Editing College Bowl (section)

==History==
[[File:University of Minnesota on College Bowl 1953-54.jpg|250px|thumb|right|The [[University of Minnesota]] on the radio version of the ''College Bowl'', c. 1953-54.]]
''College Bowl'' originated as a [[United Service Organizations|USO]] activity created by [[Canadians|Canadian]] Don Reid for soldiers serving in [[World War II]]. Reid and John Moses then developed the game into a radio show. [[Grant Tinker]], later President of [[NBC]] and [[MTM Enterprises]], got his start as an assistant on the show.

Richard Reid has led the College Bowl since 1975. He has created, produced, and supervised all versions of College Bowl innovated since then (except for a 1984 [[NBC]] special).<ref name="collegebowl.com">[http://www.collegebowl.com/aboutrichardreid.asp "About Richard Reid"], ''collegebowl.com''. Retrieved 2021-02-04.</ref>

Two four-member teams representing various colleges and universities competed; one member of each team was its captain. The game began with a "toss-up" question for ten points. The first player to buzz in got the right to answer, but if the contestant was wrong, the other team could try to answer (if a player buzzed in before the host finished reading the question and was wrong, the team was penalized five points). Answering a "toss-up" correctly earned the team the right to answer a multi-part "bonus" question worth up to thirty points; the team members could collaborate, but only the captain was allowed to answer. The game continued in this manner and was played in halves. During halftime, the players were allowed to show a short promotional film of their school or they might talk about career plans or the like.

The first ''College Quiz Bowl'' match was played on NBC radio on October 10, 1953, when [[Northwestern University]] defeated [[Columbia University]], 135–60. Twenty-six episodes ran in that first season, with winning teams receiving $500 grants for their school. ''[[Good Housekeeping]]'' magazine became the sponsor for the 1954–55 season, and a short third season in the autumn of 1955 finished the run. The most dominant team was the [[University of Minnesota]], which had teams appear in 23 of the 68 broadcast matches. The 1953–55 series had a powerful appeal because it used remote broadcasts; each team was located at their college where they were cheered on by their wildly enthusiastic classmates. The effect was akin to listening to a [[American football|football]] game.