Scorecard

The nation's first television station devoted almost exclusively to sports is now operating in Detroit. It may be the first of several that Henry J. Kaiser—a big man in aluminum, gypsum, Hawaiian lodgings and such—is building or planning. Except for the two hours between 4 and 6 p.m., when one of those teen-age dance band shows is presented, the station confines its coverage to Red Wings hockey, college basketball, high school basketball, swimming and wrestling. Its managers are contemplating shows on skiing, boating and even roller skating. Some shows are live, some are taped, but all have to do with sports.

This emphasis is something of an accident but at the moment seems to be a happy one. John A. Serrao, general manager, had first planned to present old movies but discovered that these would cost him $900 an hour, whereas sports shows could be done for two-thirds that. Audience interest appears to be good, though the station, WKBD-TV, is ultrahigh frequency, instead of the very high frequency most of us are used to, and there are only 350,000 UHF sets in the area. However, since last May 1 every TV set made in the U.S. has been required by law to be equipped to receive UHF transmissions. WKBD-TV, observing that 500 new sets are being sold daily in its market area, anticipates a steadily growing audience.

Another Kaiser UHF station is abuilding near Philadelphia, and permits have been issued for others in Los Angeles and San Francisco. If the sports trend is sustained, every day may be like New Year's Day.

PURSE-PROUD AND POOR

Sunland Park is a cozy racetrack in southern New Mexico near the Texas border. To boost attendance, which never goes much beyond 6,500, it caters to visiting conventions. Sunland purses are named after these groups, and sometimes the names get a bit unwieldy on the program. For instance, there have been the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 554 Purse and the National Association of Refrigerated Warehouses Purse, not to mention the Officers' Wives Club of the Low Altitude Missile Department of Fort Bliss Purse.

Now comes one that is short and apt: the International Coin Club Purse, which Sunland's press agent describes as "a toss-up."