"Sports Challenge" was broadcast for eight seasons (1971-1979) with Dick Enburg as Host and Master of Ceremonies on CBS' Saturday sports program interview game show format. "Sports Challenge" went above normal game show cliché and made their titular challenge about professional athletes talking about other professional athletes. The only way this could have been more in their wheelhouse would be if they had baseball players compete by hitting Nerf balls off of a tee. The entire production felt like a sporting event. Two teams of three would face each other in a battle of sports smarts with the winner receiving money for a previously chosen athletic charity or group of their choice. Not only would the teams be two of the top teams in their leagues, but the players themselves were nothing to scoff at. These weren't bench players appearing on a game show because they needed the extra publicity. Most game show 3 member teams were the most popular players and personalities of their time. A game show episode in which the "Boston Celtics" went up against the "Green Bay Packers." Bill Russell, Red Auerbach and John Havlicek vs. Willie Davis, Paul Hornung and Jerry Kramer (the Celtics were a popular team, Cousy and Sharman would appear in another episode with Auerbach). Probably one of many favorite clips of this show was because Dick Enburg kept referring to the Celtics' team as the "champs." Because their team was defending their game show crowns on this episode. Who doesn't want to see Bill Russell answer an obscure jockey question about the Kentucky Derby at the drop of a hat? The "Sports Challenge" title dictated the athletic participation of each sport's game show guest answering questions posed by the show-host Dick Enberg. The syndicated 3 video-camera color video-taped television game show, 30 minutes in duration, had Dick Enberg standing center stage at a podium flanked on his camera left with a panel desk seated 3 member defensive team panel, and on his camera right with a panel desk seated 3 member opposing team. The "Sports Challenge" game show format featured interview exchanges between Dick Enberg in a casual relaxed atmosphere, allowing the sports guests to inter-react with Enberg and with each other, resulting with jokes, hilarious reminiscent professional sports experiences, locker-room pranks, in their individual representative sport activity.
The Dick Enberg's syndicated CBS television game show "Sports Challenge" broadcast was video-taped on a studio sound stage at the KTLA - Paramount Metromedia Square Studios, located in Hollywood, California at 5746 West Sunset Boulevard. The 30 minute in length game-show segments were video-taped in blocked-in dates with the sports guests, usually with three or four shows performed per day, with an audience in attendance.
The "Sports Challenge" syndicated color television game show prize monies were donated to charity. The game show was video-taped on the Las Vegas' Strip Hilton Hotel's main theater show-room stage, with an audience present. The Las Vegas Hilton Hotel hosted the television "Sports Challenge" game show because the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel's room occupancy provided the production company's extremely large guest sport's participants a full week of accommodations. The Hilton's main show-room's nightly show stage set was cleared from the stage after the last scheduled midnight performance. The Las Vegas Hilton's main show-room theater was taken over by game show stage crew at 2:00 a.m.. The production designer Hub Braden, arriving for his morning call at 3:00 a.m., supervised every stage set-up, including the television game show's hard-wall backgrounds, set stairs and platforms with the host-moderator's center platform desk, and left and right side guest desk wings completing the scenic elements. The stage floor was covered with 36" square Grey tile-linoleum sheets for a typical "Hollywood" style shined-buffed glossy dance floor appearance. The change-over of the stage, setting up the "Sports Challenge" television stage set began at 3:00 a.m.; with lighting the game stage set beginning approximately at 7:00 a.m.; with the remote television 3 video-tape cameras and sound microphone requirements completed by 10:00 a.m.. Host Dick Enberg appeared on stage at 10:00 a.m. for a preliminary cast camera rehearsal, establishing camera blocking shots, followed by make-up. Five color TV spontaneous, unrehearsed, game show programs were video-taped each day. This daily routine, turning around the main-stage conversion into a television studio, established the show's routine week schedule. This pattern of taping the syndicated game show began in 1971, continuing through-out each year to 1973. Dick Enberg hosted every "Sports Challenge" game show.