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4525585
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Ford Press Releases - Trusts, Mergers, etc., 1966
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4525585
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document
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Ford Press Releases - Trusts, Mergers, etc., 1966
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Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
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1966-09-30
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9
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1966
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1966-09-01
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9
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1966
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The original documents are located in Box D9, folder "Ford Press Releases - Trusts,
Mergers, etc., 1966" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at
the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Re: Football
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR RELEASE IN TUESDAY P.M.'s,
Sept. 13, 1966
WASHINGTON--House Republican Leader Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., today introduced
legislation which would permit the two professional football leagues to combine but
would protect high school football by restricting the televising of "pro" games on
Friday nights and Saturdays.
Ford said merger of the National and American pro football leagues would
"improve competition on the field and assure more and better football games for
millions of fans across the country."
High school games would be fully protected under his bill, Ford said. He
noted that the legislation would bar televising of pro contests on any Friday night
after 6. Pro football also would be blacked out on Saturdays after the second
Friday in September, and ending on the second Saturday in December, from any TV
station within 75 miles of a regularly scheduled interscholastic or intercollegiate
football game.
Pro football's plan to merge the two leagues is "beclouded by confusion and
uncertainty under our antitrust laws," Ford said. He said the antitrust statutes
are "inappropriate for professional team sports where teams must get together in
leagues and develop coordinated practices."
Ford noted that the Senate last year passed "an excellent and comprehensive"
bill to meet this problem but the House has failed to act. There no longer is time
during this session of Congress for the House to take up so far-reaching a measure,
he said.
Ford said his bill would simply permit the merger of the two leagues to
proceed and would leave the larger issues for later consideration. He said the
merger plan "might well flounder" in the absence of such legislation.
QEBALD FORD LIBRARY
# # #
Digitized from Box D9 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library