April 7, 1927: An audience comprising several dozen newspaper reporters and officials of Bell Telephone Laboratories gathered in New York City to witness the 1st American demonstration of television.
The live picture and voice of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce were transmitted over telephone lines from Washington, D.C., more than 200 miles north to an auditorium in Midtown Manhattan.
"Today we have, in a sense, the transmission of sight for the first time in the world's history," he said, as he looked into a small black box and spoke into a telephone mouthpiece. "Human genius has now destroyed the impediment of distance in a new respect, and in a manner hitherto unknown."
Although the audio portion was two-way, only those in New York were able to see him on a rectangular television screen measuring approximately 2 by 2.5 inches as he spoke to Walter S. Gifford, president of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).
The Secretary of Commerce would run for President in 1928, but his television appearance had no effect on the race. His name was Herbert Hoover. It would be 1939 before a sitting President would appear on television: Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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April 7, 1927 was a Thursday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. But there was 1 score on this historic day. Unfortunately, it was 0-0: In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators played the entire 60-minute game, plus a 20-minute overtime period, without scoring any goals, at the Boston Arena.
Under the format of the time, it was a best-2-out-of-3 series, and there would be 2 ties before the Senators won in Game 4 on April 13, concluding a glory period of 4 Cups in 8 seasons.
The Boston Arena still stands, as the Matthews Arena of Northeastern University. Built in 1910, it is the oldest continuously used building for hockey in the world.
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