Contact: Ron Rollet
(609) 884-6700

Ed Sabol Bio

Before he founded what The Sporting News called "a new industry that played a significant role in the NFL’s rise to the nation’s most popular sport," Ed Sabol was earning a living selling overcoats for his father-in-law's clothing company in Philadelphia.

Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but raised in the Philadelphia area, Ed Sabol attended Blair Academy in Blairstown (NJ), where he lettered in football, track, and swimming. As a swimmer he set a World’s Interscholastic Record in the 100-yard freestyle. After graduating in 1935, Ed continued his swimming career at Ohio State University where, as a lead-off man in the 400-yard freestyle relay, he won the Big Ten and National AAU Championships in 1937.

Ed’s success as an actor/writer for the Scarlet Mask Drama prompted him to try his luck on Broadway. He appeared in Oscar & Hammerstein’s musical “Where Do We Go From Here.” During World War II, he spent a year and a half with the 4th Infantry Division as a rifleman in the European Theater.

It was, however, a 16mm Bell & Howell camera he received as a wedding gift that changed the direction of his life. With the birth of his son, Steve, Ed Sabol began filming everything his son did from his first haircut to his first pony ride to his first football game. In his spare time, Ed Sabol began his film career shooting his son’s prep school football games. His reputable technique for filming games was soon sought after by other area schools. Then realizing he was no longer wanted to sell overcoats, Ed Sabol made a bold move in 1962 to turn his film hobby into a filmmaker’s dream. He created Blair Motion Pictures (named after Steve’s younger sister) and later that year made bid a $3,000 for the rights to film the 1962 NFL Championship Game between the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers at Yankee Stadium.

The ensuing film, titled Pro Football’s Longest Day, premiered at Toots Shor's famous New York Restaurant and received such rave reviews that Ed Sabol and Blair Motion Pictures filmed 1963 and 1964 NFL Championships. In 1964, he convinced the NFL that it needed its own motion picture company that would promote the NFL and preserve the history of the game. The League agreed and NFL Films was born.

Over the years NFL Films’ innovations in the film industry have changed the way America watches football. Nothing could validate this standard of excellence more than NFL Films’ 91 Emmy Awards and numerous International Awards.

In 2003, Sabol and his son, Steve were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for “revolutionizing the way America watches football and setting the standard in sports filmmaking.” The Emmy was presented by Tim Russert, the host of “Meet the Press.”

In 1987, he received the Order of the Leather Helmet Award from the NFL Alumni Association for service to football and its players. The honor is reserved for those who have made deep and lasting contributions to the game of professional football. In the same year he also received the Bert Bell Memorial Award, which honors an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the NFL. In 1991, he was honored with the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Pete Rozelle Radio and Television Award. The award given annually recognizes “long-time exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football.”

Ed Sabol was named the studio’s chairman in 1987, after serving as its president since 1964. He officially retired in 1995.

For tickets and information on this year’s festival, please go to www.njstatefilmfestival.com or phone (609) 884-6700.

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