Let the Games Begin!

Parker Stevenson

I was only a baby when the first Battle of the Network Stars premiered on ABC back in 1976. The Howard Cosell hosted all but one of the original celebrity sports and games TV specials. The only original Battle that I actually watched when it aired was the final edition in 1988. I'd seen commercials and ads for the previous specials, but until the 1988 edition, I'd been too young to really watch and appreciate them.

1984

I do however remember this edition, which had it's share of television hunks from the time. Some of the actors competing included; Brian Robbins, Rob Stone, Jack Scalia and Blair Underwood. I especially remember crushing over actor Brian Wimmer, who looked especially hot battling it out. Years later, I remember catching a few old episodes when ESPN and the cable network Trio aired a marathon during the 90's. Most of my viewing however, occurred thanks to Youtube.

Howard Cosell & Richard Hatch

The First Battle:
1976

ABC Team:
Gabe Kaplan (captain)
Darlene Carr
Lynda Carter
Farrah Fawcett
Richard Hatch
Robert Hegyes
Ron Howard
Hal Linden
Penny Marshall
John Schuck

Ron Howard (1976/1977)

CBS Team:
Telly Savalas (captain)
Adrienne Barbeau
Gary Burghoff
Kevin Dobson
Pat Harrington Jr.
Bill Macy
Lee Meriwether
Mackenzie Phillips
Loretta Swit
Jimmie Walker

NBC: Team:
Robert Conrad (captain)
Melissa Sue Anderson
Karen Grassle
Tim Matheson
Ben Murphy
Barbara Parkins
Joanna Pettet
Kevin Tighe
Bobby Troup
Demond Wilson

Robert Conrad (1976/1977/1978/1979)

Some of the celebrities in that first Battle, I'd never heard of before, others, like the hunky Robert Conrad, I first got to know after seeing their speedo pics on-line. Over the years, whenever I'm a profiling an actor, or doing a Blast from the Past piece, the first thing I do is check to see if they did a Battle.  If they did, the hunt for speedo pics is on!

Robin Williams and Gabe Kaplan (1978)

Some actors, like Scott Baio and Jack Scalia, seemed to welcome strutting around for the camera in their speedos, others, seemed to shy away from getting their pictures taken while wearing their tight, wet swimwear.  Regardless you can see them on Youtube, although the quality of most isn't that great, given most came from decades old VHS tapes.

Rob Stone And Brian Robbins (1988)  &  Tony Danza (1984)

Although the quality varies, it is fun to look back, especially at the early editions and check out the stars from the 70's and 80's who participated. This salute to the classic show actually began after seeing the 2017 summer remake.

Steve Kanaly, Jack Scalia and Lorenzo Lamas (1988)

Although the show cast a great variety and current and former hotties and television celebrities, the format lacked the spark and magic of the original. The show was overly edited, and the celebrities separated into teams that didn't provide the fun interaction we saw from the original series. It was fun seeing celebrities from different shows interacting with each other.  It also didn't have one of the main draws, TV hunks in speedos!!!

Cheering on the team (1984 & 1983)