Woods and Jack (lost early televised lawn bowls; 1937; 1946)
Issue 713 of Radio Times detailing the 1937 broadcast.
Status: Lost
Woods and Jack is the title given to an early broadcast of televised lawn bowls on BBC Television Service. Broadcast on 5th June 1937, it featured the Alexandra Palace Bowling Club playing a rink outside the Palace, with a further demonstration being aired on 21st September 1946.
Background
The origins of lawn bowls dates back to the 13th century, where it was noted to be a popular sport in England.[1] However, it faced various restrictions from various English monarchs over the years,[2] including in 1511 when Henry VIII declared it illegal.[3][4] Nevertheless, the sport was made legal again in 1541, albeit only legal for the upper-classes, with the working-class only allowed to play it at Christmas in their master's house and presence.[2][3][4] In 1845, the act was repealed, making it fully legal.[2][3][4] The objective of the sport is to roll several biased balls known as woods in a way that they stop as close as possible to a smaller white ball known as the jack.[1] While it is one of the oldest games in the United Kingdom, there is concern that lawn bowls is a dying sport due to the ageing membership, closure of clubs, and its struggle to attract a younger audience.[5]
Televising of lawn bowls was conceptualised during the early days of BBC Television Service, which was looking to broadcast a variety of sports like darts, ju-jitsu, and snooker.[6] Thus, on 5th June 1937, a game of lawn bowls featuring The Alexandra Palace Bowling Club was broadcast, with the segment entitled Woods and Jack lasting approximately 15 minutes.[3][4] Little is known about the game and its outcome, although televising it from Alexandra Palace was ideal due to the fact the BBC primarily aimed to capture events from the Palace, with the Palace also housing its television equipment.[6] Following the Second World War, a similar program was broadcast on 21st September 1946, featuring a demonstration of the game from the Alexandra Park Bowling Club on the grounds of Alexandra Palace, which lasted for 30 minutes.[7][8]
Availability
Like all early television programs, the lawn bowl games were televised live and were unlikely to have been directly recorded. Although there were means of achieving this following the Second World War, recording seldom occurred until video tape was perfected in the late-1950s.[9] Thus, televised footage of both lawn bowl games is most likely permanently missing. Nevertheless, issues 713 and 1198 of Radio Times helped to document the television broadcasts.[4][8]
Gallery
Image
Issue 1198 of Radio Times detailing the 1946 broadcast.
See Also
Early BBC Sports Television
- 1931 Epsom Derby (lost televised footage of horse racing event; 1931)
- 1937 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1937)
- 1937 International Imperial Trophy Race (lost footage of motor race; 1937)
- 1937 Wimbledon Championships (partially found footage of tennis tournament; 1937)
- 1938 Ashes Series (partially found footage of international test cricket match; 1938)
- 1938 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1938)
- 1939 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1939)
- 1947 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1947)
- 1953 British Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One race; 1953)
- 1955 Scottish Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1955)
- Archery (lost early televised toxophily; 1937-1938)
- Arsenal 7-1 Hibernian (lost footage of charity football match; 1952)
- Arsenal vs Arsenal Reserves (lost footage of early BBC televised football match; 1937)
- Barnet 3-2 Wealdstone (lost footage of Athenian League football match; 1946)
- The Boat Race 1938 (partially found footage of rowing race; 1938)
- Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling (lost early BBC televised professional wrestling matches; 1938-1939; 1946-1947)
- Charlton Athletic 1-0 Blackburn Rovers (lost footage of FA Cup match; 1947)
- Darts and Shove Ha'penny (lost early BBC televised darts matches; 1936-1939)
- England 0-1 Scotland (partially found international football match; 1938)
- England 1-1 Scotland (partially found footage of international football match; 1947)
- England 16-21 Scotland (partially found footage of rugby match; 1938)
- England 3-0 France (partially found footage of international football match; 1947)
- England 3-0 Rest of Europe (partially found footage of international football match; 1938)
- Falkirk 3-2 Newcastle United (lost footage of football match; 1953)
- Horace Lindrum vs Willie Smith (lost footage of televised snooker; 1937)
- Scottish Universities 1-1 English Universities (lost footage of international football match; 1952)
Early BBC Television
- Alexandra Palace's wartime television demonstrations (lost footage of private television transmissions; 1943, 1945)
- An Inspector Calls (lost television adaptation of play; 1948)
- Ann and Harold (lost early BBC drama television series; 1938)
- BBC Election Night (lost coverage of British general elections; 1950-1951)
- The Care of Your Car (lost early BBC motoring show; 1947)
- Cook's Night Out (lost early BBC cooking show; 1937)
- Craftsmen at Work (lost early BBC documentary show; 1938, 1946)
- Dish of the Month (lost early BBC cooking show; 1937)
- First Aid (lost early BBC medical show; 1937)
- Foundations of Cookery (lost early BBC cooking show; 1939)
- Marcel Boulestin television shorts (lost early BBC programs; 1937-1939)
- Masks through the Ages (lost early BBC history talk show; 1937)
- Opening of the BBC Television Service (partially found coverage of inaugural day of high-definition television service; 1936)
- The Orchestra and its Instruments (lost early BBC music talk show; 1937)
- RCA recording of BBC Television Service (found footage of pre-Second World War BBC television broadcast; 1938)
- Sea Stories (lost early BBC talk show; 1936-1937)
- Spelling Bee (lost early BBC game show; 1938)
- Telecrime (lost early BBC crime drama; 1938-1939; 1946)
- The Wasp's Nest (lost early BBC television adaptation of Agatha Christie short story; 1937)
- Weaponless Self-Defence (lost early ju-jitsu television program; 1936-1937)
- The World of Women (lost early BBC talk show; 1937)
Early Sports Television Media
- 1934 Philo T. Farnsworth broadcasts (lost early television demonstrations; 1934)
- 1936 Summer Olympics (lost television coverage of Berlin Games; 1936)
- 1938 Pennsylvania Quakers football season (lost early televised college football games; 1938)
- 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
- Bill Longson vs Whipper Billy Watson (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 1947)
- Brooklyn Dodgers 2-5 6-1 Cincinnati Reds (lost footage of MLB doubleheader; 1939)
- Brooklyn Dodgers 23-14 Philadelphia Eagles (lost footage of NFL game; 1939)
- Columbia Lions 1-2 Princeton Tigers (partially found footage of college baseball game; 1939)
- Fordham Rams 34-7 Waynesburg Yellow Jackets (lost footage of college football game; 1939)
- Indianapolis 500 WFBM-TV Broadcasts (lost racing footage; 1949-1950)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Teara detailing the history of lawn bowls and how it is played. Retrieved 12th Feb '22
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jack High Bowls detailing the history of lawn bowls, its restrictions, and becoming fully legal Retrieved 12th Feb '22
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 BBC Genome archive of Radio Times issues detailing the 1937 broadcast. Retrieved 12th Feb '22
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Issue 713 of Radio Times listing the 1937 broadcast. Retrieved 12th Feb '22
- ↑ Jack High Bowls detailing the concerns lawn bowls is a dying sport. Retrieved 12th Feb '22
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 BBC Sport in Black and White noting the BBC's desire to broadcast various sports in BBC Television Service's early days. Retrieved 12th Feb '22
- ↑ BBC Genome archive of Radio Times issues detailing the 1946 broadcast. Retrieved 12th Feb '22
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Issue 1198 of Radio Times listing the 1946 broadcast. Retrieved 12th Feb '22
- ↑ Web Archive article discussing how most early television is missing due to a lack of directly recording television. Retrieved 12th Feb '22