""The Catawba Claw,"" alias Bucky Pope.