November 6, 1947: "Meet the Press," TV's Longest-Running Show, Debuts

November 6, 1947: Meet the Press debuts on NBC. It is still on the air after 75 years, making it the longest-running program in television history, anywhere in the world.

Oddly for its era, the 1st moderator was a woman, Martha Rountree. She was succeeded in 1953 by Ned Brooks, who held the post until 1965, Lawrence Spivak until 1975, Bill Monroe (not the country singer) until 1984, Marvin Kalb until 1987, Chris Wallace until 1989, Garrick Utley until 1991, and then its longest-running host, Tim Russert, until his death in 2008. He was succeeded by David Gregory, and then Chuck Todd was named host in 2014, and still is.

(Brooks died in 1969, Spivak in 1994, Rountree in 1999, Monroe in 2011, and Utley in 2014. As of November 6, 2022, Kalb, Wallace and Gregory are still alive.)

Incumbent Presidents who have appeared: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

Herbert Hoover appeared on the show as an old man in 1955. Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower never appeared on the show. John F. Kennedy appeared as a member of the House of Representatives, as a Senator, and as a Presidential nominee. Lyndon Johnson appeared as Senate Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, as Presidential candidate, and as Vice Presidential nominee.

Richard Nixon appeared as a member of each house of Congress, as Vice President, as candidate for President, and while out of office, but never as the incumbent President. Gerald Ford appeared as House Minority Leader and Vice President. Ronald Reagan appeared as Governor of California and candidate for President. George H.W. Bush appeared as Chairman of the Republican National Committee, as candidate for President, and as Vice President.

Athletes do not usually appear on the show, often mocked as Meet the Depressed and Press the Meat.

But Russert, a Buffalo native, loved to interview them. During Autumn, he would conclude the show's usual tagline with a reference to his hometown team: "If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press. Go Bills."

Russert liked to challenge Democrats and Republicans alike, and, with a graphic or a clip ready to go, made, "Senator, let me show you... " the 5 scariest words in Washington. Today, Todd shows an obvious favoritism toward conservatives, which has earned him the nickname "Chuck Toad."

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November 6, 1947 was, oddly given the program in question, not a Sunday. It was a Thursday. So no football games were played. Baseball was out of season. Basketball season was a week away from starting. 

There were 2 games in the NHL that day. The New York Rangers lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit. And the Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-0 at the Montreal Forum. The Boston Bruins and the Chicago Black Hawks were not scheduled.

September 20, 2009: Obama: Five Sunday Morning Talk Shows In One Day

September 20, 2009: President Barack Obama makes history by appearing on 5 Sunday news/talk shows on the same day: CBS's Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer, ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, CNN's State of the Union with John King, NBC/MSNBC's Meet The Press with Tim Russert, and Spanish network Univision's Al Punto con Jorge Ramos (On Point).

Wherever they were that day, John McCain, and the man whose record for most Meet the Press appearances he beat, Bob Dole, were probably wondering why they never tried it. Well, they wouldn't have been asked to try it, since they didn't get elected President.

Herbert Hoover appeared on Meet the Press as a former President in 1955. Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in 1945, 2 years before the show premiered. Neither Harry Truman nor Dwight D. Eisenhower ever appeared on the show, either. John F. Kennedy appeared 8 times, the 1st in 1951, while he was still in the U.S. House of Representatives; and the last in 1960, shortly before that year's election. Lyndon Johnson only appeared once, the day before the 1960 Democratic Convention began.

Richard Nixon appeared 7 times. Gerald Ford was a regular as House Minority Leader, and on November 9, 1975, he became the 1st incumbent President to be interviewed on the show. Jimmy Carter appeared 11 times, including once as President. Ronald Reagan appeared 7 times, all before becoming President. George H.W. Bush made 5 appearances, including 3 as President. George W. Bush appeared 3 times, including 1 as President. Bill Clinton has appeared 5 times, including once as President, on the show's 50th Anniversary broadcast in 1997.

Barack Obama has appeared on the show 12 times. His 2009 appearance was followed by another while in office, in 2014. Donald Trump has appeared on the show, and, due to his long career as Senator, Vice President and President, Joe Biden holds the record among people who have served as President: 50 times.

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September 20, 2009 was, as stated, a Sunday. These games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys, 33-31 at Cowboys Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. This was the Cowboys' 1st regular-season game in their new stadium, later to be renamed AT&T Stadium.

* The New York Jets beat the New England Patriots, 16-9 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 48-22 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Redskins beat the St. Louis Rams, 9-7 at FedEx Field in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat the Carolina Panthers, 28-20 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 31-17 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (now EverBank Field).

* The Houston Texans beat the Tennessee Titans, 34-31 at LP Field (now Nissan Stadium) in Nashville. So the new Houston team beat the former Houston team, as the Titans had been the Oilers.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 33-20 at Ralph Wilson Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Detroit Lions, 27-13 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-14 at the new Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Green Bay Packers, 31-24 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

* The Oakland Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 13-10 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Cleveland Browns, 27-6 at Invesco Field at Mile High (now Empower Field at Mile High) in Denver.

* The Baltimore Ravens beat the San Diego Chargers, 31-26 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium).

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks, 23-10 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* And the next night, on ESPN Monday Night Football, the Indianapolis Colts beat the Miami Dolphins, 27-23 at Land Shark Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

And these games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners, 7-1 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. Ian Snell outpitched Joba Chamberlain. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and 4 RBIs. Derek Jeter went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals, 6-2 at Citi Field. John Maine was the winning pitcher.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Kevin Correia pitched 7 innings of 6-hit shutout ball, and 3 relievers completed the 8-hit shutout.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Florida Marlins, 8-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Houston Astros, 6-0 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. Yovani Gallardo pitched 5 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and 3 relievers completed a 5-hit shutout.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 6-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Jake Fox hit a home run in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 10-5 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-1 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 6-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians, 11-4 at the Oakland Coliseum.